Boxing: Taylor and Catterall clash in Glasgow in all-British title fight

Taylor the hot favourite

There have been plenty of top-class boxers who have taken their eye off the job at hand when faced with a routine title defence, but it is difficult to imagine Josh Taylor losing his undisputed world super-lightweight title to Jack Catterall on Saturday night in Glasgow. 

While Taylor will be hotly favoured to win, this is anything but a normal occasion. The last time there was an all-British fight for an undisputed world title was in 1949 – in the days before different governing bodies fractured the world titles – when Terry Allen faces Rinty Monaghan for the world flyweight title in Belfast. That fight ended as a draw. 

This should be a big year for Taylor. Last year he became the first UK boxer in what is referred to as the “four-belt era” to become an undisputed world champion – holding WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF world titles at the same time. But while Taylor should be feted as a sporting superstar, his profile, even in his native Scotland, is not what it should be. 

There are reasons for that. The first is, obviously, the pandemic. At the end of 2019, Taylor had what should have been his breakthrough win, as he unified the WBA and IBF titles by beating Regis Prograis in a memorable battle at the O2 Arena, London. 

Going under the radar

That fight was in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series, a top-class eight-man elimination tournament, which all four world champions in the weight division had signed up for. So, having beaten Prograis, Taylor was already signed up for a fight with Jose Ramirez, the WBC and WBO champion.  

Then the pandemic hit and Taylor boxed just once in 2020, as he stopped little-known Thai mandatory contender Apinun Khongsong, who was dispatched inside a round in front of zero fans at York Hall in East London. 

It wasn’t until May last year that he finally got to face Ramirez in Las Vegas. Restrictions meant no travelling fans, but he knocked down the American twice on the way to winning a unanimous points decision. It was one of the finest performances by a British boxer abroad but went largely under the radar after no UK television channel picked it up. 

It is not only the titles that make Taylor’s achievements so impressive, but also the standard of opposition too. His last five opponents had a combined record of 107-0.  

But Taylor’s form has been impressive all along. A member of the Great Britain team at the London Olympics in 2012, his one win was over Robson Conceicao, who won gold four years later in Rio, before he lost a disputed verdict against former world amateur champion Domenico Valentino. Two years later, he won Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, his first appearance at the Hydro, which he returns to on Saturday for the first time since 2018. 

Josh Taylor's last five opponents have all been unbeaten with a combined record of 107-0

Catterall still unbeaten

Catterall is a sixth successive unbeaten opponent. He has been sitting on his opportunity for a long time, however, having been the WBO’s No 1 contender since December 2018. He took a step-aside deal to allow Taylor to face Ramirez and his reward is that he gets to fight for all the belts. 

But he has not boxed in anything like the class that Taylor has. The best win on his 26-0 record is a points win over Ohara Davies in 2018 – Taylor had stopped Davies a year earlier. 

Catterall has stopped half of his opponents but does not have the kind of power that will alarm Taylor. He will have to do something, though, to unsettle Taylor and it is likely he will start quickly to try and poach and early lead in the hope of getting Taylor to chase after him. 

This bout was pushed back from December after Taylor suffered a knee injury, and Taylor has had Catterall on his mind long enough not to under-estimate him. Taylor boxes tall, looks best when firing his shots straight and packs a heavier punch than most realise. 

What is more, he will be keen to make a big impact on his return to Scotland, with a potential big audience in the UK and the United States watching, an impressive victory could lead to some interesting match-ups ahead, including a potential move up to welterweight to face Terence Crawford or Errol Spence. 

It is likely that Taylor will take a bit of time to find his range, while against Ramirez, he was perhaps guilty of not pushing for the stoppage after knocking the American down twice. He is unlikely to be so cagey against Catterall and can force a stoppage around the middle rounds. 

Recommended Bet: Taylor to win in rounds 7-9 @ 5.6

Okolie's second title defence 

With Josh Taylor’s fight on Saturday night, promoter Eddie Hearn decided to stage his world-title show on Sunday, with Lawrence Okolie making the second defence of his WBO cruiserweight title against Poland’s Michal Cieslak at the O2 Arena on Sunday. 

Okolie, a 2016 Olympian, is a huge puncher with ambitions to move up to heavyweight after he unifies the world titles at cruiserweight. Sadly for him, that is taking a bit of time, hence he is passing time with a voluntary defence of his WBO title.  

He is 29, but has few miles on the clock and has been making rapid improvements since switching trainers to Shane McGuigan two years ago. Over the next couple of years, Okolie has the talent and dedication to make the leap to superstar status. 

Cieslak, 32, is the third Polish opponent Okolie has faced in four fights. He has never been stopped and his one defeat in 22 fights came when he dropped a unanimous points decision to Ilunga Makabu in Kinshasa for the WBC title. 

Okolie’s recent opponents have tended to stand in front of him, which suits him rather well. Cieslak is likely to be a bit more elusive, which will make Okolie have to work harder for his openings.  

Still, it will be difficult for Cieslak to stay away from Okolie’s big right hand for too long, however, and once he gets through, he tends to finish matters quite quickly. 

Recommended Bet: Okolie to win in rounds 7-9 @ 4.2