Josh Taylor: “I sparred Yordenis Ugas it went very well, Dropped Him, I’m Pretty Confident If That Fight Came Around”

By: Hans Themistode

There isn’t anything left for Josh Taylor to do at 140 pounds. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t currently marking down new goals to accomplish.

In a two-year span, Taylor managed to capture every world title in the super lightweight division. After picking up the IBF and WBA trinkets against Ivan Baranchyk and Regis Prograis in back-to-back fights in 2019, Taylor officially became an undisputed champion as he dethroned former unified titlist, Jose Ramirez, earlier this year.

With Taylor considered far and away the top dog in the division, he has his eyes set on capturing even more gold, this time, in a new weight class.

“My longer-term goal is to become a two-weight world champion,” said Taylor during an interview with Sky Sports Boxing. “Win a belt up at welterweight, I believe I can beat these guys.”

Despite his ambitions, Taylor still has business to attend to at 140 pounds. The 30-year-old is currently set to take on mandatory challenger, Jack Catterall. The two will battle it out on December 18th, at the SSE Hydro, in Glasgow Scotland, in the main event.

While Taylor isn’t overlooking his man, he does have one foot in and another one out of the 140-pound door. As previously stated, Taylor would love nothing more than to pick up a world title at 147 pounds. Currently, Taylor’s promoter, Bob Arum, has floated around the idea of Taylor moving up in weight to take on pound for pound star, and WBO titlist, Terence Crawford.

All along, a matchup against Crawford is one that Taylor craves. But that isn’t the only 147-pound champion Taylor could see himself fighting.

After picking up the biggest win of his career against Manny Pacquiao just a few short weeks ago, WBA champion Yordenis Ugas firmly placed his name amongst the best that the division has to offer. Currently, the Cuban native is now angling for a unification showdown against WBC/IBF titlist, Errol Spence Jr.

But while Ugas wants the opportunity to aggregate more world titles, Taylor would love to step into the ring with him first. While they haven’t fought in a professional contest, the two have sparred against one another. Although sparring sessions are normally kept under wraps, Taylor revealed what exactly happened when the two squared off behind closed doors several years ago.

“I sparred Yordenis Ugas in Vegas and it went very, very well,” said Taylor. “I dropped him one time as well. I’m pretty confident if that fight came around.”