WBO #3 Jack Catterall (19-0, 10KO’s) defeats Tyrone Nurse (35, 3, 2, 7KO’s) in a Lancashire/ Yorkshire derby to claim the British super lightweight title by unanimous decision. The 3 judges scored it 118 to 111, 115-114 and 116-113, however Nurse was the home fighter and the 118-111 was probably the fairest scorecard.
Catterall was able to outwork Nurse, who seemed intent on pushing Catterall back and working on the inside, despite being the lesser inside fighter. Catterall moves on unbeaten, the fight was
very gritty and Catterall (who seemed weight drained) had to find a second wind down the stretch.
The first half of the fight saw Catterall outworking Nurse. He worked well to body and put in more effort on the inside to edge the close rounds. Nurse needed to work his jab more but never found the range, instead choosing to try and back up Catterall and using macho tactics.
In the 7th round Catterall, who has been criticized for not upping his output throughout fights, stepped up his game. He began to land hooks to the head of Nurse working on a cut. Nurse came back to win his first round since the first, in my opinion, in the 8th, however it seemed Catterall took the round off.
From the 9th to the final bell Catterall managed to work through the fatigue and push Nurse back. Nurse simply couldn’t find the target often enough, whilst Catterall worked body and head. It’s possible that Catterall should have been docked a point for low blows, however many of them were on the blindside of the referee.
The championship rounds were all Catterall. His body work may have helped him tire Nurse, who never upped his work rate. Early in round 12, Catterall tried to come on strong and find a KO, which he had predicted pre-fight, however he settled for the unanimous decision.
The 24-year-old prospect showed good heart in a fight he was likely weight drained. Nurse is a very awkward and tough competitor at domestic level, hence his 35 wins, however he had no answer offensively for Catterall’s effective pressure and head movement. I scored the fight 110-119 to Catterall.
It wasn’t a coming of age fight for Catterall, but it was impressive, as he took a step up in opponent. Also it has been said the Catterall struggles against awkward opponents, and they don’t come much more awkward than Nurse. Overall it was a good, dogged fight, a learning curve for any prospect. Catterall had supposedly put in good sparring performances at Mayweather’s gym, as well as sparring Canelo. I look forward to seeing a fully fit Catterall step up to European level now, and for Nurse, I assume he will battle on with the domestic circuit.