Josh Taylor remains optimistic that a fight with Terence Crawford can be made in the near future, in spite of the fact that Crawford is suing his former – and Taylor’s current – promoter.
The fully unified 140-pound Scotsman will make the inaugural defense of his WBC/WBO/WBA/IBF titles against undefeated British mandatory Jack Catterall on Feb. 26 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
But the fight that looms in the minds of many boxing aficionados is a potential match-up between Taylor and WBO welterweight titlist Terence Crawford. For a long time, that bout seemed to be a no-brainer, at least on paper, given that both were under the same promoter, Top Rank Inc. Moreover, Taylor, having accomplished the feat of unifying all four major belts at 140, appeared destined for a move up to 147 in the near future. As for Crawford, the Nebraskan has had trouble landing meaningful fights at welterweight, so a Taylor fight was seen as a much needed opportunity.
But the once smooth pipeline toward that fight could now be encumbered with muck. It was revealed last month that Crawford had filed a lawsuit against Top Rank, citing breach of contract and racist conduct from founder Bob Arum. Crawford had finished out his contract with his longtime promoter last November, upon Crawford’s 10th-round technical knockout of Shawn Porter in Las Vegas.
Taylor acknowledged that this recent development may pose something of a hurdle to their potential showdown, but he still thinks it has a good chance of happening.
“Well, yeah, it’s a bit of an obstacle in the way of things,” Taylor told FightHype.com. “But I still believe it’s a very doable fight. We’re both sort of in the same house. It looks like it can be made. I think it can be made. And I think it’s a mouth-watering fight, but I’m not thinking about anything else except for Jack Catterall at the moment. It’s the only thing that’s on my mind. If I don’t get passed Jack Catterall, none of these things happen. I’m not here to talk about any other fight other than Jack Catterall.”
Taylor is represented by MTK Global, the managerial outfit founded by reputed Irish drug cartel leader Daniel Kinahan. Although Kinahan has publicly distanced himself from MTK in recent years, he is reportedly still heavily involved in boxing as an adviser to top fighters, including WBC heavyweight titlist Tyson Fury and, according to Arum, Crawford.
“Who wouldn’t want to fight Terence Crawford?” Taylor said. “I’m a fighting man. I’ll fight absolutely anybody. I’m in this game to challenge myself against the best. All comers. Terence Crawford is one of the best in the sport. I believe I’m one of the best in the sport. I believe in the best fighting the best to see who’s the top dog. That’s a fight that I would love to take on.”
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), however, grew frustrated in the same interview having to pay heed to questions about any fighter not named Jack Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs).
“My business isn’t done at 140,” Taylor said. “I’ve got next week to take care. I’m not thinking about f------ Terence Crawford. I’m thinking of Jack Catterall.
“I’ve been answering this question a 100 times and I’m sick of answering it. You all think it’s a foregone conclusion that I’m just gonna turn up and win the fight. Jack Catterall is a hungry fighter, he’s 26-0, he’s a very skilled fighter. He’s determined to win this fight. I’m done talking about Terence Crawford. I’ve got absolutely no interest in Terence Crawford.”
