by Caryn A. Tate

Jack Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) fought a fantastic fight against Josh Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs) on Saturday in the highly anticipated rematch that was broadcast in the United States on ESPN+ and DAZN. The official judges scored the fight 117-111 (twice) and 116-113 for Catterall.

Personally, I scored the fight 116-112 for Catterall. There were only a few close rounds. Both men fought a good match, but the majority of rounds Catterall won clearly.

Unfortunately, after the scorecards were read, the promoters took over and reminded everyone why modern-day boxing is struggling to be seen or cared about by the masses.

The promoter of Josh Taylor, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, interrupted the interviewer who was in the middle of a conversation with Jack Catterall. Arum said, amidst a sea of boos from the crowd, “I saw the fight like everybody else. Those scorecards were a disgrace! Were an absolute disgrace! I really feel sorry for Josh. I thought he won the fight. But those scorecards were ridiculous.”

He went on to say, oddly, “And that’s a lesson! I will never, ever allow an American fighter to come here with this British Board scoring the fight. Those scores were ridiculous.”

It was a bizarre statement, particularly considering neither Josh Taylor or Jack Catterall are American.

It was an absurd tirade that was not only out of place but so obviously self-serving as to be insulting. Since Arum is the promoter for Josh Taylor, it doesn’t take a brilliant mind to realize it serves Arum’s bottom line to claim a need for a third Taylor-Catterall fight…despite Taylor having clearly lost both the first and second contests.

As if not to be outdone, Catterall’s promoter Eddie Hearn (of Matchroom), took to the microphone after Arum and said, “I thought the judges’ scorecards were too wide. But the winner was bang on. Jack Catterall won that fight.”

The charade continued with the DAZN broadcast commentary which echoed Arum’s desire for a third fight because the second bout was just so closely contested that the commentators couldn’t decide who should have won.

Even in the ESPN app, the “news” headlines tried to persuade readers with titles like “Jack Catterall comes out victorious in close fight vs. Josh Taylor,” and “A victory in rematch vs. Josh Taylor has Jack Catterall moving on to bigger and better things, but is he ready?”

Factually, the official scorecards (117-111 twice and 116-113) would not justify using a term like “close” for this fight. There is zero logic in insinuating Catterall is not ready for a title fight after beating former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor at least once (by fact) and arguably twice (according to public opinion in their first fight).

The sloppy brainwashing attempts from the business people in boxing working behind the scenes of the apps and platforms are just embarrassing.

These days, legitimate, intriguing fights such as Taylor-Catterall 2 are often overshadowed by the narratives of business people like Bob Arum (Top Rank) and Eddie Hearn (Matchroom) who dominate the conversations to serve their own bottom lines. Platforms have in many cases become mouthpieces of the promoters in question, rather than providing honest and unbiased analysis about what actually happens inside the ring.

Boxing fans deserve to hear more from the fighters themselves, who put everything on the line to get in the ring and fight. Fans would also learn a lot and enjoy insight from the fighters’ coaches and impartial, expert commentators.