It was pretty nasty and intense yesterday in Edinburgh, as bitter British rivals Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall came together for the first press conference installment, and it was even nastier, in fact certainly louder, today in Manchester for part two.
These two southpaws really do have a major grudge, the clear dislike nothing at all fake or having anything to do with the intention of shifting tickets. Yesterday, Taylor and Catterall had to be separated at the attempt of a face-to-face, and today – well, check out some of the verbal exchanges that came first during today’s presser.
“You know what it is? They’ve said the England Vs. Scotland narrative, but it’s me just fighting a p***k. He’s just not a nice person,” Catterall said to get things rolling.
“Did you think of that all by yourself, Jack!” Taylor responded.
“You look like a baghead,” Catterall volleyed.
“The one brain cell you’ve got, you’ve got to learn to talk by yourself,” Taylor fired. “Go back to your crayons.”
“You’re finished after this fight. Done,” Catterall stated.
Pretty fun already, yeah?
But the fun and games were just getting going.
Taylor, amidst deafening booing, spoke of how unprofessional Catterall was at yesterday’s presser:
“You need to speak to your man here,” Taylor said to the man in the middle, Eddie Hearn. “Three times he’s tried to put his hands on me. He’s supposed to be a professional athlete. Keep your hands to yourself, you little rat!”
“You come for my nipples yesterday!” Catterall shot back. “You come for the nipples – weird.”
“When I beat him again, he’s got nowhere to go. He’ll retire, crying, with no belts, without ever being a world champion,” Taylor said. “He’s never knocked anyone out in his life.”
“We’ve got the same amount of knockouts. You’re just thick,” Catterall said. “13 knockouts each.”
Final predictions:
“I end Catterall’s career. One that never got going, and he’ll never be a world champion,” Taylor boasted.
“Nine weeks’ time, we get to put him to bed,” Catterall said.
There was then another attempt at a face-to-face.
“Don’t miss with your shot this time,” Taylor taunted Catterall. “Your little brain cog that you’ve got, turning.”
“Make sure you turn up,” Catterall replied, security personnel poised in the middle.
“You f*****g retard,” Taylor spat as the two men then faced front.
Again, nasty. And a lot of genuine bad blood.
