Josh Taylor (born 2 January 1991) is a Scottish
professional boxer. He is the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
and
''Ring'' magazine light-welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight division ...
world champion, having held the ''Ring'' title since 2019, and the WBO title since 2021. He previously held the
WBA (Super) title from 2019 to May 2022; the
WBC title from 2021 to July 2022; and the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
title from 2019 to August 2022. At regional level he held the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
light-welterweight title from 2016 to 2017, and as an
amateur boxer
Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations.
Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...
he won a
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
silver medal at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
and light-welterweight gold at the
2014 edition.
From May 2021 to May 2022, Taylor reigned as the
undisputed light-welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight division ...
champion, unifying all four major titles in the division and being only the sixth male boxer to do so. With his win over
José Ramírez in 2021, Taylor became the second Scotsman to be an undisputed champion and the first Briton to do so in the four-belt era.
Nicknamed "The Tartan Tornado" for his aggressive boxing style, Taylor's
knockout-to-win percentage stands at 68%. As of May 2022, he is ranked as the world's best active light-welterweight by
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profes ...
and the
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) is an all-volunteer initiative formed in October 2012 with the intention of providing professional boxing with authoritative top-ten rankings, identifying the singular world champion of every divisi ...
(TBRB), as well as the seventh-best active boxer,
pound-for-pound
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...
, by the
Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...
, and ninth by the ''Ring'' magazine.
Amateur career
Taylor was a junior
taekwondo champion, and turned to boxing at 15. He spent a short time at Meadowbank ABC and then moved onto Lochend ABC under coach Terry McCormack of
Edinburgh.
Taylor won a silver medal in the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
in
Delhi, where he was beaten by
Thomas Stalker in the
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
final by 11–3.
Following the
European Qualifying Event in
Trabzon, Turkey, the ACB Lochend boxer
qualified for the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London, losing to number two seed
Domenico Valentino
Domenico Valentino (born 17 May 1984 in Marcianise) is a boxer from Italy.
The hard punching Valentino won a bronze medal at lightweight at the 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Pula, Croatia.
He participated in the 2004 Summer O ...
in the round of 16. Taylor became the first lightweight Scottish boxer to qualify for the Olympics since
Dick McTaggart, who won a gold medal in
Melbourne in 1956 and a bronze in
Rome at the following games.
He reached a Commonwealth Games final again in
2014, this time at
light-welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight division ...
. Taylor won the gold medal, defeating Junias Jonas of Namibia in the final. Taylor also represented the
British Lionhearts at the
World Series of Boxing
250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards.
The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete p ...
.
Professional career
Early career
Taylor started his professional career in June 2015, signing with
Barry McGuigan
Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 ...
's Cyclone Promotions, and was trained by
Shane McGuigan.
Taylor made his debut in July 2015, defeating Archie Weah with a second round
technical knockout (TKO).
In his seventh fight, Taylor picked up the
Commonwealth light-welterweight title by beating
Dave Ryan with a fifth-round stoppage. Ryan went down twice over the course of the bout. Ryan had previously held the title between 2014 and 2015. Taylor won his first seven fights by
knockout (KO). His KO streak came to an end against Alfonso Olvera, who went eight rounds with Taylor at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sporting events
From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...
in
Las Vegas on 28 January 2017. Taylor won the fight by
unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
(UD) with scores of 79–72, and 78-73 twice. On 24 March Taylor defended his Commonwealth title for the first time, beating Warren Joubert with a sixth-round TKO, after hurting him several times with left hooks. Joubert went down in round six and his corner threw in the towel.
Rise up the ranks
Taylor vs Davies
On 8 July Taylor faced
WBC Silver
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
champion and fellow unbeaten prospect
Ohara Davies. The two had previously taunted each other on
Twitter. Taylor would also be defending the Commonwealth title. Taylor dominated the fight and stopped Davies, dropping him once in round three and twice in round seven before the referee halted the contest.
Taylor vs Vázquez
Taylor defended his WBC Silver title against former lightweight world champion
Miguel Vázquez on 11 November at the
Royal Highland Centre
The Royal Highland Centre, originally the Royal Highland Showground, is an exhibition centre and showground located at Ingliston in the western outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, adjacent to Edinburgh Airport and the A8.
History
The Royal H ...
. Although Vázquez' style seemed to pose problems for Taylor in the early rounds, Taylor wore him down as the fight went on. Vázquez went down in round nine from body shots, and he failed to beat the count. This was Vázquez' first stoppage loss.
On 18 January 2018 it was confirmed that Taylor would defend his WBC Silver light-welterweight title against veteran
Humberto Soto
Armando Humberto Soto Ochoa (born May 11, 1980), best known as Humberto Soto, is a Mexican professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over 20 years, he is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC super featherwei ...
on 3 March 2018, at the
SSE Hydro in
Glasgow. On 24 February 2018 it was revealed that Soto had sustained an injury whilst training meaning he had to pull out the fight. On the same day, Winston Campos was announced as his replacement.
Taylor vs Postol
In June 2018, Taylor fought former
WBC light-welterweight champion,
Viktor Postol, gaining a UD win in a twelve-round fight, meaning that he was placed in the
mandatory position to fight WBC light-welterweight champion,
José Ramírez. The fight took place at the
SSE Hydro,
Glasgow.
World Boxing Super Series
On 30 June 2018, it was announced that Taylor would join fellow light welterweights
Ryan Martin,
Terry Flanagan,
Regis Prograis
Regis Prograis ( ; born January 24, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He has held the WBC super lightweight title since November 2022, and previously the WBA super lightweight title in 2019. As of February 2021, he is ranked as the world' ...
,
Eduard Troyanovsky,
Anthony Yigit
Anthony Yigit (born 1 September 1991) is a Swedish professional boxer who challenged for the IBF light welterweight title in 2018. As an amateur, following his success in 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Yigit qualified for the 2012 Sum ...
,
Ivan Baranchyk and
WBA champion,
Kiryl Relikh in the eight man tournament.
Taylor vs Martin
At a gala held in
Moscow, Taylor selected to fight Ryan Martin in the quarter-finals. Taylor dominated the fight with Martin throwing few punches. In the seventh round, Taylor landed a flurry of punches that staggered Martin which resulted in referee Victor Loughlin stopping the fight.
Taylor vs Baranchyk
Taylor won his first world title, the
IBF light-welterweight title, by UD against
Ivan Baranchyk in Glasgow on 18 May 2019. Taylor scored two knockdowns in the fight.
Unified light-welterweight champion
Taylor vs Prograis
Taylor won a unification bout against
WBA (Super) light-welterweight champion Regis Prograis by
majority decision
A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on wh ...
(MD) in the final of the World Boxing Super Series at
The O2 Arena in
London on 26 October 2019. The fight was shown live on
Sky Sports Box Office
Sky Box Office is Sky's pay-per-view (PPV) system operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were three branded divisions of Sky Box Office – Sky Cinema Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and Sky 3D Box Office. Until 1 February 2011, the ...
. Two judges scored the fight 117–112 and 115–113 in favour of Taylor while the third scored it a draw at 114–114. Taylor lifted the Muhammad Ali Trophy as the winner of the
2018-19 World Boxing Super Series – Light-welterweight division along with the vacant
''Ring'' magazine title.
Taylor vs Khongsong
In his next fight, Taylor defended his titles against undefeated challenger
Apinun Khongsong on 26 September 2020 at
York Hall
The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inter ...
, London. Taylor did not waste any time, dropping and stopping Khongsong in the first round with a body shot. The time of stoppage was 2:41.
Undisputed light-welterweight champion
Taylor vs Ramírez
Taylor faced
WBC and
WBO champion José Ramírez on 22 May 2021, at the
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is a hotel and casino resort in Paradise, Nevada, east of the Las Vegas Strip. It previously operated as the Hard Rock Hotel from 1995 to 2020, before closing for renovations to be rebranded as Virgin Hotels.
Richard Bran ...
in
Paradise, Nevada, for the
undisputed light-welterweight title.
Taylor knocked his opponent down twice in the sixth and seventh rounds, both times with his left hand, en route to a unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the bout 114–112 in his favour. The result meant that Taylor became the second Scotsman to be an undisputed champion (after
Ken Buchanan); the first British fighter to become an undisputed champion in the four-belt era; and only the fifth man to do so after
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
,
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, ...
,
Terence Crawford
Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO welterweight title since 2018. Previously he held the WBO and '' Ring'' mag ...
and
Oleksandr Usyk.
Taylor vs Catterall
Taylor's first defence of his undisputed light-welterweight title had been scheduled for 18 December 2021, against WBO mandatory challenger
Jack Catterall
Jack Catterall (born 1 July 1993) is an English professional boxer who held the British light-welterweight title in 2017 and challenged for the undisputed light-welterweight title in February 2022.
Early life
Jack Catterall was born on 1 ...
at
SSE Hydro in Glasgow. It was announced by Taylor on 21 October that he had suffered an injury, and thus the fight was postponed to 26 February 2022.
On the night, despite being knocked down by Catterall in the eighth round and being seemingly outboxed by the challenger, Taylor was handed a very controversial split decision victory, with scores of 114–111 and 113–112 in his favour, and 113–112 in favour of Catterall. According to
CompuBox
CompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches around the world.
Background
The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in ...
, Catterall landed more punches than Taylor in 11 out of 12 rounds. The challenger landed 120 of 525 (23%) total punches, and 81 of 267 (30%) of his power punches, with Taylor throwing and landing far fewer in comparison: 73 of 306 (24%) overall, and 57 of 179 (32%) on power shots. Former world cruiserweight champion and pundit
Johnny Nelson
Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005, and has since worked as a boxing analyst. He is currently the longest reigning world cruiserweight champion of all time ...
stated, "It's decisions like this which turn casual fans off. Josh Taylor did not win that fight." The decision was labelled as "the biggest robbery in British boxing history". Irish bookmaker
Paddy Power
Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK Ireland (UKI) and International. UKI operation ...
stated that they would be refunding all stakes placed by their customers on Catterall to win the bout, as it "was an absolute robbery". Despite the widespread public opinion, Taylor was defiant in his post-fight interview, saying, "I don't think there is any need for a rematch... I know I won the fight."
Personal life
As a child, Taylor was passionate about
motorcycle racing, and "dreamed about being a world champion superbike racer or a world champion
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start o ...
racer"; he named motorcycle racers
Valentino Rossi and
Steve Hislop
Robert Steven Hislop (11 January 1962 – 30 July 2003) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. Hislop won at the Isle of Man TT eleven times, won the British 250cc Championship (1990) and British Superbike championship (1995 and 2002).
Hislop di ...
as his childhood heroes. Taylor has been a supporter of
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...
since he was a child.
In December 2019, Taylor was arrested and charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner due to an incident whilst partying in Edinburgh. After being asked to leave a nightclub, he said a bouncer's "nose ring is gay", and referred to the bouncer as a "gay-looking cunt" and a "big orange-looking cunt". Taylor later pleaded guilty at
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.
History
The new court was commissioned by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to replace the Old Sheriff Court i ...
and was fined £350. He said on Twitter afterwards, "I whole heartedly apologise for my stupid actions. It has been a rollercoaster of a year for me, becoming unified world champion and on this occasion I've taken it too far."
Taylor is engaged to Danielle Murphy.
Professional boxing record
Pay-per-view bouts
See also
*
List of world light-welterweight boxing champions
*
List of undisputed world boxing champions
This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing. Eras that are not listed do not have any undisputed champions.
Championship recognition
Titles have been awarded by:
*New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), founded in 1920
...
*
List of WBA world champions
*
List of WBC world champions
*
List of IBF world champions
*
List of WBO world champions
This is a list of WBO world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Organization (WBO). The WBO is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and has awarded world championships in 17 different we ...
*
List of ''The Ring'' world champions
*
List of Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
*
Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The boxing tournaments at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held from 28 July to 12 August at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.
A total of 286 competitors took part in 13 events. For the first time at an Olympic Games, women competed in three ...
*
List of southpaw stance boxers
References
External links
*
Profileon
AIBA
The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...
Josh Taylor - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Josh
1991 births
Scottish people of Irish descent
Living people
Scottish male boxers
People from Prestonpans
Alumni of Preston Lodge High School
Lightweight boxers
Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers of Great Britain
Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland
Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing
Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
World Boxing Association champions
International Boxing Federation champions
World Boxing Council champions
World Boxing Organization champions
The Ring (magazine) champions