Scotland’s Josh Taylor has history in his sights. The unbeaten 30 year old southpaw who currently holds two of the four major belts at 140 pounds, is confident he will defeat rival champion, the likewise unbeaten Jose Ramirez, when they collide in Las Vegas on May 22. And if he’s successful in doing so, Taylor will become the first British fighter to hold all four belts at one weight: WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO.
Taylor, 17-0(13) says he would love to scoop up the two additional titles to the two he already holds, and then take them home to Scotland to show them to his hero, the great Ken Buchanan; for many the finest fighter ever to have come out of Scotland. Taylor spoke with The Mirror, and he said he hopes to be “talked about when I’m long gone.”
“This is why I’m so motivated – my name will have some kind of greatness attached to it if I win this fight,” Taylor said of the unification fight with Ramirez. “Undisputed world champion in the four-belt era, the first person from Britain to do it, the first person in Scotland to do it, and there are only four other fighters in the world to have done it (Bernard Hopkins, Terence Crawford, Jermain Taylor and Oleksandr Usyk). It’s a really special club to be a member of. I’m close to Kenny (Buchanan). I’d love to go home and see him with the belts and say, ‘Look, I’m just like you, champ.’”
But can Taylor beat 28 year old Ramirez, 26-0(17)? Every year, a great fight, one that really captures the imagination, comes along. For many of us, this is the fight. Two primed and peaking fighters, both unbeaten, going for ultimate glory. What’s not to like or get excited about? May 22 may well give us 2021’s FOTY. And at the end of the 12 sensational rounds Taylor-Ramirez will go, we will be screaming for a rematch.
Who wins a week today? Taylor, via split decision in a superb fight that elevates both men. And has us calling for more.