Taylor vs Ramirez - UNDISPUTED - May 22 - Las Vegas - ESPN

[TIC]

i like louie. he won both those last fights. another tough fight for him here

[Master]

Josh Taylor eyeing boxing immortality in undisputed Las Vegas clash with Jose Ramirez

'Tartan Tornado' is on the brink of becoming Britain's first four-belt world champion

Josh Taylor is itching to etch his name into the history books against Jose Ramirez by becoming Britain’s first undisputed world champion of the four-belt era.

Only four other male fighters from around the world — Oleksandr Usyk, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor and Terence Crawford — have held the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles consecutively in their divisions.

And the 30-year-old 'Tartan Tornado' knows he will achieve boxing immortality if he can add 28-year-old American Ramirez’s WBC and WBO belts to the light-welterweight titles he already holds in Las Vegas on Saturday.

He said: “To be on the doorstep of achieving it is crazy.



“This is why I’m so motivated — my name will have some kind of greatness attached to it if I win this fight.

“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.

“It’s a really, really special club to be a member of and it’s one that puts my name in the history books so people will hopefully be talking about me when I’m long gone.”

Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed world champion from Britain after his 1999 victory over Evander Holyfield completed the set of WBC, WBA and IBF titles in the three-belt era.

While Taylor’s fellow Scot, Ken Buchanan, became Britain’s first undisputed world champion in 1971, when he held the WBC and WBA world lightweight titles.

Taylor added: “I never thought I’d hear my name mentioned in the same breath as Kenny’s as an undisputed world champion.

“Even when I turned professional, people were saying, ‘Can you be as good as Ken Buchanan?’

“I was, like, ‘Don’t disrespect the man, this is an all-time British great and you’re putting me in the same breath. Come on, that’s ridiculous’.

“But now it’s a realistic goal and I’m just a few days from achieving what he achieved.

“I’m close to Kenny as well, I’ve seen him a lot over the years.

“I’d love to go home and see him with the belts and say, ‘Look, I’m just like you, Champ’.”

Taylor only sees his clash with Ramirez, who is also unbeaten, ending one way.

He said: “I’ve visualised this fight over and over, thousands of times in my head, I’ve imagined it in lots of different ways, and every single time it’s me winning.



“My speed, power, skill, accuracy, boxing IQ, my brain will be different to anything he has faced before.

“The ball is in my court, the way I want to take the fight on, I’m better than him in every department and my skill levels will be the difference.

“He’s a very good fighter, he comes forward, puts the pressure on and he’s very good at what he does, so I’m not here disrespecting him.

“I just believe I’m better than him and he is going to have to prove me wrong.”

Ramirez v Taylor will stream live and exclusively in the UK on FITE for £9.99. Live coverage begins at 130am UK on Sunday, May 23.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxin...ality-24114870

[Master]

Josh Taylor aiming for 2021 superfight with Manny Pacquiao - but has to deal with Jose Ramirez first

Josh Taylor has revealed that he would be open to fighting Manny Pacquiao, but insists he is not looking past his next bout, a unification clash with Jose Ramirez.

WBA and IBF super-lightweight world titleholder Taylor (17-0, 13 KO's) has made no secret of his desire for a super fight with Pacquiao, even going so far as to name his childhood Staffordshire Bull Terrier after the legendary 'Pac Man,' 42, who has won world titles in eight weight categories.

"Manny is a hero of mine so when we named the dog it came about naturally, I could never have dreamed back then of fighting him but I would still love to now, 100 per cent," Taylor said to The Sun.

"As soon as that bell rang it would be down to business, even though he is an idol of mine and he isn’t as young as he used to be, he is still a dangerous top-level fighter so I would have to be ruthless."

Taylor also opened up about being recognised as one of the best fighters in the world. The 30-year-old, GIVEMESPORT's No. 2 best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, has won five of his last eight fights by stoppage.

"It is good but I am not bothered about being touted as the greatest this or that," he added. "I am not bothered about being recognised.

"But I do see it as a little sense of achievement that a little guy from Prestonpans can force his way into that list.

"I try not to but I do sometimes look at those lists and think ‘wow’ just because of how far I have come in a short space of time.

"One day when I am safely retired I can say 'Jesus Christ, I was one of the top-ten best fighters on the planet'.
"But right now I’m just in the zone, I’m going to become the undisputed super-lightweight champion and then I’m going to go up in weight and win a world title there."

Taylor defends his WBA, IBF and Ring magazine titles against unbeaten Ramirez in Las Vegas on Saturday.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...rtan-ntp-feeds

[Memphis]

I think this one comes down to who can best match what the other does best. Will versus skill and I think Taylor can match Ramirez will better than Ramirez can match Taylor's skill. Taylor won't shy away from a ruck but his skill set and IQ are better than Ramirez and I think that's what sees him home on the cards.

Criminally under the radar this. Being overshadowed by the heavyweight fucking circus. Undisputed in 18 or 27 fights respectively. That's impressive stuff.

[smashup]

I think this one comes down to who can best match what the other does best. Will versus skill and I think Taylor can match Ramirez will better than Ramirez can match Taylor's skill. Taylor won't shy away from a ruck but his skill set and IQ are better than Ramirez and I think that's what sees him home on the cards.

Criminally under the radar this. Being overshadowed by the heavyweight fucking circus. Undisputed in 18 or 27 fights respectively. That's impressive stuff.

For me this is hands down the fight of the year so far, Ramirez always comes out swinging but Taylor is the slicker boxer and can stand and trade with him.
This could very quickly turn into a Hagler v Hearns type of fight.
Taylor is currently the UKs best fighter and I expect him to win this but this'll be a brutal war along the way.

[east end bob]

I like this one. Two honest, go for it fighters. I give Josh Taylor the slight edge but it will be tough. Ramirez seems to improve with every fight and he will have to against Taylor to win. Taylor has that rare combination of ring craft, strength and toughness. Should be a great fight. Has to be more interesting than Fury having to beat up the Bum Squad again.

[smashup]

Taylor is in an elite group if he pulls this off!


Who are the other four-belt champions?

Oleksandr Usyk
Undisputed cruiserweight champion
21/07/2018 - 27/03/2019
Bernard Hopkins
Undisputed super-middleweight champion
29/09/2001 - 16/07/2005
Jermain Taylor
Undisputed super-middleweight champion
16/07/2005 - 14/12/2006
Claressa Shields
Undisputed female middleweight champion
13/04/2019 - 01/09/2020
Claressa Shields
Undisputed female super-welterweight champion
05/03/2021 - Present
Cecilia Braekhus
Undisputed female welterweight champion
13/09/2014 - 15/08/2020
Jessica McCaskill
Undisputed female welterweight champion
15/08/2020 - Present
Terence Crawford
Undisputed super-lightweight champion
19/08/2017 - 30/08/2017
Katie Taylor
Undisputed female lightweight champion
01/06/2019 - Present


https://britishboxingnews.co.uk/blog...s-jose-ramirez

[Master]

Josh Taylor on how a golfing accident put him on the path to world title glory

Josh Taylor faces Jose Ramirez for the undisputed world light-welterweight title in Las Vegas and his journey began with a golfing accident

Josh Taylor has revealed how a golfing accident helped put him on the path to world title glory.

Taylor bids to become the first British fighter to hold all four belts in one division when he faces Jose Ramirez for the undisputed light-welterweight title in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday.

The unbeaten Scot holds the WBA Super and IBF crowns and says he started fighting after a golfing accident as a kid left him with a scar on his face.

His cousin accidentally hit him with a golf club and he would lash out any anyone who taunted him about his injury.

“The scar was quite big and thick when I was younger and I used to get taunted about it,” said the Tartan Tornado. “People used to call me names and I would lash out because I felt insecure.

“Because I was small, they thought I was an easy target, but I never used to be an easy target, I would stand up for myself.

“I was about 10 and I was playing golf with my cousin,” said the slick southpaw. “I was standing right behind him and his follow through caught me right in the face.

“I put my hand on my face and when I took my hand away it was covered in blood, just completely covered in blood.

“I was in the ambulance laughing away and then the next thing I knew, I woke up with this huge thing on my face. I had to eat through a straw for the next six weeks and I lived off Wotsits.”

Taylor, 30, who is 17-0, faces WBC and WBO title holder Ramirez at The Theatre, Virgin Hotels and is thrilled at headlining in Vegas after watching so many big fights there.

His only regret is that his family and friends cannot be there to support him because of the coronavirus travel restrictions.

“I loved the Pacquiao, De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton fights,” he said. “I watched all the Mayweather ones growing up, so I’m really excited to be involved in a Vegas fight because it is the Mecca of boxing.

“My friends and family have supported me from day one so I would have loved nothing more than having them at ringside, cheering me on and seeing me become undisputed world champion in the biggest fight of my career.

“Instead I will just have to get the win without them and then take all the belts back home to show them.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxin...ident-24141066

[Spicoli]

Absolutely outstanding showdown, all cards on the table. Ramirez is a classy compliment to the sport. Feels a long time coming for Taylor and and can't help but feel heart says Ramirez brain says Taylor. Maybe even pulling away a bit before the dust settles. It's a mega fight.

[TIC]

same three judges as for jose against viktor. josh needs to knock jose out

[Master]

Josh Taylor: The undisputed world champion on next steps & wedding plans

In the moments after his stunning triumph over Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas, Josh Taylor wondered if the historic victory would have resonated, or even registered, back home in Scotland.

The build-up to his bid to become undisputed world champion was dominated by talk of how a fight of this magnitude had not been given the exposure it deserved.

Taylor admitted before and after his points victory over Ramirez he was annoyed that none of the major TV networks elected to carry the bout in the UK.

But, when the Prestonpans fighter landed back on Scottish soil, he was quickly disabused of the notion that his feat of capturing all four light-welterweight world titles had gone under the radar.

"It's been crazy," Taylor tells BBC Scotland. "I didn't realise the effect because I was in Vegas with the eight-hour time difference, so I was tucked away in my little bubble.

"I didn't feel the effect of it until I got home and saw all the reports in the papers and on the news. I had been thinking, 'is it going to go unnoticed back home?', but everyone seems to be super proud and my phone is still going crazy.

"I came back to my hometown of Prestonpans. There were hundreds of people waiting for me outside my local pub, where I used to drink.

"Family, friends and friends of friends, loads of people in the area coming out to support me. There were people hanging out their windows and clapping. It was a little bit emotional. My two mates in the back of the car were wiping some tears away. It was nice, a pretty cool moment."

If Taylor really was boxing in the shadows up to this point in his career, the show he put on against Ramirez has propelled him firmly into the light.

Celebrated names such as Tyson Fury, Andre Ward and Joe Calzaghe were queuing up to offer their praise and congratulations on social media.

Ring Magazine has bumped Taylor up to number five on their prestigious pound-for-pound list of the world's best boxers across all the weight divisions - and he's not ready to stop there.

"I think I can go higher, I really do," he says. "I watched the fight when I got back home and, while I am very proud of my performance, I give myself a seven or eight out of 10.

"I still believe I can perform so much better. You've not seen the best of what I can do yet.

"I'm really not in the game to get all the accolades and recognition. I'm not interested in all that stuff. I started boxing because I wanted to win, to beat the best and be the best.

"All the other fighters on that list are absolutely amazing. I'm honoured to even be on the list. I'm just thinking, 'Wow! How am I being talked about as pound-for-pound top five, top three? It's just surreal."

If the win over Ramirez was a career high for Taylor, it was a triumph too for his trainer, Ben Davison.

"He's all right for a personal trainer!" says Taylor. "That's what people keep saying about him on social media. He gets a lot of disrespect put on his name just because he sort of came out the blue and was working with Tyson Fury.

"But he worked with Tyson Fury because he's got a very good knowledge and understanding of the sport. He is one of the best coaches in the game.

"It's turned into a really good friendship as well. It's proved to be the best decision I ever made and I can't give him enough praise."

While the relationship with Davison is still in its infancy, Terry McCormack has been with Taylor on every step of his journey, right back to his early days at Lochend Boxing Club. Perhaps the most powerful images in the post-fight celebrations were of the embrace between Taylor and McCormack.

"Terry is just a diamond, he's one in a million," Taylor says. "He's a mentor to me, a psychologist, a friend, a dad, he's everything all rolled into one big, ugly, hairy man! He just means a lot to me.

"He's been there through so much, times in my life when I've been down about things. I had no money growing up when I was coming through. I was getting paid off from jobs and Terry would give me money to put petrol in my car.

"When things were down, I could tell him things, all my troubles. He's just been there for me, he's been a real solid for me and I've got so much love for the man."

'Wedding & stag plans take priority now'
In the aftermath of becoming just the fifth man in history to clean up all four belts in a single weight division, Taylor's name is being lobbed in with some of boxing's global icons for potential future bouts.

The Tartan Tornado said himself he would like a crack at Terence Crawford, the American superstar and three-weight world champion.

Crawford would present an enormous challenge but also an opportunity for a legacy-defining fight. So too would Teofimo Lopez. The conqueror of the great Vasyl Lomachenko, Lopez has said in the past few days he's ready to step up from 135lbs to challenge Taylor. It's another mouthwatering proposition.

But, as we salivate at the prospect of these fantasy fights, the next date in Taylor's diary may have nothing at all to do with boxing.

"I've been told by my fiancée, Danielle, that we have to go and look at wedding stuff," he reveals. "I think boxing is going to have to be put to the back of the head.

"I need to sort my stag do as well. Knowing me and what I've had to do my whole life so far, I'll probably miss it because I'll be in training. I need to sort that out and everything else that goes along with the wedding. I think Danielle will be pushing me to get busy with that."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/57296142

[X]

Great great performance by Taylor, against an excellent opponent.

It is genuinely a travesty that Mayweather v Paul got more coverage than this unification fight between two prime elite performers.

Taylor has that typical classic Scottish style ..... a teak tough, well conditioned stand up boxer with great fundamentals and decent power.

He has already mentioned his hero, Ken Buchanan, who he stylistically resembles - but there is also Jim Watt, Scott Harrison and Ricky Burns who all had that style too.

For the first 4 rounds I thought Taylor was awkward and off balance when he threw his power left hand, until I realised that by not twisting his body while throwing it, he was doing a brilliant job disguising it so Ramirez couldn’t see it coming.

[Master]

Josh Taylor: Lucrative fights at 'sexy' welterweight a lure for undisputed champion

Undisputed world champion Josh Taylor says he has "big-money fights" in the "sexy" welterweight division in his sights as he plots his next moves.

The Scot's unanimous points win over Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas last month made him the first British fighter to hold all four belts in any division.

Taylor, 30, says he has "lots of options" at both light-welterweight and the higher weight grade.

"I have to decide soon," he told BBC Scotland's Euros Breakfast Show.

"The ball's in my court but I can't take too much time because all the sanctioning bodies are going to start ordering me to fight the mandatory challengers. If I don't fight them, I'll get stripped of titles.

"I would like to go up and have the really big fights against Terrence Crawford, Errol Spence, my hero Manny Pacquiao and guys like that.

"They are real big fights and I call the 147 welterweight 'the sexy division'. It's a huge, deeply talented division.

"They are big-money fights as well, I'm coming to that point in my career now where I've worked hard so should get rewarded for it."

England's Jack Catterall, who is undefeated in 26 bouts, is the mandatory challenger for the WBO belt and likely to be Taylor's next opponent.

"I have a few good fights at 140 as well," added Taylor, whose record stands at 18-0.

"I have my mandatory with Jack Catterall from Manchester coming up, I've got that option too.

"So I'm in a good position. I've got all the cards and a good hand. I'll make the right decision when I'm ready."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/57484464

[TIC]

i like louie. he won both those last fights. another tough fight for him here

louie screwed again. it's always worth watching him fight