Jack Catterall’s told-you-so tour continues — and Jorge Linares is next

Jack Catterall was at ringside last January in Manchester, England, with Josh Taylor two seats to his left during the Liam Smith-Chris Eubank Jr. fight. The plan called for Catterall and Taylor to face off during the card and announce their rematch on March 4, but Catterall found out the night before that a different announcement was coming: his rematch with Taylor was canceled again.

The injury was a torn plantar fascia for Taylor, and this time there would be no rescheduled date. After several postponements, Taylor instead fought Teofimo Lopez Jr. in June and was routed by unanimous decision.

Catterall felt like the uncrowned champion at 140 pounds after a controversial split decision loss to Taylor in February 2022. ESPN also scored the fight for Catterall and ranked him ahead of Taylor – and Lopez – in the division. Catterall, 30, laughed when he was ruled out ahead of the first fight against Taylor and, to this day, feels he has something to prove. He hoped to leave no doubt about this rematch, but Taylor’s loss to Lopez changed those plans.

Now the Englishman turns his attention to Jorge Linares, who Catterall faces on Saturday in Liverpool, England, as he continues his “I told you so” tour.

“After having tasted this world [class] level — I think I beat Taylor, I didn’t make the decision — but I kind of proved, not only to myself but to the general public, that I belong in these big fights “Catterall, whose only fight against top competition came against Taylor, told ESPN on Saturday.

“Right now I can only think of Linares, but in an ideal world you beat Linares and there are big fights there and world title fights. … We’ll see what Josh Taylor does, [I] I would love to spank him.

Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs) doesn’t have the hardware to prove he’s the guy at 140 pounds, although it’s hard to deny his claims. He was a 6-1 underdog when he traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, in February 2022 to challenge Taylor for the undisputed junior welterweight championship.

Catterall appeared to do enough to earn the victory – he even beat Taylor in the eighth round – but dropped a controversial split decision defeat that left him feeling disgusted.

After months and months of training and waiting for a rematch that never materialized in the ring, Catterall signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and returned 15 months after Taylor’s fight with a rust-free decision victory over journeyman Darragh Foley in May. .

“It was very frustrating,” admitted Catterall. “You invest a lot of time and money in training camps. … He withdrew, it got carried over to the new year. Then one thing after another, then his injury and then we got to Smith-Eubank, scheduled to climb into the ring and announces the fight.

“It happens, I get a call at 11:00 p.m. the day before, the fight is over with no clear clarity on what was going on. So it was a frustrating time because I recently turned 30. I think my style of fighting gave me longevity. [a] professional [for] 10 years, but I also have the impression that I don’t have many kilometers on the clock….

“I know I have a good journey ahead of me now to compete in good fights and things like Taylor withdrawing twice in a 10 month period is not ideal for me.”

Inactivity is never ideal, but Saturday’s match with former three-division champion Linares provides a better opportunity for Catterall to showcase his class ahead of what is shaping up to be a pivotal 2024.

Of course, Linares is past his prime. The Venezuelan is 38 years old, has lost three fights in a row (the last two in Russia, including one by TKO) and has not won since February 2020. On the other hand, Linares (47-8, 29 KO) has a recognizable name on the American and British boxing scene, is a very accomplished fighter and managed to knock out Devin Haney late in their fight. He also unseated Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2018.

“The motivation I have right now is the same as seven or eight years ago…” Linares said. “We’re going to have a great fight. It’s the hardest fight of my life. I have to win this fight. … This time it’s different because I’m coming from a loss.”

At his best, Linares was revered for his blinding speed, flashy combinations and smooth boxing. But he’s also a natural 135 pounds with a shaky chin; he finished six times. In his only fight at 140 pounds, Linares was knocked out by Pablo Cesar Cano in a single round.

Catterall is an 8-1 favorite to defeat Linares, but a distance victory would really put the division’s four titleholders on notice.

Regis Prograis, who is also with Matchroom, defends his WBC title against Devin Haney on December 9.

“I think I made it clear that I would love the Regis fight…” Catterall said. “I think the division right now is electric. You’ve got the guys coming from 135, around 140. There’s a lot of good names, but right now it’s Linares and that’s it.”

Besides Prograis, there’s Subriel Matias, the volume punching machine who puts his IBF belt on the line against Shojahon Ergashev on November 25. Rolando “Rolly” Romero holds the WBA title while Lopez, the biggest star of the quartet, owns the title. WBO belt.

The titles were broken when Taylor vacated one belt at a time in pursuit of the Catterall rematch, but the man who most deserved a shot at the belts has yet to get another chance. Catterall could earn a second title fight next year, but there are other big fights at 140.

Junior welterweight is also home to Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion, and top fighters like Ryan Garcia and Jose Ramirez. Catterall’s manager Sam Jones said he was fighting Linares “because all the champions are busy”.

“Jack is a big crowd pleaser, so he wants to give the fans what they want to see, but he has to take care of Linares first.”

Even if it’s not for a title and even if it doesn’t happen next, the Taylor rematch remains the biggest fight of all for Catterall. Grudge matches always sell in boxing, and this one doesn’t need WWE-style histrionics to create hype.

“It’s personal and he’s said a lot of derogatory things over the last couple of years…,” Catterall said of Taylor.

“He’s not someone you’d want to go sit down with and have a cup of tea and catch up with. I don’t think he’s a nice guy and what he said to me, he made it personal. So I hope I don’t. I won’t run into him multiple times anytime soon.”

Unless it’s in a ring, of course.

In the meantime, Catterall wants to show everyone how good he is. That the performance against Taylor was no fluke. That he deserves to be called the best man at 140 pounds. It may serve as another reminder to everyone on Saturday.