_1621551146.jpg)
Josh Taylor is ready to move on from the fallout of his last fight.
The WBO junior welterweight titlist from Scotland insisted in a recent interview that England’s Jack Catterall was no longer on his mind.
Taylor and Catterall were supposed to meet in the ring in March for the second time after Taylor’s controversial points win last year that triggered cries of corruption. But earlier this year, Taylor reportedly suffered a foot injury, and instead of pursuing a new date with Catterall once again—the rematch had been postponed multiple times before—Taylor pivoted to a fight with former lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
Taylor and Lopez are expected to fight June 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Taylor, who vacated three of his belts in order to pursue a rematch with Catterall, made it clear Catterall is no longer a relevant entity to him at the present time.
“I’ve forgotten about him,” Taylor said of Catterall in an interview with iFL TV. “Teofimo Lopez it’s looking to be [my next fight]. It would be foolish of me to make the same mistake again: Looking at a different fighter when you got one in front of you. So, I’ve learned that lesson the last time.
“I’ve forgotten about that fight. It’s away for the time being. It’s done, it’s dusted. He’s gonna have to forget about it for the time being as well.”
A dismayed Catterall is reportedly in talks to possibly face WBC titlist Regis Prograis, but it is not clear where negotiations stand.
Taylor has justified his reason for taking the Lopez fight because of the WBO, which ordered a fight between the two. However, it has been reported that Taylor was already in talks to face Lopez before the WBO issued their decree. Taylor and Lopez share the same promoter, Top Rank.
Taylor implored Catterall to move on himself.
“He’s made a couple of interviews; he’s still pissing and moaning about it,” Taylor said of Catterall. “It’s time for him to move on. If he really believes himself and beats these other fighters go ahead and fight these f—— fights. Stop waiting on me, because I’ve had to move on because of the WBO situation.”
At the same time, Taylor still believes that the Catterall fight can be revisited down the line.
“The fight is always going to be there,” Taylor said. “It will happen at some point in the future.”
Nevertheless, Taylor doesn’t feel he needs another win over Catterall to feel satisfied with his career, saying he could retire tomorrow and be content with his accomplishments.
“Yes, I could, I could retire tomorrow and go, ‘yeah, I had a great career,’” Taylor said. “My jab was a bit f—— sh!t (in the Catterall fight) but [I] still won it. That’s it. It was f—— well over a year [ago].”
He added, “For pride and for myself, I want to fight him again and shut everyone up.”