It has now been over a year since Josh Taylor fought. The 32-year-old Scot is still unbeaten, but he now holds just one belt at 140 pounds. It really has been a pretty dire 12 months for Taylor.
Coming off that massive win over Jose Carlos Ramirez, this in May of 2021, Taylor then fought Jack Catterall, and though he won via split decision, almost all fans and experts seem to feel underdog challenger Catterall did enough to have had his hand raised after the 12 rounds were done.
And since that February 26th night…….Nothing. Nothing aside from injuries, the vacating of belts, and the bad words Taylor and Catterall have had for each other. Now that the rematch Catterall so clearly deserves is off the table, for now at least, Taylor, recovering from a foot injury, is looking forward to a huge fight in America.
Speaking with The East Lothian Courier, Taylor, 19-0(13) said the thought of fighting at “Mecca of Boxing” Madison Square Garden thrills him tremendously. Taylor says a fight between him and former lightweight champ Teofimo Lopez “has basically been agreed” and that only the venue and date have to be confirmed.
Taylor is hoping the fight lands at MSG.
“It is looking like the fight has basically been agreed. We are fighting, but nothing has yet been signed or confirmed in terms of when and where,” Taylor said of the fight with Teo. “It’s been all over social media that it’s going to be at Madison Square Garden. The prospect of the fight being there is unbelievable for me. I always said when I was a kid that one day, I would be fighting there. All the big names have fought there, all the iconic names and all the legends of the sport. I said to my mum and dad that I was going to be world champion and I was going to box at Madison Square Garden.”
Fans are happy to see a clash between Lopez and Taylor (who is the A-side here??), but the hope is the winner will then fight Catterall. Taylor will, with a fight at MSG, see one of his dreams come true, but what about Catterall’s dreams? That rematch simply has to be fought. It’s not going away. Again, in a fair world, the Taylor-Lopez winner will then give Catterall the shot he deserves. We will see.
For now, though, Taylor is still recovering from the foot injury that forced the Catterall rematch to be postponed once again.
“I cannot really do much on my feet,” Taylor said of the injury. “I’m just doing upper body and strength work. I went back to the specialist last week, and he said he was really happy with the way it is healing up but still felt a tear in the tendon.”
It is to be hoped Taylor makes a full recovery in time to get that big fight with Lopez. A special talent, Taylor has spent too long out of the ring already.
