Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall almost came to blows on Monday afternoon. Taylor and Catterall, squaring off with nothing but air between them, didn’t pull any punches – at least, not with their words. It was a verbal duel that had the whole crowd craning their necks, eager for the next verbal volley. The kind of tit-for-tat that makes you wonder, “Will they throw down right here and now?”
Things got physical when they squared off after the talking was over. Taylor initiated the exchange by grabbing Catterall’s jacket before the Manchester man responded by putting a hand around his opponent’s throat to start a scuffle.
‘The Tartan Tornado’ reacted by pushing Catterall before several security members, and boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, jumped in the middle of to prevent a brawl from breaking out.
A few more nasty words were exchanged before the boxers went their separate ways – but they’ll come face-to-face again in just over 24 hours time.
After holding a media launch in Taylor’s hometown of Edinburgh, the light welterweight duo will meet again for a press conference in Catterall’s city before beginning their respective fight camps.
Rewind to February 2022, and we find the origin of this epic saga. Taylor, crowned winner by the skin of his teeth, left many questioning the judges’ eyesight. The controversy reached such dizzying heights that it caught the attention of none other than the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, leading to a police referral. Because, of course, the police have nothing better to do than to delve into the murky waters of boxing decisions.
Josh Taylor, playing the tough guy after what many would call the heist of the century against Jack Catterall in their first fight. There he was, standing tall, chest puffed out with the swagger of a man who just got away with the loot, all while sporting a grin that screamed, “Who, me? Robbery? Couldn’t be!” It was a masterclass in acting hard, a performance so convincing that one might almost forget the cries of daylight robbery echoing from every corner of the boxing world. Truly, Taylor’s ability to maintain that tough exterior, knowing the victory was as controversial as pineapple on pizza, deserves its own category at the awards show for “Best Performance in a Sporting Drama.”
