Jack Catterall did enough to defeat Josh Taylor, right?

Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Andre Ward said precisely what I was thinking minutes after the Josh Taylor – Jack Catterall fight ended.

“I was completely wrong about Jack Catterall,” said Ward. “I didn’t think he had a shot against Josh Taylor. I just could not see him landing that left hand over and over and you have to give him credit for that.”

Yes, you do.

Sadly, the judges didn’t agree.

Nor did Taylor. He thought he did enough to get the win.

“I started a little slow, but once I got into my rhythm and started getting my timing, I started to catch him with the bigger shots,” said Taylor. “He was spoiling a lot. 

“Being the heavy favorite, being my first time back at home, put on pressure to put on a good show. It didn’t matter in the end; I got a good result. It was close, I let him have a little too much success by loading up too much, but overall, I scored the bigger shots, the better shots, the more meaningful shots.” 

No Josh. You also were knocked down by the way. CompuBox had Catterall landing 47 punches more punches. He also threw 219 more. 

Not enough for the judges, who scored it 113-112 Catterall, and 114-111 and 113-112 respectively for Taylor. I’m no fan of CompuBox. Their numbers can sometimes be misleading but not this time.

47 punches.

The fight was close and at times, difficult to score. If you like aggressiveness - you gave the edge to Taylor for parts of rounds.  Catterall moved and ducked and held. He also scored with several combinations and knocked Taylor down for the first time in his 19-fight career. 

Catterall more than proved his worth. He was calm in a hostile environment and came to win, and he did, even though the decision went to Taylor. Catterall was the busier fight and more accurate.

As I watched, I dreaded the predictable outcome. You know, home cooking.
 
Catterall’s trainer Jaime Moore said his charge had been robbed. 
 
“You are talking about a kid who has worked all his life to wait for that moment, who waited three years for his opportunity, who stepped aside and did the right thing for boxing to allow a unified champion," said Moore. He gets his opportunity, performs like that, and beat the champion in his backyard, and gets robbed.

“Think about the message that sends to people watching. The moment you think you’re going to be crowned a world champion, it is snatched away from you. It’s disgusting. Jack is heartbroken.” 

Catterall stormed out of the ring after the decision. He appeared to give the crowd a one-finger salute.

I didn’t blame him.