By: Sean Crose
Undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor returned to the United Kingdom in high fashion, via a champagne stocked private jet, after besting Jose Ramirez in dominant fashion this past weekend. Still the man wasn’t entirely happy with how the judges ruled Saturday night in Vegas, even though he was given a unanimous decision victory. “These scores were just a joke,” the Scotsman told iFL TV,”114-112 across the board is an absolute joke.” Taylor went on to indicate that his team was suspicious of the powers that be leading up to the bout. “I wasn’t comfortable at all with the judges,” he said. “We said no to that Steve Weisfeld.”
Whether he felt the scores were too close or not, there’s was little doubt among officials and fans alike that Taylor got the better of Ramirez in their twelve round bout. Although Ramirez certainly had his strong moments – he looked to be wearing his man down at one point – Taylor simply proved to be too strong, accurate, and skilled for the game Texan. By virtue of two knockdowns, one coming courtesy of a viscous uppercut, Taylor was able to bank the points to win the most important ring battle of his life.
“We came, we saw, we conquered,” said Taylor. “I won that fight clearly.” Although he appeared somewhat bitter, the fighter also appeared quite pleased with how matters had played out for him. “The past is irrelevant,” he said in regards to what he felt was unfair treatment. As for the future, Taylor made it clear that he doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels. “I want to fight the best,” he said. He’ll have plenty of options. Two, in particular are being bandied about among the media and online: welterweight titlist Terence Crawford and lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez.
The now 18-0 Taylor has undoubtedly catapulted himself into the pound for pound ranks of many, if not most, analysts, but such things tend to indicate that more is expected. Taylor, however, appears more than happy to oblige. “I’d like to go up to 147 and chase a real, real big fight like Terence Crawford,” he said after the win on Saturday. Crawford is certainly looking for a high level opponent, after a bout with Manny Pacquiao recently fell through (Pacquiao will now be fighting another welterweight titlist, Errol Spence, in August). Although he’s likely to have a homecoming fight next, Taylor doesn’t come across as a man who will avoid the bigger challenges.
As he said in the iFL TV interview: “I’m just a fighting man.”