Root and Stokes grind down weary India to stretch lead beyond 100
Taylor v Catterall
When all it takes is a millisecond to turn disaster into victory, who will come out on top? JOHN WIGHT predicts the result of Saturday’s showdown between Scotland's Josh Taylor and England’s Jack Catterall
Josh Taylor (left) and Jack Catterall during the press tour event on Oxford Street, London
AN ELITE fighter operating in his prime reminds us of the wondrous potential of the human mind and body when elevated to its fullest potential. Watching a prime Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ken Buchanan, Muhammad Ali et al in action is to experience vicariously what it’s like to touch transcendence.
On Saturday night in Glasgow Josh Taylor will climb into a boxing room in Scotland for the first time since achieving the high status of undisputed champion against Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas in May last year. In so doing he can look forward to the kind of reception that has been long overdue up to this point, given his achievements in the sport and the speed at which he has achieved them.
Watching him shadowboxing during the ritual media workout on Wednesday was to watch a fighter who has perfected his craft. Blistering hand-speed combined with beautiful footwork and balance suggests that his undefeated challenger, England’s Jack Catterall, will have to box out of his skin just to survive, never mind win.
More from this author
Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT
The Khelif gender row shows no sign of being resolved to the satisfaction of anyone involved anytime soon, says boxing writer JOHN WIGHT
When Patterson and Liston met in the ring in 1962, it was more than a title bout — it was a collision of two black archetypes shaped by white America’s fears and fantasies, writes JOHN WIGHT
In the land of white supremacy, colonialism and the foul legacy of the KKK, JOHN WIGHT knows that to resist the fascism unleashed by Trump is to do God’s work
