Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall: Chorley star insists rematch must be next with Scottish star staying as super-lightweight champion

When his controversial victory over the Chorley star saw him escape with his crown as undisputed world super-lightweight champion, Taylor insisted it would be his last fight at 140lbs.

However, three months on, it increasingly looks like Taylor will not be moving up to welterweight, opening the door for a rematch with Catterall, who saw the performance of his career end in a split decision defeat despite most observers believing he was a clear winner.

Post-fight, Taylor said: ““My days at 140 are numbered. My future is at welterweight.

“Jack Catterall deserves another title shot, and as soon as possible. I’ve never ducked a challenge in my career, and I’d be happy to fight Jack again, but it would have to be at welterweight. Jack is a great sportsman, a helluva fighter, and deserves every bit of the admiration he’s been receiving.”

Taylor has vacated the WBA title as he was not in a position to face their mandatory challenger Alberto Puello.

But he still holds the WBC, WBO and IBF straps with his American promoters Top Rank talking up a potential clash with WBC mandatory Jose Zepeda rather than big fights at 147lbs.

Taylor’s trainer Ben Davison is the only one to suggest that a Catterall rematch could be the former Olympian’s next outing.

Catterall is less than impressed with how things have transpired, even bringing in a lawyer after seeing the biggest win of his career taken away from him.

He told talkSPORT, “I do believe there’s only one fight for Josh at 140lbs and that’s against me.

“Ultimately he cannot go and fight Zepeda and if he does, he’s not a man of his word.

“He said we would have a rematch at welterweight or a catchweight, but now he’s decided to stay at 140 lbs.

“The fans are calling for it, I’m calling for it, it’s an easy fight to be made, let’s get it on.”

Catterall, a huge pre-fight underdog, controlled the first half of the fight and knocked down the champion in the eighth round of their meeting in Glasgow at the end of February.

However only Howard Foster gave Catterall the decision by a point, 113-112, while both Ian John-Lewis, 114-11, and Victor Loughlin, 113-112, gave the nod to the home favourite.

A British Boxing Board of Control investigation resulted in John-Lewis being downgraded as an official.

A call from the BBBoC for Catterall to be made mandatory challenger by all the world governing bodies has fallen on deaf ears however.

In all the fall-out, the town of Chorley has backed one of their own like never before, the Rose and Crown pub on St Thomas’s Road even changing its name to the Catterall Arms for a period of time.

“It makes me proud that where I’m from the community just comes together to support their own,” Catterall said in March.

“I’m the first to support the town in any way possible. Over the years I’ve been to events and we get behind each other.”