Taylor targets welterweight giants after Catterall bout in Scotland return
Josh Taylor owns all the world titles at junior welterweight, but he insists he is hungry for more as he targets the welterweight division after Saturday’s fight with Jack Catterall (5 p.m. ET on ESPN+).
Taylor, who is known as “The Tartan Tornado,” has been starved of home support since 2019 due to coronavirus restrictions, and is looking forward to his first fight in Scotland since he beat Ivan Baranchyk in Glasgow, to begin his reign as world champion.
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), 31, from Edinburgh, defends his WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles against fellow southpaw Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs), 28, from Chorley, Lancashire, after unifying the belts via a unanimous points win over Jose Ramirez, from California, in May.
To get a fight as big as the one versus Ramirez again, Taylor will have to step up a division which he plans to do providing he beats English challenger Catterall.
The welterweight division is packed with talent, such as pound-for-pound No. 1 and WBO champion Terence Crawford, WBC-IBF champion Errol Spence, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Jaron Ennis and Keith Thurman.
Taylor says the prospect of bigger fights beyond Catterall means he has not been lacking in motivation for Saturday even if it is not as prestigious as his last outing.
“It’s quite easy really [to stay motivated] because he’s coming to take what I’ve worked so hard to achieve and he’s got the chance to do it in one fight, hit the jackpot,” Taylor told ESPN.
“I’ve still got massive goals I want to achieve in the sport. I want to be at the top for as long as possible and I’ve got an abundance of desire to stay top dog in this weight division, but I feel I’ve achieved a lot at this weight division now and all that is left to do is defend the titles over and over.
“I want to achieve more in the sport than that and add more titles to my name, to become a two-weight undisputed world champion, which is something that hasn’t been achieved from someone in this country. Those are massive goals and that’s how I keep hungry, I’ve still got these things I want to achieve.
“There are big fights out there for me on the horizon so as it goes well against Catterall. I want to go down as the best from Britain in recent history, and to achieve that I have to make sure nothing goes wrong in my next fight.”
Crawford’s recent lawsuit against promoter Top Rank, which promotes the American as well as Taylor, has not given Taylor reason to think again about a future fight with the Nebraska native.
“No it doesn’t, it’s still a fight that is quite easy to make,” Taylor said.
“Just because something like that is going on, it’s still a fight that could be made.”
Taylor, who has been training in England with coach Ben Davison, is looking forward to hearing some cheers again at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday, the same venue where he was first crowned world champion.
“I can’t wait to box in front of my own fans again, it’s even better now because all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and it’s the first time I’ve boxed at home for a few years,” he said.
“In fact, I’ve not boxed in front of a capacity crowd since I beat Regis Prograis in London in May 2019. My last two fights have been behind closed doors and then with a limited crowd, when none of my fans from home could travel to see me fight Ramirez because of the coronavirus restrictions which was really frustrating for them and me.”
Catterall has never boxed for a world title before, or faced an elite opponent before, but Taylor believes he presents a bigger challenge than a lot of people expect.
“He’s a very good fighter, he has not boxed at the level I have as a professional but that’s because he’s not had the opportunity,” he said.
“He’s got good boxing IQ, and very smart in the ring and he’s quite heavy-handed so I will have to respect that on the night. I’ve got a tougher fight on my hands than people expect.”