To say that Jack Catterall is displeased with the outcome of his first world title fight would be an understatement.
The previously unbeaten mandatory challenger came up just short in a questionable split decision in favor of undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KOs). Catterall (20-1, 13KOs) won on the card of Howard Foster (113-112), only for Victor Loughlin (113-112) and Ian John Lewis (114-111) to rule in favor of Scotland’s Taylor in their WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO championship Saturday evening at OVO Hydro in Glasgow.
“What a load of sh!t,” Catterall exclaimed in the aftermath of his first career defeat. “Boxing shame on you. Judges, f--- you. Dreams stolen.”
England’s Catterall jumped out to a strong start, not showing any signs of ring rust after a forced 15-month inactive stretch in waiting out his overdue WBO mandatory title shot. Taylor—who unified all four major titles in a twelve-round win over fellow unbeaten, unified titlist Jose Ramirez last May—delayed the fight by two months after an injury forced him off an originally scheduled December 18 date and seemed unable to contend with Catterall’s early pressure.
Major drama ensued when Catterall floored Taylor in round eight, ending the round ahead by three points on two scorecards and one point on the third. Taylor swept rounds nine, ten and eleven, though he and Catterall also suffered point deductions for separately ruled fouls. Catterall won round twelve on the card of Foster which gave him a 113-112 nod, only for Lewis and Loughlin to score the round—and ultimately the fight—in favor of Taylor.
The immediate reaction was cries of corruption and ineptitude in the sport, with the majority of viewers believing that Catterall deserved to be named the winner and new undisputed junior welterweight champion. The 28-year-old southpaw appreciates the support but will need some time to heal from the emotional pain that came with hearing the official verdict.
“You know what hurts the most, it wasn’t for me I done all of this for my family my team my town and country,” noted Catterall. “My baby girl and [missus], our future. Today I should [have] been waking up with all of the belts.
“15 months out the ring, they all wrote me off. F---ed me in every way possible for over two years, finally got the fight. Sacrificed everything to fight one of the top p4p ranked fighters, gave him a lesson. For what.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox