![]() The competition and encouragement gave Taylor a belief in himself. He qualified for the London 2012 Olympics, and represented Great Britain in front of the eyes of the world. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and then gold four years later. Taylor fought a long time, and came a long way to get to Saturday's fight in Las Vegas. If he beats Ramirez in their junior welterweight unification bout, Taylor will become Scotland's first unified champion in the four-belt era. On Saturday night, Taylor's going to attempt to accomplish that goal of becoming an undisputed boxing world champion - something not done by a Scot since Buchanan at lightweight (unifying the WBA, WBC and the lineal championships). "I was only a young pup, 18 or 19 years old and he's saying, 'You're going to be world champion one day,'" Taylor said. However, he needed a little convincing when it came to the legend's prediction for his career. Ken Buchanan, likely the greatest Scottish boxer ever at the time, stepped into Taylor's gym that day.īuchanan would come back often and tell Taylor his stories of fighting overseas and sharing a room with Muhammad Ali, offering all the advice he could. Then came a conversation, one that sparked a friendship and inspired a goal to become a unified world champion. Taylor had talent - there was little question about that. He was training, just another amateur hopeful in Scotland trying to become something more in life through boxing. Taylor was a teenager in the Lochend Boxing club in Edinburgh. Ramirez and Taylor spoke to Nick Parkinson to recall their memories of the moments that led them to Saturday's fight Both fighters are 2012 Olympians who turned their failure to win gold into professional careers in which they now own gold of a different kind, in the form of two belts apiece wrapped around their waists. Ramirez and Taylor have worked for decades to reach this moment. Ramirez and Taylor reflect on their paths to undisputed title fight Many fighters are champions, but few will ever do what Ramirez or Taylor will accomplish on Saturday night. Whoever wins deserves all the glory that comes with a victory of this caliber. The fact this fight is even happening is noteworthy in an era when boxing's best fighters find excuses for not fighting each other. Taylor is known for a tight, speedy attack, while Ramirez has a knack for relentlessness and carries good power. 1 fighter in ESPN's divisional rankings and a betting favorite over Ramirez, who is ranked No. Taylor-Prograis was considered by many to be one of the best fights of 2019 and was a majority decision victory, much like Ramirez's defense in 2020 over the tough Viktor Postol. In a common theme between both Ramirez and Taylor, their title bouts weren't one-sided affairs against glorified opponents. Taylor, a 30-year-old Scotland native, beat Ivan Baranchyk to win the IBF title in May 2019 before beating Regis Prograis to claim the WBA strap as well and the WBSS trophy. ![]() Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) earned his titles through the World Boxing Super Series, a tournament that has turned out compelling fighters such as bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion now making noise as a heavyweight. He became a unified champion in 2019 when he stopped Maurice Hooker in Hooker's home turf of north Texas to win the WBO belt. Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) started his title run in 2018 when the Mexican American out of Avenal, California, battered Amir Imam to win the WBC title. With each victory they eradicated doubt about their status among the world's best 140-pounders. Over the past couple of years, Ramirez and Taylor have plowed through the division to win titles. But perhaps more importantly, the quality of that undisputed status is something that is rarely attained. ![]() ![]() ET) will be crowned the undisputed junior welterweight champion of the world, and hold all four major belts in the division. The winner of the bout at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas (ESPN and ESPN+, 8 p.m. Each is a growing rarity in the sport - two fighters with undefeated records, with victories over quality opponents, who will put it all on the line in what should be one of the best fights of 2021. That's not the case with Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor. A fighter can sometimes stumble into becoming a champion if the matchmaking is good enough or the circumstances are favorable. LAS VEGAS - Not all championships are created equally.Įven in boxing, with the most legitimate belts swimming in an ocean of trinket titles, this is true. Ringside Seat: Boxing gets it right with undisputed bout between Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
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