Josh Taylor etched his name into the history books forever as he relieved Jose Ramirez of his WBC and WBO super lightweight titles to become the first Briton to become undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Tensions were high and there was plenty of needle in the build up in Las Vegas. When Saturday night arrived the fight did not disappoint.
The pressure on the Scot was immense as he looked to emulate his hero, Ken Buchanan. Taylor would have to box in America which hasn’t been the happiest of stomping grounds for Brits recently.
After a strong start, Ring Magazine champion, Taylor seemed in full control before Ramirez fought back towards the midway point. However, two knockdowns in Josh’s favour certainly should’ve put the victory in no doubt.
All three judges deemed Taylor a 114-112 victor, with the knockdowns proving crucial in crowning the 30-year-old the undisputed ten stone king.
Who’s in line for a potential shot next?
Jack Catterall
The most likely opponent next for Taylor will be Jack Catterall. The WBO mandatory challenger stepped aside to allow the undisputed clash to proceed.
Catterall was in Vegas to keep a close eye on the outcome – ‘El Gato’ will be pleased with the result and will be hopeful he and his MTK stablemate can get a deal signed.
Jack has already insisted he is more than content to travel to Scotland to do battle and Bob Arum has also declared his interest in making the bout.
Terence Crawford
‘Bud’ Crawford is the other name that has been thrown into the hat, and is likely the person Taylor would like to face the most.
Crawford, also promoted by Top Rank, would be another fight which should be straightforward to make in-house. Terence has the profile and a name that carries a lot of weight in the sport and a victory over him would catapult Josh to pound-for-pound greatness level.
It would mean ‘Bud’ stepping back down from welterweight where he moved to after he was the last man to be the undisputed 140 pound champion.
With Errol Spence facing Manny Pacquiao next Taylor is the next big name Crawford could look at and to claim back his belts he relinquished in 2018.
Regis Prograis
Back in October 2019, Prograis and Taylor fought to a fight of the year candidate in the final of the World Boxing Super Series at the o2 Arena.
Prograis, to this day, remains confident he should’ve got the victory that night and believes his stock has only risen since Taylor defeated Ramirez.
Whilst Regis has been chasing a showdown with Adrien Broner he would be open to a rematch with his former foe and it surely would be a fight that would go down well with the fans.
Gervonta Davis
‘Tank’ Davis will be moving up to 140lbs to take on the WBA world champion, Mario Barrios.
Taylor holding the ‘Super’ title, the highest version of the many that the WBA hand out, would see Gervonta at the front of the queue to face ‘TTT’ should be defeat Barrios.
Like Crawford, ‘Tank’ has a reputation in boxing as one the top tier fighters. Someone who’s exciting to watch, contains explosive power and backed by none other than Floyd Mayweather.
Davis could find himself too small for the super lightweight champion, however, the dynamite possessed in his fists can change a fight.
Jose Zepeda
Finally, Jose Zepeda. Since losing to Jose Ramirez in February 2019 ‘Chon’ has put together a string of quality wins.
Almost flying under the radar, Zepeda has racked up victories against Jose Pedraza, Kendo Castaneda, Ivan Baranchyk and more recently Hank Lundy in the co-main event on Saturday night.
With the aforementioned scalps since his last defeat, Zepeda should find himself in a mandatory position sooner rather than later if not already for one of Taylors titles.
Who would you like to see Taylor fight?
Scroll down to the comments section and let us know who you would like to see ‘The Tartan Tornado’ face next!
