Jack Catterall will miss out on a rematch with Josh Taylor this year after his rival jumped ship, blaming a mandatory order by the WBO.
Despite the par agreeing to fight in the first half of 2023 and even setting two different dates, Taylor moved on, citing an injury. However, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has confirmed a new opponent within weeks.
Teofimo Lopez is slated as the next in line for the title, which Taylor and Arum have hurtled toward. There’s been on asking the WBO for a delay or exception to face Catterall again, even though they had an agreement.
Jack Catterall dumped on
Catterall will now be dumped on for a third time. It comes after dethroning Taylor on all but the scorecards last year.
The fight wasn’t hard to score in favor of the Chorley man. He got robbed in possibly the worst decision ever seen on UK soil.
But as usual, the lesser-known opponent – like when Callum Smith fought John Ryder – gets the short end of the stick.
Arum has moved to try to drum up support for Taylor vs Lopez by announcing his intentions.
Bob Arum
“Now that the WBO has ordered Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo López for the junior welterweight title [super lightweight], we are working on arranging what could be the best fight of 2023.”
Tell that to Jack Catterall, Bob. The man has been moved from pillar to post and led on thinking he had a second chance. If anyone involved in this situation had boxing’s best interests in front view, they’d give the fans the fight they want to see.
Taylor stated in the press on more than one occasion when he finally agreed to the rematch with Catterall that he couldn’t move on until he faced him again.
That he had to put the demons to bed, facing Teofimo Lopez undoubtedly won’t do that.
The Scot will face accusations of avoiding Catterall after losing so badly the first time. WBN moved to vacate the title belts on the champions list until Taylor took the return. Those belts will remain vacant until new titleholders are crowned.
Catterall returns
Catterall will now fight on March 25 in Manchester as he tries to piece what’s left of his broken promises back together. He’s wasted a year of his career when he should have been the undisputed champion.
That’s boxing.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay. Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
