Dalton Smith believes Jack Catterall is the favourite against Josh Taylor.
Catterall and Taylor fought in 2022, and it was the Scot who claimed the victory, albeit in controversial circumstances.
Taylor won on points, and many - including Catterall - believed the Englishman had done enough to grab the win.
A rematch was planned but it is not until this weekend (live on DAZN in the UK) that it will finally take place.
Taylor lost his last match-up, against Teofimo Lopez Jr. when he lost the WBO super lightweight championship last year, but Smith expects he will be a much improved fighter on Saturday.
He told BoxingScene: “It’s gonna be a great fight. The first one was great. As a boxing fan – and I know many other people out there are looking forward to it – it’s a great, great fight.
“In my eyes, Catterall [is the favourite]. I had him winning the first fight, but I’m expecting a completely different fight. It’ll be a lot different from the first one. Josh Taylor took it quite lightly the first time, but I’m sure he’ll have trained to his full capacity; no stone left unturned. We’ll see a more competitive fight. It’s a fight I’m looking forward to.
“He’s still a very good fighter, and he’s mixing with the best. You can’t take anything away from the losses against fighters at the top. It’s the elite level. Josh is still a great, great fighter, and that’s why I’m expecting to see a very competitive fight.
“Lopez is one of the best if not the best in the division. You can’t take anything away from those losses; that’s what happens with the best. You’re gonna come up short at some point, and that’s boxing. But Josh Taylor’s a very, very good fighter.
“From some of his previous fights you can say ‘Yeah [he was struggling at the weight]’, but the fight against Teofimo he looked good on the scales, so there’s only Josh who knows himself about making the weight. Making weight’s not an easy thing to do. We’ll see when the weigh-in day comes how both fighters look on the scales.
“It’s a guessing game. Only they know how they’re performing in the gym. We’re gonna see that fight night, but momentum’s great for any fighter. But sometimes things happen in boxing – you get injuries; you get pull outs. It’s just about staying consistent; staying in the gym. Hopefully it all pays off on fight night.”
He then made his prediction, adding: “I think Catterall [wins on] points. It’s gonna be a more competitive fight. The only thing we can do as fighters is do our job, and that’s fight. Judges need to score the fight fairly and we’ve seen in the fight before they’ve not done that. Hopefully the judges can do their job and it’s a fair result."
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