Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall: Judge downgraded after controversial scorecard

Ian John-Lewis has been downgraded by the British Boxing Board of Control

Josh Taylor’s split-decision win over Jack Catterall sparked a probe (Steve Welsh/PA) (PA Wire)

One of the judges in the controversial world title fight between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall has been downgraded.

But the British Boxing Board of Control says it is satisfied that the scoring of Ian John-Lewis did not affect the outcome.

The outcome of the BBBofC’s investigation into the scoring of the contest has been criticised by Catterall, who lost a split decision in Glasgow on February 26.

Both John-Lewis (114-111) and Victor Loughlin (113-112) awarded the contest in favour of undisputed super-lightweight champion Taylor, despite him being knocked down in the eighth round and most observers claiming that Catterall had won the fight. The other judge, Howard Foster, scored it 113-112 for Catterall.

A statement from the BBBofC read: “Following an internal review of the scoring of the Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall contest by all three appointed judges, the stewards of the board decided to call Mr Ian John-Lewis to appear before them to explain his returned card.

“Having considered Mr Ian John-Lewis’ explanation, the stewards of the board decided to downgrade Mr John-Lewis from an A Star Class to an A Class Official.

“Whilst the board were satisfied that Mr John-Lewis’ scorecard did not affect the overall result of the contest, the stewards of the board did have issue with his margin.

“As the regulatory body for the sport in Great Britain, the British Boxing Board of Control continue to improve and maintain the high quality and consistency in scoring by our licensed officials.

“As such, the stewards of the board have further decided that in addition to each A Star Class Official being evaluated after each bout, as per current procedure, they will now also be subject to a separate individual annual review.

“Finally, the British Boxing Board of Control have contacted the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA supporting Jack Catterall to be made mandatory challenger for each or all championship sanctioning bodies.”

Chorley fighter Catterall issued a succinct response to the statement on Twitter, saying: “Not good enough.”

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who is MP for Chorley, this week asked police and Cabinet officials to investigate the scoring.

The WBO this week ran a story on its official website which stated that the sanctioning body had objected to the appointment of John-Lewis and Loughlin before the fight.

Taylor, who plans to step up to welterweight level, has insisted he was the rightful winner.