Bob Arum has fiercely criticized the judges' scorecards for the rematch between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall, calling them a "disgrace." The fight, held at Leeds' First Direct Arena, ended with Catterall emerging as the winner after 12 rounds. However, the scores of 117-111 and 116-113 in favor of Catterall were deemed excessively wide by many, including Catterall's promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Taylor, 33, had previously won a controversial split-decision against Catterall in February 2022. Arum, who was present at the fight, insisted that Taylor deserved the win in the rematch as well. He expressed his frustration with the British Boxing Board of Control, saying:
"Those scorecards were a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. And I really feel sorry for Josh – I thought he won the fight."
Hearn, who promoted Taylor-Catterall II under Matchroom, acknowledged the discontent among Scottish fans but supported the outcome, despite the wide margins on the scorecards.
"The winner was bang on. Jack Catterall won that fight. He closed the show beautifully. He dominated the first six rounds."
Hearn also expressed his satisfaction with Catterall's performance:
"I’m so pleased this man got victory tonight. He deserves it. Two years ago this man should have been the undisputed world champion, and it doesn’t matter because tonight he wins, but he should have the belts around his waist."
Looking ahead, Hearn emphasized that Catterall's focus should be on becoming a world champion, mentioning potential matchups in the stacked 140-pound division:
"The third fight is a big fight, but he deserves to be world champion. That’s got to be the focus. We’re deep at 140; Subriel Matias fights Liam Paro coming up; we’ve got Devin Haney against Sandor Martin. I’d love to see this guy challenge and hopefully win a world championship."
Image Credit: DAZN