Josh Taylor avoids massive upset by edging Jack Catterall to retain junior welterweight titles

The 'Tartan Tornado' said afterward it was likely his last fight at 140 pounds before moving up

Josh Taylor came to Glasgow on Saturday to make the first defense of his undisputed junior welterweight championships in a homecoming bout with mandatory challenger Jack Catterall. Despite being viewed as little more than an opponent, Catterall, who'd previously taken step-aside money to allow the unification bout between Taylor and Jose Ramirez, seemed to do enough to have deserved a shocking upset victory. Unfortunately for Catterall, who scored a knockdown of Taylor, the judges granted Taylor a split decision victory.

Catterall got off to a roaring start in the opening rounds, consistently beating Taylor to the punch in exchanges and using a sharp jab to split Taylor's guard and open up straight left hands from his southpaw stance. He also showed a willingness to get a bit dirty in the clinch, trying to match Taylor in the bending of rules.

Taylor seemed locked on landing single power punches and using his size to wear on the challenger. That tactic continued to cause problems for Taylor, with Catterall's defense allowing him to avoid most of the big shots while returning fire and connecting at a higher volume, even visibly hurting Taylor with some of the straight left hands through the first half of the fight.