Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall: Chorley fighter believes becoming world champion is his destiny

The Chorley southpaw is primed to face reigning champion Josh Taylor in a blockbuster showdown on February 26 in Glasgow at the SSE Hydro Arena.

The duo were due to face each other this weekend but the Scotsman had to pull out of that date after picking up a knee injury.

Catterall (28), however, is undeterred by the delay and will be ready to take his chance next year for what he believes will be his date with destiny.

The former British champion, who has won all 26 of his pro bouts, has dreamed of this moment since taking up the sport as a youngster.

He said: "All the belts are on the line and these opportunities don't come around often.

"I have to go in there, soak up the atmosphere and put in a good performance.

"Josh is up there with the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, he's got all the belts but right now he is the enemy and I want what he has got. I won't just be there to take part.

"I have been knocking at the door of these world titles for some years now so I will be coming up with bad intentions.

"The Glasgow fans will see 17 years of hard work, not just 12 weeks of camp.

"It will be all the fights, all the learning, all the lessons, it will be everything put together on one night.

"To win this fight will mean the world to me and to come to Scotland and do it in front of Josh's own fans I think adds energy to the fight, so I'm just excited to get up there and take all these belts back down to England.

"Josh has seen all the styles there is, but he's never fought Jack Catterall. I believe on my day I can beat Josh."

Taylor, meanwhile, says he has no problems turning Catterall from friend to foe.

The Scot has no issues with the mandatory challenger from Chorley who was in Las Vegas in May backing Taylor when he unified all four super lightweight belts with a convincing decision win over the previously undefeated Jose Ramirez, which also extended his unbeaten record to 18-0.

With the pair meeting at two press conferences this week however, in Edinburgh and London, 30-year-old Taylor revealed a changed attitude towards Catterall.

He said: "I like Jack. I have a lot of time for him. There is no bad blood there, there never has been. But the mindset towards him now changes and that is easy for me.

"I can change the mindset with a click of my fingers. I am a fighting man and it is easy to change that mindset.

"I am getting sick of looking at his face already. I just want to get in the ring and beat him up and keep my belts.

"At the end of the day, he is coming for what I worked so hard to achieve. I came up the hard way, I had to beat champion after champion, undefeated fighter after undefeated fighter so he is getting the chance of all this glory in one fight.

"It is my job to make sure he gets nowhere near it. I don't think he will bring anything I haven't seen before and he hasn't fought anywhere near the level that I have. This will be a telling factor on fight night."

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