Jack Catterall reckons Josh Taylor has only agreed to fight him for a second time due to the public pressure following their first fight.
Catterall suffered a hugely contentious split decision defeat to Taylor in February, a result which sent shockwaves around British boxing.
Despite Taylor being confident the right man won, the result was hotly contested to the extent that it was referred to the police by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
One of the judges scoring the bout, Ian John-Lewis, was downgraded by the British Boxing Board of Control following the controversy that saw several prominent figures in boxing suggest the result was due to corruption.
‘The Tartan Tornado’ initially dismissed calls for a rematch and it was thought he would be vacating his titles and moving up to welterweight to take on new challenges.
In a U-turn, Taylor recently announced his intention to stay at super-lightweight to ‘shut everyone up’ by rematching Catterall who he is still certain he beat earlier this year.
The Manchester fighter feels Taylor doesn’t really want to face him again and says a second fight is being forced on the former undisputed lightweight champion who has no other options at this point.
“I believe he’s under a lot of pressure, from the public as well, for this fight to happen,” Catterall told talkSPORT Fight Night.
“Let’s make no mistake, he’s lost a lot of support since the fight. I think the way he’s carried himself and his words and his actions post-fight.
“I don’t think there’s any fight for him there at welterweight at the minute, and there’s certainly no one else at 140.”
The 29-year-old was gutted to lose his undefeated record in such controversial circumstances but has now moved on and is looking forward to becoming a world champion at the second time of asking.
“We drew a line under it. We couldn’t change the decision. I think they demoted a referee. There was a couple of letters back-and-forth, but it is what it is,” Catterall added.
“I said it at the time, they stole the moment in time from me. Fighting for the undisputed, that moment has gone now, and it won’t come back around.
“So, now it’s about rebuilding and getting those world titles. Hopefully, I can go out there and pick two in the next fight.”
It’s currently unclear exactly when or where the rematch between Catterall and Taylor will take place but it is expected to happen in the UK later this year.
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