FIGHT WEEK
Undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor will defend his belts against Jack Catterall on Saturday. The same night, Chris Colbert returns to the ring.
Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) vs. Jack Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs)
- When: Saturday, Feb. 26
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Junior welterweight
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: Taylor’s undisputed championship
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Taylor No. 11
- Odds: Tayor 10½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Robeisy Ramirez vs. Eric Donovan, featherweights; Nick Campbell vs. Jay McFarlane, heavyweights
- Prediction: Taylor UD
- Background: Taylor will be making his first appearance since unifying all the 140-pound belts by outpointing Jose Ramirez in May of last year in Las Vegas. The tough, gifted Scot put Ramirez down twice, which proved to be the difference in the otherwise closely contested showdown. The victory made Taylor the first undisputed champion from Britain in the four-belt era. He has defeated five consecutive unbeaten opponents, Ryan Martin, Ivan Baranchyk, Regis Prograis, Apinun Khongsong and Ramirez. Three of them – Baranchyk, Prograis and Ramirez – were world titleholders at the time. Could Catterall be next? The Englishman, coming off a wide decision over Avderrazak Houya in November 2020, has maintained his perfect record to climb to the top of the WBO’s 140-pound rankings but is taking a significant step up in class against Taylor and has no experience on such a big stage. His most notable victories were close decisions over Tyrone McKenna and Ohara Davies in 2018. Catterall took step-aside money so Taylor and Ramirez could fight.
Chris Colbert (16-0, 6 KOs) vs. Hector Luis Garcia (26-0, 13 KOs)
- When: Saturday, Feb. 26
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Junior lightweight
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: Title eliminator
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Jerwin Ancajas vs. Fernando Martinez, junior bantamweights (for Ancajas’ IBF title); Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Viktor Postol, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Colbert UD
- Background: Colbert was scheduled to challenge WBA 130-pound titleholder but Gutierrez had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19. Garcia took the fight on a week’s notice. Colbert has dominated everyone placed in front of him with his unusual combination of speed and skill. He’s coming off a one-sided decision victory over respected Tugstsogt Nyambayar this past July. Of course, Colbert was disappointed that his first title shot fell through but another one will come soon enough if he continues to win. Garcia is no pushover replacement opponent. The Dominican represented his country in the 2016 Olympics, losing in the first round. He can box. However, while he has almost as many pro fights as Colbert, he hasn’t fought at an elite level. He has taken part in 11-round bouts in the Dominican Republic but his last three fights have been eight-rounders, the most-recent one a unanimous decision over Isaac Avelar on the David Morrell-Alantez Fox card in December.
Lawrence Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs) vs. Michal Cieslak (21-1, 15 KOs)
- When: Sunday, Feb. 27
- Time: 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: O2 Arena, London
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Cruiserweight
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: Okolie’s WBO title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Okolie 6½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Karim Guerfi vs. Jordan Gill, featherweights; Anthony Fowler vs. Lukasz Maciec, middleweights; Galal Yafai vs. Carlos Vado Bautista, flyweights
- Prediction: Okolie KO 8
- Background: Okolie is on a roll, having stopped his last seven opponents in seven rounds or fewer. That includes a sixth-round knockout of Krzysztof Glowacki to win his 200-pound title in March of last year. The 29-year-old Londoner has successfully defended once, a third-round stoppage of Dilan Prasovic in September. He’s 6-foot-5 and has an 82½-inch reach, which are heavyweight dimensions. He’ll probably move up in weight in the near future. Cieslak came up short in his only major championship fight, losing a decision to Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC title in January 2020. He rebounded from the setback by stopping both Taylor Mabika and Yury Kashinsky (last May) in his native Poland to earn a shot at Okolie.
Also fighting this week: Luis Torres (14-0, 9 KOs) will face Rodolfo Flores (14-5, 6 KOs) in a lightweight bout Thursday in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico (UFC Fight Pass); Joseph Adorno (14-0-2, 12 KOs) is scheduled to take on Iron Alvarez (14-1, 10 KOs) in a lightweight fight Saturday in Orlando, Florida (FITE).