Jack Catterall still ‘lost for words’ after controversial defeat to Josh Taylor

The Chorley fighter remains disgusted after being denied in Glasgow by the judges after a sensational performance

Judges are under scrutiny after Josh Taylor, right, was awarded victory over Jack Catterall (Steve Welsh/PA) (PA Wire)

Jack Catterall admits he is still “lost for words” when assessing how judges awarded Josh Taylor a split decision to retain his undisputed world title in Glasgow.

The Chorley fighter was widely heralded for outboxing Taylor for the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super lightweight titles, while he also outlanded the Scot according to renowned computerised punch scoring system Compubox.

And Catterall remains bewildered by the decisions of judges Victor Loughlin, Ian John-Lewis and Howard Foster, who scored the fight to the Englishman by just one point due to the knockdown in round eight.

“I’m lost for words,” Catterall told Fight Disciples when asked about the controversial decision last Saturday.

“My name wasn’t even on a ticket, I received thousands of tickets to sell to people in Chorley and England, they said, ‘where’s your name on the ticket?’

“I said, ‘I don’t know’, it was the Josh Taylor show.”

The scoring of the fight is officially being investigated by the the British Boxing Board.

And Catterall detailed a bizarre phone call with the Board’s secretary Robert Smith.

“I was disappointed I got a call from the Board,” Catterall added. “Robert Smith on the phone, it was 32 seconds, I thought that was a bit strange.

“He asked how I’m doing. I said, ‘I’m heartbroken’. He said, ‘no, how are you doing physically?’ I said, ‘I could box Josh tomorrow’.

“He replied, ‘as long as you’re OK’, beep, the phone went down. It bamboozled me. He hung up, I couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve not really got my head around it [the decision]. I can’t understand it. I honestly don’t know.”