The long-expected rematch between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall has been put off for an undetermined amount of time. The two British fighters fought nearly a year ago at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, in a match that drew controversy when Taylor won by split-decision despite being knocked down once, incurring a penalty for punching after the bell and seemingly not overcoming Catterall’s staunch offensive approach.
Though rumors linked the former Junior Welterweight/Super Lightweight undisputed champion, Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KO’s), with Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KO’s), confirmation was officially received on February 14 when the chairman of the WBO, Luis Salas, revealed the email he sent to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum who represents Lopez.
“In the wake of the recent postponement of the Josh Taylor/Jack Catterall WBO voluntary title defense, the WBO World Championship Committee is hereby ordering the commencement of negotiations for the Mandatory title defense obligation in the Jr. Welterweight division between Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez, Jr.” The statement from the WBO president reads.
“The camps herein are granted 10 days upon issuance of this notice to reach an agreement or purse bid proceedings shall be conducted pursuant to WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests.
“The minimum bid for the Jr. Welterweight Division is $150,000 (One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars). Any of the parties involved may request a purse bid ceremony at any time during the negotiation process.”
Jack Catterall’s (26-1, 13 KO’s) promoter, Ben Shalom, has reacted with shock to the news and claimed contracts had already been signed prior for Catterall to face Taylor.
“We have a contract for that fight. Talk (of Teofimo Lopez fighting Taylor) is a bit confusing to us but we have a contract for the fight and we’re waiting to agree a date as soon as Josh Taylor’s fit.” Shalom said in an interview with Sky Sports.
Josh Taylor seemed set to announce his rematch with Catterall before an injury he suffered in January of the new year delayed the fight. In wake of that recent news, it seems the WBO has decided to allow Taylor to negotiate a title defense against another opponent, Teofimo Lopez. Though Lopez holds the number one position on the WBO ranking boards, Taylor is apparently still nursing the injury he suffered last month, and will not be able to face Lopez any sooner than he had before he was slated to fight Catterall..
There are also some question marks surrounding Teofimo Lopez’s current ranking position. The former unified Lightweight world champion has only recently joined the 140 lbs division, but barely scathed past Sandor Martin (40-3, 13 KO’s) who he narrowly beat by split-decision in December of last year. Despite a performance that many would consider to be underwhelming given the result and Lopez having been knocked down in his fight with Martin, the American still found himself ranked high amongst the sanctioning bodies, specifically the WBC and WBO who both regarded him as the number one contender.
Though the WBO moved quickly, Shalom’s claims of Catterall already having a deal set in place to face Taylor causes a number of issues. Potentially, Lopez could beat Taylor which would not guarantee Catterall the opportunity to fight for a world title against Lopez.
There also seems to be a lot of confusion as to why the agreed upon contract between Taylor and Catterall could not simply be adhered to, rather than another mandatory challenger being picked for Taylor. As Taylor is injured anyway, there would be no sense in proclaiming him to fight another opponent as by the time he’s healed, nothing would stop him from facing Catterall and settle the score from their first match.
