Jack Catterall expects consistency to be key when he renews hostilities with Josh Taylor on April 27.
Although he was inactive for 15 months after his controversial loss to Taylor in February 2022, Catterall has spent almost every day since at Jamie Moore’s gym in Astley, Greater Manchester.
He beat Darragh Foley and Jorge Linares during 2023, and although those victories were steady rather than spectacular, they have allowed “El Gato” to once again build some momentum.
Taylor, in contrast, flirted with a move to 147lbs, moved on from Ben Davison, hired Joe McNally as his trainer, and will be coming into their rematch on the back of a defeat. Last June he suffered the first loss of his career when the excellent Teofimo Lopez outpointed him in New York and took his WBO super lightweight title.
Earlier this week Taylor said that he expected McNally’s input to be crucial in the rematch with Catterall, and by fight night they will have spent 18 months working together, but the Scotsman is 33 and the defeat by Lopez represents his only appearance since the first fight with Catterall.
Though seen as a massive underdog heading into their first fight, Catterall and those around him were supremely confident of beating Taylor and he is approaching their return in the same frame of mind.
“I was always confident – that confidence comes from the work I put in every single day,” Catterall said. “I know I’m still working at that level and still learning and improving. I’m still high on confidence. I went there into the lion’s den and did what I needed to do. This time it’s gonna be bigger and better.
“I do think it [consistency] will play a part. He’s had a change of trainers. He’ll have not boxed in 10 months. His last fight was a loss so that’s two fights back to back that he’s lost in my eyes. On the flipside, I would never take any confidence from any of that. I’m going into it preparing for the very best Josh Taylor.
“Josh had the aspirations of going up to 147lbs and fighting the likes of [Terence] Crawford and [Errol] Spence. We had our fight and he’s since gone on to be beaten by Teofimo Lopez. You can’t put yourself in the picture for those fights then. For me, there’s no straight shot at a world title fight. Naturally, it’s a domestic fight and a big fight for me. I understand and accept that. For him, the frustration is that it’s probably not the ideal fight that he wants.”
As well as being confident, Catterall is renowned as being one of the calmest and most detached fighters in British boxing when the first bell approaches. There have been a couple of flashpoints during this week’s press tour but when the serious work gets underway, Catterall believes that of the two, he is the better equipped to hold himself together and concentrate on the job at hand.
“I guess that’s a question for him,” said Catterall, at 30 three years younger than Taylor. “I know what I’ve gotta do but I think he’s more emotionally invested in it than I am.
“He might portray he’s not but sometimes he sees red, loses his head and gets distracted ultimately. With me, of course we don’t like each other but I know when to switch it off. It’s business time.”