Catterall Wants The Taylor Rematch, Bivol’s Return Lined Up For January 13th
In the latest boxing news, Jack Catterall has expressed his desire to make the biggest fights moving forward.
Catterall’s confidence is riding high following his unanimous-decision win over Jorge Linares as the latter announced his retirement from the sport in the aftermath.
Prior to the win, however, Catterall’s desire for a rematch with Josh Taylor was clear. During their first bought, Taylor was given a split-decision victory, with the majority of the boxing community feeling that Catterall had been deprived of a win and the chance to become undisputed at 140. With that being said, Catterall is aiming to right that wrong.
Catterall On Taylor
“It became personal after the fight, he said a lot of things, a lot of direct messages, a lot of back and forth. I don’t hold stuff too personally in the sport of boxing, it’s a business but with Taylor it has become a bit personal,” Catterall stated
Nevertheless, such a rematch has been complicated by a few factors. Taylor’s future at 140 is uncertain, following his loss to Teofimo Lopez.
The Scot suffered a unanimous-decision defeat, as the American picked up the WBO junior welterweight belt. In the aftermath of the fight, Taylor did not rule out a move to 147 on the grounds that making 140 may no longer be possible.
In addition, the Scot has nothing else to prove at the weight class, having won all the belts. And yet, Catterall still had aims on facing Taylor at a catchweight. However, if that doesn’t go ahead, the Brit has lined up plenty of other fighters.
“You’ve got Ryan Garcia, the winner of Devin Haney vs Regis Prograis, there’s a bucketful of names. I’m ranked in all the governing bodies in the top ten and currently holding the WBA International title, so it’s about what fight puts me in that number one spot to challenge for a world title. We’ve got Haney vs Prograis on December 9, that’ll be a fight I’ll be keeping a close eye on. “That’s a fight [Prograis] I love as well, I’ve been to a couple of his fights and I need and want that opportunity to prove that I can mix it and I can beat these guys. Yeah I love that [Tank Davis] fight.
“I’m in the sport of boxing to be involved in these big fights, I don’t want to finish my career in the next four or five years not being that fighter whose taken the opportunities and that’s why I’m staying in the gym and staying ready so when the call comes in I’ll be ready for these fights,” Catterall
Bivol’s Return
Meanwhile, Dmitry Bivol’s return is now being planned for January, as per Eddie Hearn.
The Russian has not fought since his win over Zurdo Ramirez last year, as a hand injury has prevented the WBC light heavyweight champion’s progress since his win over Canelo Alvarez.
At the same time, Bivol has struggled to get an opponent. A rematch with Alvarez fell apart as both fighters wished to face each other at different weights.
Bivol was keen on facing Alvarez at 168 for his undisputed super middleweight title. Meanwhile, Alvarez was intent on having the rematch at 175 to remove any excuses that could emerge from Bivol being weight drained.
In addition, a bout with Artur Beterbiev had been complicated by the WBC’s decision to ban Russian fighters from fighting for its belt due to the war in Ukraine.
However, Bivol does retain the right to go through an appeal process to navigate that. But it appears that there are other issues preventing the fight too.
“Of course it’s not because of fighters. It’s not because of me or him. The reason because of who will make this fight, Matchroom or Top Rank, DAZN, ESPN,” Bivol
But now that Bivol appears to have gotten over the injury, the boxer’s return is close even if an opponent has not been named. Anthony Yarde could be the ideal opponent since the Brit had just faced Beterbiev in his last bout.
And that could serve as a perfect segue way for Bivol to then face the winner of Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith for all the belts at 175. In response, this is what Hearn had to say.
“[Bivol] looks to return in January, possibly January 13 in Las Vegas, and then we want to make the [Artur] Beterbiev fight. There’s been a few approaches about that fight. “I truly believe Callum Smith wins that fight by knockout. So, if we can do Callum Smith against Bivol for undisputed, even better. So, we’ll have to see,” Hearn stated
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