Josh Taylor put himself in elite company tonight, becoming either the fifth or sixth (depending on your belief in Teofimo Lopez’s claim) undisputed champion in men’s boxing in the four-belt era, beating Jose Ramirez to unify the 140 lb division.
Taylor (18-0, 13 KO) won on scores of 114-112 across the board, which is a close score and only stopped from being a draw by a pair of knockdowns — or, really, at least one of them — in the sixth and seventh rounds.
But there isn’t a lot of controversy shouting out there given the scoring, other than whether or not Taylor deserved to win by wider margins. (He thinks he did, and I agree, and I think a lot of people feel the same. I’m sure there are others who disagree, but it’s not becoming A Thing.)
While this wasn’t one of those mega-marquee blockbusters, it was a truly, hugely significant fight for two guys right in their primes, who put on a hell of a fight, and the boxing world was tuned in.
Here’s some of what was said after the dust settled from pros around social media.
Don’t love the way Taylor closed the show, though it’s irrelevant. He dominated late. #Scotland has an undisputed world #boxing champion. Josh has earned respect on his name.
— Lou DiBella (@loudibella) May 23, 2021
I have Taylor winning clean but I could see one of these judges scoring it a draw
— Jrock (@Jrockboxing) May 23, 2021
Great fight!
Worthy of the word Undisputed.
Great performance from @JoshTaylorBoxer – worthy of the title Undisputed Champion.
Only downside is I had £50 on a Taylor stoppage! #RamirezTaylor— Dave Coldwell (@davidcoldwell) May 23, 2021
Josh Taylor P4P ranking, I’d say 5 or 6! Thoughts?
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) May 23, 2021
Josh Taylor could fight man! Congrats. Huge accomplishment
— Joseph Diaz (@JosephDiazJr) May 23, 2021
