The press tour is becoming a rarity in boxing these days, as the expense and varied schedules often make it difficult to accomplish. But had organizers known what was going to come on the two-city whirlwind tour that stopped in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Manchester, England, to promote the April 27 rematch in Leeds, England, between super lightweights Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall, they'd have sold tickets to it.
The rivalry between Taylor, the former undisputed super lightweight champion, and Catterall was intense even before they met for the first time on Feb. 26, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. But after their controversial first fight, in which some believe the upstart Catterall deserved to win, well, the rivalry has reached new heights.
Matchroom's Eddie Hearn was promoter, security guard and bouncer as the two not only traded barbs but made every attempt to get at each other.
Taylor beamed broadly as he spoke of the tour.
"It's been great and was a good laugh," Taylor said.
It didn't look like Hearn was having too much fun as he tried to keep them from tearing each other up before they actually get paid to do it on April 27. But for Taylor, he's hit a crossroads.
He took part in the World Boxing Super Series' super lightweight tournament and came out on top, winning the unified title by defeating Regis Prograis in the finals. He made it to undisputed status when he defeated WBC-WBO champion Jose Ramirez on May 22, 2021, in Las Vegas.
It was a crowning achievement and put Taylor in all of the various pound-for-pound lists. He sat on top of the boxing world and was mentioned as a potential opponent for then-WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
He won a split decision over Catterall in their first fight, but he was knocked down and simply didn't look good in the process.
He struggled to make the 140-pound limit against Catterall and was brutally honest about it. He'd been in big events for a dozen years at that point, and he'd finally become undisputed champion. He was a heavy favorite to defeat Catterall and found himself looking ahead.
"The reason I struggled with the weight against Catterall is becuase I was in a completely different mindset at the time," Taylor told KevinIole.com. "I had just gone after Mount Everest, and I conquered it. And straight away after that, I came back and fought an unknown guy, Jack Catterall, who had never beaten anyone of note. I was thinking, 'This guy is not at my level.' I never took the training seriously. I was still getting in all of my stuff, but my mentality was, 'Somebody else should be in front of me.' I was thinking about being up here [raises his hand above his head] and you guys in the media were like, 'You've got to move up and fight Terence Crawford,' and this and that. There was talk of me in all of these mega-fights and I got carried away with it.
"I was thinking about what I was going to do in the next fight and I lost focus on the threat that was right in front of me. That is the biggest mistake I made, underestimating my opponent. One of the first rules in warfare is never underestimate your opponent, and I made that mistake. I had all of this success in a short period of time and there was all this hype about me and this talk around me and all of these super fights which could happen and to be honest, I lost track of what was right in front of me."
"I was thinking about what I was going to do in the next fight and I lost focus on the threat that was right in front of me. That is the biggest mistake I made, underestimating my opponent. One of the first rules in warfare is never underestimate your opponent, and I made that mistake." -- Josh Taylor, explaining his poor performance on Feb. 26, 2022, against Jack Catterall.
Taylor said that Catterall held a lot in the first fight and didn't do a lot of punching, and his team has made a point that it wants that addressed in the rematch. But that wasn't what happened in his lost last year to Teofimo Lopez. Taylor trainer Joe McNally said he was against Taylor going forward against Lopez given that he was injured.
But looking at the first Catterall fight, McNally said there is an obvious path to victory, particularly if the referee cuts down on the holding.
"I’m 100 percent confident in Josh," McNally said. "the first fight was a cracker and I just hope that we get the opportunity for Josh to showcase his skills, Jack with his counter-punchin,g and we have the right official, so there’s no holding and clinching and they let the fight flow. If we get that, we’ll get a good fight and we’ll be in for a good night.
"We’re in professional boxing, small gloves, and anyone can be knocked out, but Jack isn’t a knockout puncher and that’s a fact. He couldn’t get an old, shot Jorge Linares out of there, so to think he’s going to get Josh out of there? Not a chance. I just hope he performs and he’s ready because he’s with a fantastic team, because Josh will be ready. May the best man win [but] we’re really confident."
Taylor is eager to right what he sees as a wrong and get back on track. He also wants to become more active after fighting just one time in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. That's not enough work to stay sharp, particularly in a division with elite talents like Lopez, Devin Haney, Prograis, Subriel Matias, Ryan Garcia and, potentially, Gervonta Davis.
He hopes to be able to get back on a normal schedule and fight perhaps twice more after Catterall. But one thing he won't do is underestimate Catterall again.
"I want to fight more often and that's a fact, but there is only one fight that matters and that's Jack Catterall on [April] the 27th," Taylor said. "I made that mistake before and believe me, I'm not doing it again. I'm going to set things right this time."
Mark Robinson/Matchroom
Former undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor gestures to the crowd in Manchester, England, during a press conference to announce his April 27 rematch with Jack Catterall.