Johnny Nelson has tipped Jack Catterall to have his hand raised this Saturday in Leeds against Josh Taylor in a rematch that has been two years in the making.
Scotsman Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) successfully defended his then undisputed super-lightweight championship against his English counterpart Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs) in February 2022, despite the result leaving a bitter taste in the mouth for the challenger who believed he had done more than enough to wrestle the undisputed championship away from Taylor at the SSE Hydro, Glasgow.
Catterall had long sought a rematch, but it had been difficult to secure due to injuries and varying other factors, including a switch of promoter for Catterall and Taylor being mandated to defend his WBO title against Teofimo Lopez last summer in New York.
Taylor returns for the first time since his defeat to Lopez against Catterall and has been confident, insisting his performance more than two years ago in Glasgow was his worst.
Former world cruiserweight champion and now pundit Nelson believed Taylor had met his match for the first time in Catterall. He suggested that the former undisputed titleholder has to change his mindset and the way he approaches Catterall this time.
“I think Catterall spooked him [in the first fight]. Every time Catterall sees him, he puts it on him when Taylor is usually the one who does that. He’s a bit spiteful, and he’s got a bit of an edge to him; now, he’s had to humble down,” Nelson told talkSPORT.
“I like Josh Taylor, but I think he’s a bully of a fighter. You need to be, sometimes, but bullies can’t check themselves. This [rematch] will be a totally different fight. He’s [Taylor] going to have to humble himself, as instinctively he’ll want to be the bully in the ring, and that is where he could have a problem.
“Jack hijacked him the last time; the style was unpredictable, he [Jack] was herky-jerky and all of a sudden, Josh has someone in front of him that he thought couldn’t beat him. He isn’t playing to the rules.”
Despite Taylo maintaining his belief that he won the original encounter, Nelson feels that Taylor knows deep down that Catterall can beat him.
“Now you’ve got a fighter in Jack that not just believes but knows he has the beating of Taylor. Now it’s down to Taylor’s boxing skill; if he has the true skill and ability, then he should rise to the top, otherwise, if you’re just going in there to bully him, that’s gone; I think his TNT has gone.
“I’m going with Catterall. I don’t think Taylor is the fighter he was. I think that youth, that arrogance, that spite that he had that got him to where he got has gone. Time catches up with everyone. I don’t think he’s that fighter anymore. When you’re in there with someone you know can beat you, it affects your self-belief.”
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