BoxRec

Arum: I Would Offer Jack Catterall A lot of Money To Fight Jose Zepeda

"We’ll offer Catterall a fight with Zepeda, which he’ll turn down,” Arum predicted. “And then Catterall will fight the (Ramirez-Taylor) winner and then Zepeda will fight (for a world title). I would offer Catterall a lot of money to fight Zepeda but there’s no way he’s going to do that. I’d love to see that fight. I’d love to do it on the Ramirez-Taylor card.”

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Oct 2020, 04:29 Arum: I Would Offer Jack Catterall A lot of Money To Fight Jose Zepeda

"We’ll offer Catterall a fight with Zepeda, which he’ll turn down,” Arum predicted. “And then Catterall will fight the (Ramirez-Taylor) winner and then Zepeda will fight (for a world title). I would offer Catterall a lot of money to fight Zepeda but there’s no way he’s going to do that. I’d love to see that fight. I’d love to do it on the Ramirez-Taylor card.”

That would be great. Ramirez-Taylor is a #1 priority for everyone. Except Zepeda and Catterall. But who really deserves a shot more out of these two? It would be better to check it out in an eliminator, while everyone would have and opportunity to see a fight they want to see the most. This ain't gonna happen though and Ramirez would fight Catterall next.

DrDuke wrote: ↑06 Oct 2020, 04:51

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Oct 2020, 04:29 Arum: I Would Offer Jack Catterall A lot of Money To Fight Jose Zepeda

"We’ll offer Catterall a fight with Zepeda, which he’ll turn down,” Arum predicted. “And then Catterall will fight the (Ramirez-Taylor) winner and then Zepeda will fight (for a world title). I would offer Catterall a lot of money to fight Zepeda but there’s no way he’s going to do that. I’d love to see that fight. I’d love to do it on the Ramirez-Taylor card.”

That would be great. Ramirez-Taylor is a #1 priority for everyone. Except Zepeda and Catterall. But who really deserves a shot more out of these two? It would be better to check it out in an eliminator, while everyone would have and opportunity to see a fight they want to see the most. This ain't gonna happen though and Ramirez would fight Catterall next.

8 knockdowns in Zepeda's last fight

I like Catterall (he's from my old amateur club) but Zepeda is much more deserving of title shot. I definitely would be up for seeing an eliminator between the two but looks like Catterall and his people won't budge from their position.

Ya Zepada has wins over Baranchyk and Pedraza, and a very close loss to Ramirez in which he was up for most of the fight, more credible than Cat's wins over MTKs roster. Would like them vs each other actually, and certainly if it helps ram vs taylor happen sooner

Jack Catterall To Arum: 'Send The Numbers Over' For a Fight With Jose Zepeda

One of the fights Top Rank chairman Bob Arum is eager to make is a showdown for the undisputed junior welterweight world title between Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor, two boxers he promotes and each of whom holds two major belts.

Ramirez and Taylor, who also both want to fight each other for 140-pound supremacy, won recent mandatory bouts with Ramirez outpointing former titlist Viktor Postol on Aug. 29 and Taylor obliterating Apinun Khongson via first-round knockout on Sept. 26.

Arum plans to put the fight together to take place in early 2021. While Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) is free and clear of any mandatory obligations that would interfere with the fight, that is not the case with Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs). He is saddled with another mandatory defense against England’s unbeaten Jack Catterall.

Arum has said that he plans to talk with WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel to see if something can be worked out so that Ramirez have a one-fight exception in order to first face Taylor, even though the WBO mandatory is due and has been ordered.

Following the classic slugfest between former world title challenger Jose Zepeda and former world titleholder Ivan Baranchyk, which featured Zepeda winning by explosive fifth-round knockout in a fight that featured eight knockdowns (each man was dropped four times), on Saturday night inside the bubble of the conference center at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Arum said he would make an offer to Catterall to face Zepeda (33-2, 26 KOs), 31, of La Puente, California, on the undercard of a Ramirez-Taylor fight, but added that he believed Catterall would turn it down.

“I would offer Catterall a lot of money to fight Zepeda but there’s no way he’s going to do that,” Arum told Boxing Scene after Zepeda-Baranchyk. “I’d love to see that fight. I’d love to do it on the Ramirez-Taylor card.”

Catterall (25-0, 13 KOs), 27, of England, saw Arum’s comment and wrote on social media on Monday that Arum should “send the numbers over then (to) MTK Global.”

Catterall is managed by MTK Global, which has a close relationship with Top Rank.

On Wednesday, Catterall said that he is interested in a fight with Zepeda or in any other significant bout.

“I’m excited to be in all these future fights,” Catterall said to Boxing Scene. “I’m mandatory for Ramirez’s WBO world title and I have faith in my management (at) MTK that they will do what is best for my career. I thought Zepeda-Baranchyk was an entertaining fight. Again, I’d love to be involved in these type of fights. I’m ready to prove myself at this level when the opportunity presents itself. I’m excited to get my hands on my world title.

“MTK are in talks to secure the best possible route for me. I’m confident they will deliver and when they do I’ll be ready for anyone at 140 pounds, period!”

Catterall, who turned pro in 2012, is former British junior welterweight champion. He is coming off a lopsided unanimous 10-round decision victory over Timo Schwarzkopf last November in Dubai.

So after all that, Catterall has agreed to step aside and then fight for all the belts after the Ramirez-Taylor unification.

“The unification will go ahead, subject to the winner fighting Jack, so Jack can fight for all those belts,” Warren said.

“I fancy Josh Taylor to beat Ramirez and, of he does, him and Jack, what a fight that will be in this country.

“He wants to fight for the title, he was pressing hard for it. But he has to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is it does make sense because there will be all the belts on the line.”

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑10 Oct 2020, 16:15 So after all that, Catterall has agreed to step aside and then fight for all the belts after the Ramirez-Taylor unification.

“The unification will go ahead, subject to the winner fighting Jack, so Jack can fight for all those belts,” Warren said.

“I fancy Josh Taylor to beat Ramirez and, of he does, him and Jack, what a fight that will be in this country.

“He wants to fight for the title, he was pressing hard for it. But he has to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is it does make sense because there will be all the belts on the line.”

That's great.

Jack Catterall will be ringside for Taylor-Ramirez and says he's "bang up for a homecoming fight at Edinburgh Castle" should the Scot win

Catterall, who boasts a pristine 100% record with 26 wins - half of those coming by knockout - no losses and no draws, said “I’m excited to be here for fight week.

“It is a massive fight, hopefully it is a good fight and I can let everyone know I’m serious about fighting the winner.

“I will do some training, sparring and ultimately watch the fight. After the weekend we will have a clear direction of where we’re going.

“I stepped aside on the promise that I will get the winner and I am under no illusion because anything can happen, but ultimately I have allowed them to create this big undisputed title fight.

“I have beaten everyone in front of me, done everything asked of me on my side.”

Catterall, 27, believes that a Taylor win will set-up a huge England v Scotland battle, but has doubts about Ramirez keeping his word if he triumphs.

“I hope Josh wins and hope he is a man of his word” added Catterall, who will spend two weeks in Las Vegas training.

“It’s been talked about Taylor having a homecoming fight at Edinburgh Castle and I am bang up for the challenge.

“I could be wrong and I hope I am wrong, but I don’t think Ramirez will give me an opportunity. I think he probably has other plans.

“Taylor has publicly thanked me for stepping aside and allowing this big fight to happen. Hopefully he can get the job done and we can get it on.

“I have been very patient and it’s been a long time coming, but I will be getting my crack."

Predictions

“I’ve said it from the start, I think Taylor wins.

“Ramirez has improved, but is one dimensional. He has a big heart, will come forward but he is up against a southpaw mover who can get stuck in. He will face problems.

“Every meaningful fight I’ve had has been on the road. Tyrone McKenna I went to Belfast, Tom Stalker we were in Liverpool and Tyrone Nurse in Leeds.

“I don’t mind travelling and Edinburgh for a scrap would be brilliant. I have already planned English drummers to walk me out.”

I like to support British fighters but Catterall is another undeserving mandatory. I’d much rather the winner of this weekend’s fight fights a Gervonta Davis or Teofimo Lopez or even the winner out of Zepeda/Lundy.

Catterall has been promoted extremely poorly, isn’t known at all, hasn’t been kept active and hasn’t had the fights that would prepare to fight an elite fighter. If he isn’t fighting again until he potentially fighters the winner of this then he’d have only fought once in 24 months. Not the preparation you’d need facing the number 1 in the division.

Perhaps they’re just hoping the belts get vacated and then he fights someone like Paro for the vacant belt.

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:47

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:11 I like to support British fighters but Catterall is another undeserving mandatory. I’d much rather the winner of this weekend’s fight fights a Gervonta Davis or Teofimo Lopez or even the winner out of Zepeda/Lundy.

Catterall has been promoted extremely poorly, isn’t known at all, hasn’t been kept active and hasn’t had the fights that would prepare to fight an elite fighter. If he isn’t fighting again until he potentially fighters the winner of this then he’d have only fought once in 24 months. Not the preparation you’d need facing the number 1 in the division.

Perhaps they’re just hoping the belts get vacated and then he fights someone like Paro for the vacant belt.

The winner of Taylor Ramirez becomes mandatory for Crawford at 147 under the WBO rule don't they? Catterall will be hoping they take that option and he fights for the vacant.

Mandatory, only IF they want tot move up , yes.

Taylor has already admitted, he is in no rush to move to 147.. Still plenty of decent fights he can have around 140..

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:47

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:11 I like to support British fighters but Catterall is another undeserving mandatory. I’d much rather the winner of this weekend’s fight fights a Gervonta Davis or Teofimo Lopez or even the winner out of Zepeda/Lundy.

Catterall has been promoted extremely poorly, isn’t known at all, hasn’t been kept active and hasn’t had the fights that would prepare to fight an elite fighter. If he isn’t fighting again until he potentially fighters the winner of this then he’d have only fought once in 24 months. Not the preparation you’d need facing the number 1 in the division.

Perhaps they’re just hoping the belts get vacated and then he fights someone like Paro for the vacant belt.

The winner of Taylor Ramirez becomes mandatory for Crawford at 147 under the WBO rule don't they? Catterall will be hoping they take that option and he fights for the vacant.

If they decide to move up then they can request to become Crawford’s mandatory. Not sure on timelines for that though - particularly given how long it’s taken to get Usyk fighting for the WBO title at heavyweight.

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 08:58

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:57

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:47

The winner of Taylor Ramirez becomes mandatory for Crawford at 147 under the WBO rule don't they? Catterall will be hoping they take that option and he fights for the vacant.

If they decide to move up then they can request to become Crawford’s mandatory. Not sure on timelines for that though - particularly given how long it’s taken to get Usyk fighting for the WBO title at heavyweight.

I think they'll definitely vacate and move up regardless of whether they take the mandatory option.

You might be right but I can see Taylor potentially wanting a homecoming and may see Catterall as a cheap/safe fight. With Gervonta’s next fight at 140 they may also look at that as it could be a big money/PPV fight for him.

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:57

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:21

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 08:58

I think they'll definitely vacate and move up regardless of whether they take the mandatory option.

You might be right but I can see Taylor potentially wanting a homecoming and may see Catterall as a cheap/safe fight. With Gervonta’s next fight at 140 they may also look at that as it could be a big money/PPV fight for him.

Fair points. Either way there's lots of good options for him if he wins.

There definitely are.

I’m still getting annoyed just how little coverage this fight is getting over here. I haven’t known a time where a brit fights in a unification fight and it get so little attention in the U.K.

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 10:23

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:57

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:21

You might be right but I can see Taylor potentially wanting a homecoming and may see Catterall as a cheap/safe fight. With Gervonta’s next fight at 140 they may also look at that as it could be a big money/PPV fight for him.

Fair points. Either way there's lots of good options for him if he wins.

There definitely are.

I’m still getting annoyed just how little coverage this fight is getting over here. I haven’t known a time where a brit fights in a unification fight and it get so little attention in the U.K.

It's crazy - will be only the 2nd 140-pound undisputed champion ever in the four belt era after Bud and it's barely getting a mention, never mind the fact no major broadcaster has picked it up over here. Saw an interview with Taylor earlier and he was annoyed about it, said he thought it would be on the BT/ESPN channel.

Wrong thread guys.

NoScoutingReports wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 10:26

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 10:23

Allas wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:57

Fair points. Either way there's lots of good options for him if he wins.

There definitely are.

I’m still getting annoyed just how little coverage this fight is getting over here. I haven’t known a time where a brit fights in a unification fight and it get so little attention in the U.K.

It's crazy - will be only the 2nd 140-pound undisputed champion ever in the four belt era after Bud and it's barely getting a mention, never mind the fact no major broadcaster has picked it up over here. Saw an interview with Taylor earlier and he was annoyed about it, said he thought it would be on the BT/ESPN channel.

I’m surprised it wasn’t on BT too. FW came out and said they had first refusal for it but it’s not like BT has splurged their boxing budget elsewhere given there’s no boxing on their platform in May and just one show currently planned for June.

Perhaps it’s just Bob being greedy and not being happy with the offer he received from BT. I always get the impression with him that he thinks all British fighters are PpV stars over here and sell 20,000 tickets whilst in reality that’s not the case. He even said that the Vegas casinos would need to order more booze in if Taylor’s fans would have been allowed over. I’d have been surprised if he’d taken 1,000 over!

He probably thinks Taylor should have been on BT ppv and generate 100k buys. He’ll be surprised to see it do less than 20,000 on Fite TV.

With regards to Catterall it looks like his best opportunity for a world title is for the winner to immediately move up to 147 and vacate, leaving the belts fragmented so he can fight for the vacant WBO strap.

maverick23 wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 09:21
You might be right but I can see Taylor potentially wanting a homecoming and may see Catterall as a cheap/safe fight. With Gervonta’s next fight at 140 they may also look at that as it could be a big money/PPV fight for him.

The Catterall fight seems feasible too yeah, Taylor has been pushing for a fight at Edinburgh Castle and it could be sold quite easily v Jack as a homecoming with the Scotland v England angle etc. Ramirez has all but confirmed in the build up that he will be going up to 147 whatever happens on Saturday so he won't be meeting Catterall.

Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez edge ever closer to May bout

Talks continue for Jack Catterall to take on former unified junior welterweight champion Jose Carlos Ramirez with May 30, in Fresno, California, looking ever more likely.

Catterall has been pushing for a shot at world honors, and following his victory over Ekow Essuman in November, is now ranked at No. 1 with the WBO. The current WBO beltholder is three-division champion Devin Haney. Catterall has been trying to entice Haney into a bout ever since Haney collected the strap with a dominant victory over Brian Norman Jnr in November, but to no prevail. Haney has been granted a voluntary defense by the WBO and has not yet been ordered to face Catterall.

Now Catterall could sit and wait for his opportunity at Haney’s welterweight title or stay busy with another fight. Ramirez, the previous owner of the WBO junior welterweight title when Catterall was mandatory for many years, is the man that looks likely to be Catterall’s next foe. The pair should have met down at 140lbs, but Ramirez lost his WBO strap to Josh Taylor in a battle for all four titles in 2021. Catterall had stepped-aside to allow the undisputed clash to happen, and then faced Taylor for all four belts in 2022, losing a highly controversial split-decision.

Talks between Catterall and Ramirez have been underway for some time, but it now looks like a date and location for the bout is taking place.

“We are continuing talks for Jack Catterall against Jose Ramirez,” Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Catterall, told Boxing Scene. “That fight could take place in California at the end of May.”