Josh Taylor says Jack Catterall’s promise to go looking for the knockout in their much-anticipated rematch on Saturday is “music to my ears”.
The pair meet in Leeds on Saturday over two years on from their first bout in Glasgow when Taylor was awarded a controversial points victory.
Catterall has predicted he will stop Taylor, 33, this time around.
“He’s talking knockout, he’s going to come out aggressively and try and be more engaging, which is great,” Taylor told BBC Scotland.
“I’ve seen a lot of gaps in his offence game. He leaves a lot of gaps and a lot of holes for him to walk onto a nice sweet shot and it will be a goodnight Vienna.
“So, yeah, it’s music to my ears if that’s what he wants to do, great. That’s my forte, fighting.
“If he wants to box then great, but we’ve done that as well, we’ve been smart as well. I’m prepared to the best in my ability this time so I’m looking forward to it.”
It’s been three years since Taylor became undisputed light-welterweight champion with victory over Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas.
That was arguably the last time the Tartan Tornado performed anywhere near his best, but the Scot is adamant he is still in his prime.
“I know what I can do,” he said. “I’ve had a stellar career and I’ve got a great bunch of people around me as well.
“They would be the first to say to me, ‘Look, you’ve done it, you’re not performing the same’. But the way I’m performing in the gym, the sparring sessions I’ve been putting in, the running, my body’s coping well with everything.
“So yeah, I’m still in the prime of my life. I’ll continue to box and after I take care of business on Saturday, it’s only big fights again, back on the chase and getting titles back.”
Meanwhile, Catterall predicts he will knock Taylor out between rounds six and nine and says “it will be a relief” to finally put their bitter rivalry to bed.
The Chorley fighter told BBC Scotland: “It’s a fight that’s been talked about way before the first fight and then two years in the aftermath, so our names have been linked.
“In a round about way, it’s good for boxing and it’s good for us, the rivalry we’ve created. But to win convincingly, draw a line under it and move on with my career, that’ll be good.”
