The snake-bitten rematch between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall may not get rescheduled until the summer, according to Taylor’s promoter.
Scotland’s Taylor, the WBO 140-pound champion, was set to square off against England’s Catterall on March 4 in Scotland, but the fight was postponed last week due to an injury (a torn plantar fascia) Taylor suffered during his training camp.
According to Bob Arum, the head of Top Rank, which promotes Taylor, he is “hopeful” that the fight can take place by the early summer.
“Depends on Josh’s foot, but I’m hopeful for June,” Arum told iD Boxing.
Taylor has said he needs about six to eight weeks before he is able to start putting pressure on his foot again.
Boxxer’s Ben Shalom, Catterall’s promoter, has suggested he will try to get Catterall a fight in the interim.
Taylor and Catterall were initially planning to fight each other last November but broadcasting preferences forced the fight to a later date.
The two fought last February in what was Taylor’s first defense of his four junior welterweight titles. Although Taylor won narrowly on points, many felt that Catterall deserved the nod on the scorecards, with not a few characterizing the fight as one of the most significant robberies in recent British boxing history.
The boxing world took issue with the two judges who had Taylor winning: Ian John-Lewis and Victor Loughlin. But the bulk of the outrage went toward John-Lewis because of the margin of his scorecard. Loughlin had it 113-112, while John-Lewis had it 114-111. The third judge, Howard Foster, favored Catterall by 113-112. John-Lewis was subsequently demoted by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Recently, it was reported that John-Lewis filed a legal complaint against the Board on the basis of discrimination.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) relinquished three of his four 140-pound titles in order to give Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) a rematch.
