Josh Taylor may need to retire if he loses tonight against domestic-level fighter Ekow Essuman in Glasgow, Scotland. The former undisputed light welterweight champion Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs) lost his last two fights, and he’s hoping to rejuvenate his career at 147. He wants to taste the big dough before hanging up his gloves.
Taylor’s Career Jeopardy
The 36-year-old Essuman (21-1, 8 KOs) isn’t the type of fighter that Taylor should lose to if he has anything left. This guy would be a walk in the park for almost any top-tier welterweight to beat, but it’s questionable whether Taylor is good enough to beat even this level of fighter.
“I think so. The heights where he’s been to, and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. He was an undisputed four-belt champion. He was the first of the four-belt era from the UK. He was the first one ever that did it from the UK, and he did it in 20 fights,” said Carl Frampton to talkSport when asked if Josh Taylor should retire if he loses to Ekow Essuman tonight.
What heights is Frampton talking bout? Taylor never got the huge money that fighters are getting today on Turki Alalshikh’s cards. As far as his best career wins, he’s not beaten the killers that are around today. Taylor’s best wins were against these beatable fighters:
– Regis Prograis
– Jack Catterall: *Controversial
– Jose Ramirez
– Viktor Postol
– Ohara Davies
– Ivan Baranchyk
“He’s one of my favorites to watch. I think if you’re losing to someone like Essuman, even though he’s a good fighter, considering the heights you’ve already been at, it’s probably time to call it a day. I don’t see Josh Taylor losing this fight. I think we’ll see a reinvigorated Josh Taylor up at the new weight division. I hope that we see glimpses of class,” said Frampton.
It is already time for Taylor to call it a day. But losing to Essuman would make it patently obvious that Josh needs to retire, and would force him to. He’s obviously hanging on to try and get some big paydays while he’s way out the door. If he could beat Essuman and get lucky getting a big-money fight against Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, or Jaron Ennis, it would give him a soft landing into his retirement.
Welterweight Not a Fix
“I think the new weight division is going to be a massive key factor for Josh Taylor, who hasn’t looked particularly good in his last couple of fights,” said Spencer Oliver. “That Jack Catterall defeat and Teofimo Lopez as well. He seemed to be struggling. The strength seemed to have gone there.”
Fighting at welterweight isn’t going to make Taylor a better fighter, bring back his youth, or take the miles off his odometer. If Taylor is matched against a good fighter at 147, he’d lose just like we saw in his last two fights. The only difference is that it would be a worse defeat.
“He’s got good speed and a good engine, but that wasn’t there at this weight. So, I think we’re going to see a new, revived Josh Taylor, and will come out and put on an exhibition as he should be. If he has anything left, he should be beating the likes of Ekow Essuman,” said Oliver.
I imagine Taylor’s promoter has vetted Essuman and deemed him harmless before this fight was made. There’s too much money for Josh to make fighting welterweights like Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for his promoters to waste it by matching him against a good fighter in his debut at 147. Essuman isn’t popular enough for Taylor’s management to make this fight if victory wasn’t assured.