Josh Taylor has claimed he heads into his long-awaited rematch with Jack Catterall unhindered following his unanimous decision defeat by Teofimo Lopez last June in The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Lopez relieved Taylor of his only remaining title by clinching the WBO super lightweight crown and the lineal championship.
Taylor's loss to Lopez was the first time he had boxed following his controversial victory in February 2022 over Catterall, when he survived a knockdown and a points deduction to scrape a highly contentious decision.
Now, however, Taylor insists there is nothing to hinder his performance and that the injuries that prevented him from preparing properly are consigned to the past.
"I am 100 per cent this time, 100 per cent because I now have nothing hindering me in my preparations," said Taylor, from Scotland.
"This is going to come across that I am coming out with excuses again, but I had a bad f****** injury. In the lead-up to that fight [Lopez], I couldn't do any leg work or spar.
"I couldn't do any running, I couldn't do any proper weights or circuit training, basically anything heavy on the feet.”
The former undisputed champion explained that he only sparred for six weeks prior to fighting Lopez, and said that training had been fine until he was injured.
"I only got back to sparring six weeks before the fight [Lopez], but I was sparring well, to be fair. I was sparring well, I felt fit, and I felt strong,” he continued.
"So that is why I went into the fight. I felt like that, and I was preparing well in the gym, but come fight night, the legs were just not there.
"He beat me on the night. He was better than me and beat me, that's it.”
