JOSH Taylor has vowed to bounce back and prove himself again after his rematch with Jack Catterall was shelved.
The undefeated boxing star was due to step back into the ring for a long-awaited rematch with Catterall at the beginning of March.
The duo battled it out for 12 rounds in February last year before Taylor retained his WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light-welterweight titles on a controversial split decision.
A rematch was confirmed for Glasgow’s OVO Hydro but the bout has been postponed after Taylor, who has only fought twice since the beginning of 2021, suffered a painful foot injury.
He told Courier Sport: “It has just been a crap three years with this on top of it.
“I was looking to get back to boxing regularly and often, two or three times a year.
“I wanted to get out this year and that has gone out of the window now.”
Taylor, who has had to vacate the WBC, WBA and IBF belts while waiting for the rematch, suffered “a pretty nasty tear” in his plantar fascia – a ligament connecting the heel to the front of the foot.
READ MORE: Josh Taylor's long-awaited rematch with Jack Catterall postponed
After initially thinking he had simply bruised his heel while jogging, he felt “a pop” in sparring last week.
An MRI scan brought back the news that he will need six to eight weeks’ recovery before he can get back to training.
The injury prevents Taylor from training, with experts advising that he lets it heal naturally.
He said: “It is hugely frustrating.
“I was in the real business end of the training camp.”
Taylor and Catterall were both in attendance at the AO Arena in Manchester ahead of Chris Eubank Jr taking on Liam Smith at the weekend.
And the rivals almost came to blows while they were sat at ringside.
The bout between the pair is now unlikely to take place until the summer at the earliest.
Taylor highlighted how he had been looking forward to getting back in the ring with his English rival, who was undefeated prior to their bout last year.
He said: “He has made it slightly more personal.
“It’s more personal than business for myself with the things he has said, what him and his team have put my family through in terms of online abuse.”
Taylor stressed he could have ignored calls for a rematch and gone on to “bigger and better things”.
READ MORE: Video: Watch as Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall almost come to blows
The former Commonwealth Games gold medal winner hit back at people suggesting he was “ducking” a rematch with Catterall.
The 32-year-old described people posting abuse online as “****heads with nothing better to do” and “trolls being trolls”.
He said: “I could have moved on to much bigger fights but, being a prideful man, I wanted to prove that it was just a bad night’s performance. Champions have done this before – Carl Froch versus George Groves; Froch did not have to do a second one.
“Floyd Mayweather Jr did it against Jose Luis Castillo.”
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