The long-awaited rematch between British super lightweights Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor has been set for April 27th at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. Matchroom Boxing, to whom Catterall is signed, will be the main promoter for the fight between the two heated rivals, with global streaming service DAZN set to broadcast the rematch.
Jack Catterall (28-1, 13 KO’s) and Josh Taylor (19-1, 13 KO’s) will look to settle their rivalry in a bout that was long overdue since they faced each other almost two years ago on February 26th in 2022. Their 2022 bout was considered highly-controversial when Taylor just barely scraped by with a win by split decision despite the public consensus having pinpointed Catterall as the real winner of their match.
There will be no titles on the line for the upcoming April 27th match, contrary to their first match when Josh Taylor was the undisputed super lightweight/junior welterweight champion and had every single one of the world titles―as well as The Ring lineal title―in his grasp. However, with the animosity that exists between the two, the April 27th bout is expected to be a much more heated affair despite the lack of any significant title on the line.
There is some uncertainty that lingers as to the timing of the match given Josh Taylor is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KO’s) who defeated him in June of 2023. Taylor’s match against Lopez remains the only bout he’s had since first winning against Catterall, however, the rematch had already been in the works since last year and was eventually postponed when Taylor chose to face Lopez instead of Catterall.
The rematch will be staged at super lightweight and is set for a total of twelve rounds; with the long duration of the match signaling the importance that it has, and the high level at which both fighters are expected to compete.
While the match does seem to favor Jack Catterall as Josh Taylor has appeared on several of the sanctioning bodies’ 147-pound rankings as of recently, the most significant parts of Taylor’s career have been at super lightweight. While, Catterall is in better form, having had at least two victories since losing to Taylor in 2022, Taylor still has plenty of experience on the top level and would likely not have taken the fight for the money alone; indicating that he is well-motivated to prove that he was the rightful winner following the controversial decision that declared him as such during his first match with Catterall.
Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor will be headlining at the First Direct Arena, with the event also set to be supplemented by a co-main event between British super bantamweight contender Peter McGrail (8-1, 5 KO’s) and American fighter Ja’Rico O’Quinn (17-1-1, 9 KO’s)―which is also set to be a rematch based on their first fight which saw O’Quinn win unexpectedly by a fifth-round knockout (KO) despite him heavily losing on the judges’ scorecards to McGrail during the match.
Additional fights for the Matchroom-promoted April 27th card will be announced in the near future, while DAZN has already been confirmed to serve as the exclusive broadcaster to the fight card that will be headlined by two fiery rematches that are sure to ignite plenty of excitement for the British public.
