By Justin Estuart: Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor (17–0, 13 KOs), 30 years of age, is at the peak of his boxing career. The undefeated star boxer currently resides in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Furthermore, Taylor is the current unified WBA and IBF 140-pound champion.
Let’s take a look at Josh Taylor’s boxing career accomplishments so far:
Taylor’s first crack at a world title shot came on May 18, 2019, against then IBF Super Lightweight champion, Ivan Baranchyk (20–2, 13 KOs). For Taylor, this was an opportunity to become a world champion for the first time at the professional level. For that reason, Josh Taylor seized the moment to earn a 12-round unanimous decision over Baranchyk to earn the International Boxing Federation Super Lightweight Title.
Within that same year, Taylor decided to jump on a career-defining fight against Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (25–1, 21 KOs) on October 26, 2019. This fight at that point in time was a fight between two undefeated fighters in their prime unifying the 140-pound division for the IBF and WBA world championship along with the Muhammad Ali Trophy of the World Boxing Super Series on the line. Nonetheless, Taylor and Prograis went toe-to-toe in the ring in front of the enormous crowd at the O2 Arena in London.
For Taylor, he nodded a majority decision with the official scorecards of 114–114, 115–113, and 117–112. Not only that, Taylor showed the heart of a champion that night as he won a razor-thin decision against an elite fighter in the division, but ultimately raised his hand as the unified victor that night.
On Jan. 9, 2020, Taylor signed a multi-year promotional deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing along with an advisory contract with MTK Global. For Taylor, signing with a distinguished promotional company would further elevate his stardom to secure for lucrative fights in the future.
Moving forward, the champ made a mandatory defense for his IBF and WBA Super Lightweight titles against then no. 1 IBF contender, Apinun Khongsong (16–1, 13 KOs) on Sept. 26, 2020, at BT Sport Studio in London. In spite of that, Taylor showcased a dazzling body shot on Khongsong within the first round.
This performance now has Taylor in talks for the quintessential collision course for the undisputed 140-lb championship of the world against fellow unified WBO and WBC Super Lightweight champion, Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) in the second quarter of 2021.
For Taylor, this is the moment to be remembered in boxing’s vast history, to be distinguished as a top ten pound-for-pound fighter and to be universally recognized as the undisputed king of the 140-pound division.