By Norm Frauenheim-
Josh Taylor has always hoped a castle would be in his future. He likes history. Mostly, he likes making some.
The castle will have to wait. But another chance at history is close. It might be there Saturday after Taylor’s first bout in his native Scotland in more than four years. He defends his unified junior-welterweight title against somebody named Jack Catterall, known only in the UK.
Despite an unbeaten record, Catterall’s anonymity says a lot about what Taylor is expected to do. A win is almost assumed. He won’t say that. Not exactly.
“How is he going to win?” Taylor asked Thursday at a news conference.
Taylor then went on to answer his own question. It was an answer that also included what Scottish fans expect.
“…This isn’t a one-sided fight,’’ he said. “It’s my job to make it a one-sided fight.’’
If that task gets done as thoroughly as the betting odds suggest, it’ll be definitive. Actually, it’ll be a lot more than that. On Thursday, Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) was a 20-to-1 favorite over Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs). Translation: He’d have to trip and fall into a moat to lose this one.
This fight itself has the feel of a homecoming parade. Taylor returns with all the relevant belts – WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring. He’s the second Scottish fighter to win an undisputed title since lightweight great Ken Buchanan.
The only complaint, perhaps, is the setting. The bout (ESPN+, Sky Sports, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT) will happen at the OVO Hydro arena in Glasgow. No moat there. It has none of the magic of that castle, the one on a hilltop in Edinburgh about eight miles from Prestonpans, a mining town where Taylor grew up.
Taylor has long fantasized about a summer fight on a lawn in front of the castle or somewhere within the medieval walls. He talked about the possibility after taking possession of the belts in a decision over Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas last May. He talked about it before his long-awaited showdown with Ramirez. But there was no place at the roundtable for one of boxing’s royalty.
“I’m beginning to get to the point of telling them just to ram it,’’ Taylor told The Herald, a Glasgow newspaper, before his two-knockdown victory over Ramirez at Vegas’ Virgin Hotels. “It’s beyond me why the people at the castle don’t want to have one of their natives and have a massive historical event there.
“Yet they’ll let Lady Gaga or someone go up there and have a concert. It’s beyond me, the logic.’’
But history is not beyond him. There’s plenty of talk that his homecoming is also his goodbye to the junior-welterweight division. A jump up the scale makes sense. There’s not much else he can do at 140 pounds. Other than The Ring’s version, the acronym-sponsored titles come up with a succession of mandatories and sanctioning fees. That’s what Catterall is. He’s the WBO’s mandatory challenger.
In a move to welterweight, Taylor moves up to challenges he has long envisioned. He has talked about Terence Crawford for a couple of years. At 5-10, he’s two inches taller than Crawford. At 31, he’s four years younger. It’s time.
The problem is Crawford’s lawsuit against his former promoter, Bob Arum, Taylor’s current promoter. It was filed not long after Crawford’s November stoppage of Shawn Porter in a victory that enhanced his pound-for-pound credentials in the ongoing debate with Canelo Alvarez, still No. 1 in most rankings.
Crawford alleges racism, among other things. As long as the lawsuit is pending, the inflammatory allegations aren’t exactly a way of bringing Arum to the bargaining table.
Still, Taylor, who argues that Crawford – not Canelo –is pound-for-pound No. 1, believes the fight could happen. He has mentioned Crawford several times throughout the media tour for the Catterall bout.
The lawsuit, Taylor told FightHype.com “is a bit of an obstacle. But I still believe it’s a very doable fight. We’re both sort of in the same house. It looks like it can be made. I think it can be made.’’
Crazier things have been made in boxing, where today’s enemy is tomorrow’s business partner. The hostility between Crawford and Arum could be part of the promotion. Bad blood sells.
There are other possibilities. Taylor has also mentioned Errol Spence Jr. and Yordenis Ugas, who are scheduled to fight April 16 on the Dallas Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington TX. But Crawford is always first and foremost in any Taylor talk about the welterweight division.
“That’s the fight that would give me the fear factor and push me to new heights,” Taylor told The Guardian. “Otherwise, if you don’t have that kind of challenge, you go stale.’’
Going stale is also no way to get into that old, upscale house on top of a Scottish hill.
