Jack Catterall avenged his prior defeat to Josh Taylor by unanimous decision on Saturday, but for a moment, it looked like promoter Bob Arum might try to throw a few punches himself.
In a fight that most experts believed played out in two halves with Catterall starting strong and Taylor winning the later rounds, there was no controversy once the scorecards were announced. The final scores tallied 117-111, 117-111 and 116-113 with Catterall scoring the unanimous decision win over 12 grueling rounds.
The official #TaylorCatterall2 scorecards pic.twitter.com/y2z59sJ3Ux
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 25, 2024
Following the conclusion of the fight, Arum grabbed the microphone from fellow promoter Eddie Hearn and erupted about the result.
“I saw the fight like everybody else,” Arum shouted. “Those scorecards were a disgrace, they were an absolutely disgrace. I really feel sorry for Josh. I thought he won the fight. Those scorecards were ridiculous.
“That’s a lesson. I never ever allow an American fighter to come here with this British born scoring the fight. Those scores were ridiculous.”
Bob Arum: Those scorecards were a disgrace.pic.twitter.com/ewEwRgFWJY
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 25, 2024
The win served as Catterall’s revenge after he fell to Taylor back in 2022, which serves as the only defeat on his resume. As for Taylor, he dropped his second fight in a row after losing his WBO and Ring light welterweight titles to Teofimo Lopez via unanimous decision this past June.
As for Hearn, who was there supporting Catterall, he agreed with Arum that the scorecards should have been much closer but he ultimately believes the right fighter won.
“Bob’s seen a lot of fights,” Hearn said. “I agree with him — I think the cards were much too wide. But I have absolutely no doubt Jack Catterall won that fight. Justice was served tonight.”
As for Catterall, he was mostly disappointed that the belts were no longer on the line after Taylor lost his titles to Lopez in 2023. There’s always a chance these two see each other again in a trilogy but for now it appears Catterall is anxious to test himself against some new competition.
“Listen, I believe I won the fight,” Catterall said. “I took more risks this time. Josh is an elite operator, undisputed world champion, we knew what we was up against. I felt like through the gears, boxed smart and even in the second half of the fight, I felt like I was more reserved, I was controlling the place and I wasn’t getting hit with big punches. I was landing clean.
“It’s bittersweet tonight. No world titles. I won that fight. We can close that chapter with Josh Taylor.”
