Tickets to the upcoming fight between Jack Catterall and Josh Taylor have sold out in hours amid rising anticipation for what is promising to be one of the biggest British fights this year.
It cames two years on from the pair’s controversial first meeting in Glasgow.
The fight is the fastest selling sporting event ever held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, the 13,000-capacity neutral ground in which the bout will be held, according to promoters Matchroom Boxing.
In a press conference held in Manchester last week, tensions came to a head as Catterall, from Lancashire, and Taylor, from Edinburgh, met for the second leg of their press tour ahead of their rematch, which will be taking place on April 27th.
The rematch comes almost exactly two years after the pair first met, which ended with a controversial split decision and Taylor leaving the ring victorious – despite many feeling the victory in the super-lightweight championship should have gone to Catterall.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said: “The atmosphere in Leeds is going to be incredible. It’s Scotland versus England but most importantly it’s Taylor versus Catterall and a chance for Jack to right the wrongs of Glasgow two years ago.
“It’s almost like attack-on-sight. The hate is real.”
Following the controversial decision, an investigation into the scoring of the fight led to one of the judges being downgraded, leading many of Catterall’s supporters to feel vindicated over their claims that he was robbed.
Although the upcoming bout is non-title, the history between the pair means much is at stake – and that the slogan of the fight is ‘hatred runs deep’ shows just how high those stakes are.
Hearn also commented on how April 27th would be crucial for their careers: “It’s must win.”
For Catterall, a victory would open the doorway to a world championship in the future, while a loss would end any chance of a belt.
For Taylor on the other hand, a victory would be necessary to show he still had a future in the sport.
At the conference, the fighters had to be separated after scrapping with each other when sitting down.
And although the head-to-head stayed peaceful, the animosity between the pair could be felt throughout the room.
Fans from Catterall’s hometown of Chorley came out in force, filling the room with chants and insults directed towards his opponent.
Many of the chants touched upon rumors that the Scotsman had been letting his physical fitness drop in recent months, including ‘Taylor’s on the p***’ and ‘Scottish smack-head’.
But despite these rumors, Taylor maintained confidence, saying that in their previous fight he had underestimated Catterall, a mistake he said he would not be making again.
Catterall too commented that regardless of Taylor’s state, he was training to face the fighter at his best.
Catterall said: “I don’t want to go in there and there be questions after the fight. I’m going in there to beat him conclusively.”
He added: “I know I’ve got a job to do April 27th. It’s business time.”
