Boxing: Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall Preview

In a rare boxing occasion, every one of the 140lbs belts are on the line in Glasgow on Saturday night.

That’s the WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine belts (keep up!) at super-lightweight, as local hero Josh Taylor defends them against his mandatory challenger, Jack Catterall.

Both men are unbeaten but have mixed it with very different levels of competition.

Manchester’s Jack Catterall knows how big on an underdog he is in Glasgow, but is confident in becoming the latest in a long line of dogs that can prove their bite on the big stage.

Let’s take a closer look at the fight and the betting for Saturday night.

Huge underdog

At 9/1 to win with most major bookmakers, Jack Catterall is a massive underdog in this fight.

And if you compare the two records of the super-lightweights, you can see why.

Including this weekend’s fight, Josh Taylor’s opponents have had a combined record of 162-1, with the Scot taking the ‘0s’ of seasoned champions such as Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis.

Catterall’s is much thinner on the ground, despite the southpaw winning the British title in 2017.

“El Gato” hasn’t fought since 2020 but his unblemished slate is indicative of his talents at 140lbs.

With a 50% KO percentage a big question hanging over the fight concerns whether Catterall can gain the respect of Taylor with his power.

One of the very best?

Josh Taylor is undefeated and undisputed at super-lightweight.

The Scot has amassed an 18-0 record and currently sits at number 5 in our freebets.com pound-for-pound list.

Taylor hits hard, has terrific hand speed and shows guts and grit when needed.

His defence – or lack of – is something that Jack Catterall has pin-pointed ahead of this fight, but Taylor’s chin has held up to some heavy artillery so far in his seven-year pro career.

Taylor is a huge 140lber so his career at this weight may be coming towards an end soon.

Huge fights at welterweight await the “Tartan Tornado” but is he boiling himself down to 140lbs one too many times?

The Pick

This one feels a fairly straight-forward pick: Catterall is talented, but Josh Taylor is special.

It’s hard to name something that Catterall does better than Taylor and the Manchester fighter will have to cope with being in the lion’s den in Glasgow.

Taylor has passed every test in his career with flying colours and Saturday night should be no different.