Scottish hero Josh Taylor, the current holder of two belt at 140 pounds, has a massive unification showdown set for May when he will face rival two-belt champ Jose Ramirez. Plenty of people, fans, experts and fellow fighters, see this fight as a pick ’em affair, and also a great action fight. But Taylor is already making even bigger plans. At just 17-0(13), Taylor says he will “move up to 147 and chase a second weight world title to really cement my reign in the history books.” And, as he said when speaking with Sky Sports, the two welterweights he would love to face are Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford.
Like most people, Taylor has nothing but respect for living legend Pac Man. Still, Taylor feels he would beat Pacquiao if he did get the chance to share a ring with him.
“To share a ring with my hero Pacquiao? That would be brilliant,” Taylor told Sky Sports. “How many people can say they shared a ring with their hero and beat them? Not many. [I like] everything about him. He’s funny, he sings, he puts on a Scottish accent, his fighting style, he’s a people’s champion, a really nice person, he gives money to feed people. He’s an absolute gentleman and his fighting style is ferocious – a southpaw with fast hands who can fight like hell.”
Like the rest of us, Taylor is waiting to see what the all-time great does next. Manny is now 42 years of age and he is closing in on retirement. However, there could be one, maybe two big fights left for the multi-weight king. Mikey Garcia could be next, or maybe it will be Terence Crawford. We will have to wait and see, but even at his advanced age, Pacquiao is one of the biggest stars, the biggest attractions, in the sport of boxing today. Taylor needs to fully focus on the Ramirez fight and the 30-year old says he is doing just that. But the Scot is also looking at a potential fight with Crawford.
“Crawford? Of course, he’s on my radar. It would be a massive fight – two undisputed champions fighting,” Taylor said. “These are longer-term goals. All I’m thinking about now is Ramirez ad winning those four belts.”
Plenty of fight fans are thinking about the May 22 fight set for Las Vegas, and we are really looking forward to it. This one has guaranteed excitement and drama written all over it. In fact, Taylor Vs. Ramirez could well turn out to be 2021’s Fight of the Year. Taylor is a special talent, that much has been apparent for years, and some experts feel he has it in him to one day be recognised as THE greatest Scottish fighter ever. A win over Ramirez, and then a win over Pacquiao and/or Crawford would very likely do it for Taylor. He wants his place in the history books and Taylor is going the right way about getting it. Of course, 28-year-old Ramirez, unbeaten at 26-0(17) is making other plans.