Josh and Jack Showdown

By James Blears

The rivalry doesn`t get more traditional or keener edged, than a Scotland against England Braveheart Battle, and so Josh “Tartan Tornedo” Taylor Vs Jack “El Gato” Catterall is a rip roaring classic, especially as it`s for the undisputed super lightweight title.

It was to have landed on December 18th, but Josh suffered a knee injury in training, so everything out of kilter and: “Auld Lang Syne” was postponed and rescheduled for February 26th for the bonnie boxers. A long awaited homecoming for Josh, and it`s going to be at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, north of Hadrian`s Wall. You can almost already hear the chanting of fight fans: “I belong to Glasgow, Dear Old Glasgow Town.”

Jack from Chorley, Lancashire has the chance of a lifetime, wrapped up in much more than a five pound note, fighting for all of the belts. But to win, he`ll have to swoop in with the stealthy, lethal taloned skills of a night owl. His unbeaten record of twenty six fights including thirteen KO`s shows he`s no pussycat! A true Sassenach challenge!

Josh who`s also unbeaten, has rapidly established his superstar credentials in just eighteen fights, with thirteen KO`s. Jack temporarily stepped aside for Josh to fight Jose Carlos Ramirez, who held the WBC and WBO titles. Josh was aiming to add them to his WBA and IBF belts…and he did!

He achieved it in style, knocking down Ramirez in the sixth with a blistering left hook counter, and again in the seventh with a left uppercut really close in. Ramirez fought on and back with grit, guts and grim determination, but those two knockdowns proved decisive with Josh winning 114-112 on all three Judges` scorecards, to become Scotland`s only undisputed World Champion, since Ken Buchanan, his friend and idol.

But, we have to look back a couple of fights previous, to truly access and assess Josh`s Scotland The Brave claymore mettle. It was against the tough, resolute and also very hard hitting Regis Prograis. The IBF, WBA, WBC Diamond and the Muhammad Ali Trophy at stake, in the final of the World Boxing Super Series.

At the final presser, Josh tersely urged Regis to remove sun glasses and Regis demurred. Determined to put Regis in the shade, Josh started brightly and effectively, but Regis menacingly came back with some crunching, clobbering, caber tossing body shots. It was a give and take, see saw war, with both marked up and then cut, also sporting nose bleeds apiece. Regis came on strong especially in the twelfth round. But Josh`s punches throughout had been crisper and more accurate. He won the unanimous decision, but assessing the firefight, it was enticingly close, to those: “In the ken.”

For a super lightweight, Josh is tall and rangy. He stands five feet ten inches tall with a reach of sixty nine and a half inches. While Jack is five feet seven inches tall with a reach of sixty seven inches. Jack will need to cut the distance and use his blazing hand speed, plus searing body attack to make as well as leave his mark.

Josh who`s also a southpaw has accomplished a high proportion of his KO victories with his very own devastating body attack. The haggis onslaught! He himself has lightning fast hands and an unbending iron will to win. Plenty of thistle!

During one their several press conferences leading up to this point, supervised by Sky`s gravel voiced Adam Smith, Josh tartly told Jack that he`s worked way too hard to lose his titles. Unabashed, Jack said that`s precisely what will happen, to which Josh asked how? retorting that he`s dreaming and should go back to sleep! It didn`t faze Jack, who`s described as: “Water off a duck`s back laid back.”

Josh`s Trainer is Ben Davidson, has coached the great Tyson Fury. Jack`s Trainers are ex British and European super welterweight champion Jamie Moore and “Flat Cap” Nigel Travis. Each corner appreciates and realizes that at this rarefied Ben Nevis level, the first mistake would surely prove the last. A long drop into the glen!

For every fight, lean Josh wears a variation of tartan shorts of different Clans, and his team unfurls a Scottish flag. By George, it`ll be interesting to see if Jack wears Union or Union Jack shorts? We`re definitely going to hear the wailing caterwaul of the bagpipes prior to the beginning of hostilities. Both man respects the other, so perhaps they might share a dram of Scotch, but that would be after the heat, when dust settles on to the peat.

Both thrive as pressure fighters and so we`re going to see one helluva bust up. A real fistfight in The Gorbals! Josh has fought the higher caliber of opponents, but Jack who`s been a WBO Intercontinental Champion, has more than earned his mandatory challenge. He too is a quality fighter, who possesses real power in both fists and the courage of a lion, rampant…or otherwise.

Josh and Jack favor fighting at close quarters, so their encounter is going to be a war of attrition. A Highland Fling, not a Viennese Waltz. Initially, neither will be willing to give ground, ceding not an inch. But, as the fight progresses, and with it the wear and tear accumulates, one of them will gain the high ground and grind down the other. The vast majority of world title fights are thrillers, but this one will exceed even that! While it lasts, it`ll be a barnburner at the croft.

A win for Josh would yet again confirm him as The Pride of Scotland. A win for Jack would transform him into Top Cat of Hoagy`s Alley…in the words of Frank Randall: “The Emperor of Lancashire.”

WBC STATS 

WBC SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TITLETHE SSE HYDROGLASGOW, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

 TV: UNITED KINGDOM SKY / ESPN+  

THIS WILL BE THE WBC’S 2, 130 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE   FIGHT   IN   THE   FIFTY-NINE YEAR HISTORY OF THE WBC

TOP RANK, INC. & ULTIMATE BOXXER PRESENT:

JOSH TAYLOR (GB)

WBC Champion                                                  

DATE OF BIRTH: JANUARY 2, 1991

PLACE OF BIRTH:   EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

RESIDENCE:          PRESTONPANS, SCOTLAND

AGE:                            31

NICK NAME:           THE TARTAN TORNADO

RECORD:                  18-0-0, 13 KO’S

KO’S:                           72.3 %

GUARD:                     SOUTHPAW

TOTAL ROUNDS:  103

WORLD TITLE FIGHTS: 4 (4-0-0)

TRAINER:                 BEN DAVISON

MANAGER:             MTK GLOBAL

PROMOTER:           TOP RANK

  JACK CATTERALL (GB)

Challenger/WBC no. 9

DATE OF BIRTH: JULY 1, 1993

PLACE OF BIRTH:   CHORLEY, LANCASHIRE

RESIDENCE:          CHORLEY, LANCASHIRE

AGE:                            28

NICK NAME:           EL GATO

RECORD:                  26-0-0, 13 KO’S

KO’S:                           50 %

GUARD:                     SOUTHPAW

TOTAL ROUNDS:  160

TITLES:                     BBBofC

TRAINER:                 JAMIE MOORE

MANAGER:             FRANK WARREN

PROMOTER:  QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS

WBC´S SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS

NAME                                                                      PERIODO CHAMPION

1. ROBERTO CRUZ (PHIL) 1963
2. EDDIE PERKINS (US) 1963 – 1965
3. CARLOS HERNANDEZ (VEN) 1965 – 1966
4. SANDRO LOPOPOLO (ITA) 1966 – 1967
5. PAUL FUJI (US) 1967 – 1968
6. PEDRO ADIGUE (PHIL) 1968 – 1970
7. BRUNO ARCARI (ITALY) 1970 – 1974
8. PEDRO FERNÁNDEZ (SPAIN) 1974 – 1975
9. SAENSAK MUANGSURIN (THAIL) 1975 – 1976
10. MIGUEL VELAZQUEZ (SPAIN) 1976
11. SAENSAK MUANGSURIN (THAIL) * 1976 – 1978
12. SANG-HYUN KIM (KOREA) 1978 – 1980
13. SAOUL MAMBY (US) 1980 – 1982
14. LEROY HALEY (US) 1982 – 1983
15. BRUCE CURRY (US) 1983 – 1984
16. BILL COSTELLO (US) 1984 – 1985
17. LONNIE SMITH (US) 1985 – 1986
18. RENE ARREDONDO (MEXICO) 1986
19. TSUYOSHI HAMADA (JAPAN) 1986 – 1987
20. RENE ARREDONDO (MÉXICO) * 1987
21. ROGER MAYWEATHER (US) 1987 – 1989
22. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEX) 1989 – 1994
23. FRANKIE RANDALL (US) 1994
24. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEX) * 1994 – 1996
25. OSCAR DE LA HOYA (US-MEX) 1996 – 1997
26. KONSTANTIN TSZYU (AUSTRALIA) 1998 – 2003
27. ARTURO GATTI (CANADA) 2004 – 2005
28. FLOYD MAYWEATHER (US) 2005
29. JUNIOR WITTER (GB) 2006 – 2008
30. TIMOTHY BRADLEY (US) 2008 – 2009
31. DEVON ALEXANDER (US) 2009 – 2011
32. TIMOTHY BRADLEY (US) * 2011
33. ERIK MORALES (MEXICO) 2011 – 2012
34. LUCAS MATTHYYSSE (ARGENTINA) Interim 2012 – 2013
35. DANNY GARCIA (US) 2012 – 2015
36. VIKTOR POSTOL (UKRAINE) 2015 – 2016
37. TERENCE CRAWFORD (US) 2016 – 2018
38. REGIS PROGRAIS (US) Interim 2018 – 2019
39. JOSE CARLOS RAMIREZ (US) 2018 – 2021
40. JOSH TAYLOR (GB) 2021 –

* REGAINED

WBC´S SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT TOP TEN CHAMPIONS

1. JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEX)

2. OSCAR DE LA HOYA (US/MEX)

3. KOSTYA TSZYU (RUS/AUST)

4. ROGER MAYWEATHER (US)

5. TIMOTHY BRADLEY (US)

6. BRUNO ARCARI (ITALY)

7. ARTURO GATTI (CANADA)

8. DANNY GARCIA (US)

9. DEVON ALEXANDER (US)

10. SAENSAK MUANGSURIN (THAI)

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION

THERE HAVE BEEN 35 WORLD CHAMPIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE WBC AND JUST 4 OF THEM HAVE REGAINED THEIR TITLE:

SAENSAK MUANGSURIN (THAILAND)

RENE ARREDONDO (MEXICO)

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEXICO)

TIMOTHY BRADLEY (US)

134 SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

THIS WILL BE THE 79th. WORLD TITLE FIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES

WBC SUPERWLIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE BOUTS BY COUNTRY

USA                             78

ITALY                          12

JAPAN                          10

MEXICO                       6

THAILAND                   5

SPAIN                          4

ENGLAND                    4

KOREA                         3

VENEZUELA                2

PHILIPPINES                2

JAMAICA                     2

PUERTO RICO            1

NIGERIA                      1

INDONESIA                  1

DENMARK                   1

CANADA                      1

AUSTRALIA                 1

TOTAL FIGHTS       134

WBC TITLE BOUTS HELD IN SCOTLAND

7 BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN THE SCOTLAND IN ALL WBC HISTORY

THIS IS THE FIRST WBC SUPERLIGHTWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT HAVE BEEN HELD IN SCOTLAND 

BREAKDOWN BY DIVISION:

LIGHT                            5

SUPERMIDDLE             1

BANTAM                        1

TOTAL FIGHTS    7

17/04/1979        JIM WATT – ALFREDO PITALUA              TKO 12     GLASGOW          LI

03/11/1979        JIM WATT – ROBERTO VAZQUEZ           TKO 9       GLASGOW          LI

14/03/1980        JIM WATT – CHARLIE NASH                      TKO 4       GLASGOW          LI

07/06/1980        JIM WATT – HOWARD DAVIS                    DEC 15     GLASGOW          LI

31/10/1980        JIM WATT – SEAN O´GRADY                     TKO 12     GLASGOW          LI

06/03/1993        NIGEL BENN – MAURO GALVANO         DEC 12     GLASGOW          SM

03/11/2018        NONITO DONAIRE – RYAN BURNETT   TKO 4       GLASGOW          BA

(WBC DIAMOND)       (WBA CHAMPION)