Undisputed Junior Welterweight King Josh Taylor Edges Catterall
Josh Taylor is still the
undisputed junior welterweight champion, but Jack Catterall made his case.
Taylor retained his crown by split decision (114-111, 113-112, 112-113) in
front of a raucous, sold-out crowd of 12,101 partisan supporters Saturday
evening at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) had a challenging night in his first bout since
unifying all four belts last May against Jose Ramirez. He was knocked to
the deck in the eighth round, courtesy of a Catterall left hand. After
Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) had a point deducted for holding in the 10th,
Taylor was penalized for a shot after the 11th round bell had sounded.
The 12th round was fought in close quarters, and when the final bell rang,
the capacity crowd awaited the verdict. Taylor prevailed by the closest of
margins, keeping his undisputed championship and the promise of bigger
fights.
This is what Taylor had to say after fight.
“I started a little slow, but once I grabbed the momentum, I started
catching him with the bigger shots. He was trying to spoil a lot. Going
down and up a lot and clashing my head. He caught me with a couple of good
shots. I’m not gonna lie to you. It wasn’t my best performance. I put a lot
of pressure on myself with it being my homecoming. Been three years, first
time since lockdown and all that. I put a lot of pressure on myself being
the heavy favorite and it showed in the first half of the fight.
“Once I got my rhythm I started catching him with the bigger shots and
catching him and catching him. It wasn’t my best performance, but I believe
I got the win 100 percent. But Jack did very well.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to put on a good show for my home fans.
But it didn’t matter in the end. I got the good result.
“I knew I won the fight. It was close. Overall I scored the bigger shots,
the better shots, the more meaningful shots so I know I won the fight. It
was a little bit close, but I know I won the fight.”
*Ramirez Shines in Co-Feature*
The last time* Robeisy Ramirez *(9-1, 5 KOs) fought on British soil, at the
2012 London Olympics, he won the first of his two Olympic gold medals. His
return was a triumphant one, as he knocked down Irish veteran *Eric Donovan*
(14-2, 8 KOs) twice en route to a third-round stoppage. Ramirez scored a
knockdown with a counter left in the opening round and closed the show with
a pair of lefts.
Ramirez said, “It was an honor to fight in Scotland in front of the great
fans. I wanted to put on a sensational performance, and I believe I did
that. Eric Donovan came to fight, but I am motivated to become a world
champion one day. I know I can contend for a featherweight world title very
soon.”
*In undercard action:*
*Welterweight*: *Paddy “Real Deal” Donovan* (8-0, 6 KOs), the Irish
sensation trained and managed by former world champion Andy Lee, picked
apart *Miroslav Serdan* (13-9, 7 KOs) en route to a sixth-round TKO.
Serban’s corner stopped the fight due to left ear injury 56 seconds into
the round.
Donovan said, “I was comfortable in there, but he has a tight defense so I
had to take my time and break him down. We knew he would be durable, and my
jab made it easier to open up a bit. No complaints with this performance.
We executed the game plan to perfection.”
*Junior Lightweight: *Top Rank prospect *Kurt Walker*, who won a 2019
European Games gold medal for Ireland, needed only 2:03 to knock out *Jaroslav
Hriade*l (1-3) in his professional debut. Walker ended the fight by digging
a left hook into Hriadel’s liver. Walker plans on campaigning as a
featherweight.
Walker said, “I enjoyed it. It’s different whenever you’re fighting as an
amateur. You’re in an airport for eight hours. I was able to chill out and
feel the pressure of other fighters because they’re fighting big fights. I
enjoyed it. It was like I was on holiday.”
*Heavyweight: **Nick Campbell* (5-0, 5 KOs) won the battle of Scotland with
a seventh-round stoppage over the impossibly game *Jay McFarlane *(12-6, 5
KOs). Campbell knocked down McFarlane with a right hand in the seventh, and
after repeated flush right hands to the chin, the referee halted the
beating later in the round.
*Junior Middleweight:* Top Rank-signed prospect Kieran Molloy, from Galway,
Ireland, authored a second-round TKO in his pro debut over Spanish veteran
Damian Esquisabel (4-8). Molloy, a southpaw, engaged from the opening bell
until the referee saw fit to end the one-way traffic 33 seconds into the
second after a pair of right hooks landed.
*Junior Featherweight*: *Ebonie Jones *(1-0-1) was held to a six-round draw
against Scottish veteran *Effie Kathopouli* (4-3-1).
*Light Heavyweight*: In an all-Scottish battle, southpaw *John Docherty*
(12-1, 9 KOs) picked up his third consecutive victory with a second-round
stoppage over *Jordan Grant* (4-2). Docherty notched the KO with a left
hand to Grant’s body.
