In what was described as a grudge rematch Jack Catterall 29-1; 13 avenged his loss to former undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor 19-2; 13, winning on a unanimous 12-round points decision on Saturday night at the Direct Arena in Leeds, England. It was 27 months ago that they first fought in Glasgow, Scotland with Taylor winning on a controversial 12 round points decision. However, this time in what was another closely fought encounter Catterall was a clear winner, with scores of 117-111 twice and 116-113. .
UNDERCARD
In a cruiserweight bout Cheavon Clarke 9-0; 7 won on an eighth round knockout against Ellis Zorro 17-2; 7 to win the vacant British title. A right hand sent Zorro down and out at 2:59 into the round.
Welterweight Paddy Donovan 14-0; 11 stopped Lewis Ritson 23-4; 13 in the ninth to retain the WBA Continental title. The time was 32 seconds.
In a lightweight bout, Gary Cully 18-1; 10 won on points over ten rounds against former European champion Francesco Patera 29-5; 11. The scores were 96-94 twice and 98-92.
CRISTIAN MBILLI WINS IN ONE ROUND
WBC No 1, WBA No 2, IBF No 3, WBO No 3 super middleweight Christian Mbilli 27-0; 23 smashed Mark Heffron 30-4-1; 24 to defeat in the first round on Saturday night at the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Mbilli came out fast at the bell scoring with shots to the body to win in 40 seconds. .
The IBF No 12, WBC No 14 heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov 19-1; 18 won on a second-round knockout against Miljan Rovcanin 27-4; 18. A big right hand knocked Rovcanin halfway out of the ring to score a knockdown in the second round. The time was 2:32.
Light heavyweight Mehmet Unal 10-0; 8 stopped Rodolfo Gomez Jr 14-8-3; 10 in the fourth round. Time was 2:17.
FELIX VALERA WINS IN SECOND ROUND
The former WBA interim light heavyweight champion Felix “Mangu” Valera 23-5; 20 fighting at cruiserweight won in the second round against fellow countryman Andy Perez 20-15; 15 in Santo Domingo, Domincan, Republic. A right hand to the body ended it.
VLAD PANIN STOPS DEVON ALEXANDER IN TWO
In a middleweight bout “Super Bad” Vlad Panin 19-1; 11 won on a second-round knockout over former two-division world champion Devon Alexander “The Great” 27-9-1; 14 on Friday night at the River Cree Resort Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Panin dropped the 37-year-old Alexander with a short-left hand. Alexander got up and complained that the punch was behind his head, but the referee stopped the fight. The time was 1:52.
LAWRENCE OKOLIE WINS WBC BRIDGERWEIGHT TITLE
Former WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence “The Sauce” Okolie 20-1; 15 won on a first-round stoppage against WBC bridgerweight champion Lukasz Rozanski 15-1; 14 on Friday night at the Podpromie Arena in Rzeszow, Poland. The 6’5 Okolie dropped the 38-year-old Rozanski three times in the first round to end it at 2:55 into the round.