Former undisputed super-lightweight champion Josh Taylor returns to the ring against the WBO European welterweight champion Ekow Essuman at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday, May 24, live on DAZN.
Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs), now 34, steps up to welterweight for the first time, after being edged on points in his last fight by bitter rival Jack Catterall in May 2024.
The Scottish star made his professional debut in 2015 following an astounding amateur career that saw him claim silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, then gold at the 2014 edition. He also competed in the 2012 London Olympics and represented the British Lionhearts in the World Series of Boxing.
In just his seventh bout as a pro, “The Tartan Tornado” won the Commonwealth super-lightweight title by defeating the rugged Dave Ryan, then defended the strap on two occasions, which included a memorable domestic grudge match against the outspoken Ohara Davies, a fight in which he was also crowned WBC Silver champion.
Taylor’s green and gold WBC Silver belt was defended four times against opponents of the stature of Viktor Postol and Ryan Martin, before a maiden world title shot came in May 2019.
Taylor defeated Ivan Baranchyk on points in Glasgow to become the IBF world super-lightweight champion, then doubled his belts five months later by beating WBA titlist Regis Prograis in a cracking World Boxing Super Series final in London.
Taylor was crowned the undisputed champion in his next fight against unbeaten WBC and WBO titlist Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas in 2021. As world champion, he defeated five unbeaten foes in a row, with a combined total of 111-0.
That incredible run included the highly controversial result against Jack Catterall in 2022, where the judges’ scorecards at ringside were later investigated after what seemed like biased scoring in his home country.
In his New York headlining debut, Taylor lost his hoard of silverware to American star Teofimo Lopez in a unanimous decision. Then Taylor suffered back-to-back defeats when he was widely decisioned by his English enemy, Catterall, in their highly-charged rematch, almost 10 months ago now.
His next opponent, Ekow “The Engine” Essuman (21-1, 8 KOs), is the reigning WBO European welterweight champion, having defeated former holder Owen Cooper in July and another unbeaten challenger, Ben Vaughan, in November.
35 from Nottingham, Essuman previously held British, Commonwealth, WBC International Silver and IBF European titles. He is currently placed 5th in the WBO world rankings.
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Land of the Brave
Also featuring on the card is a featherweight cracker between the unbeaten former British champion Nathaniel Collins (15-0, 7 KOs) and ex-European bantamweight champion Lee McGregor (15-1-1, 11 KOs), providing an all-Scottish showdown for the prestigious WBC Silver championship.
WBA Continental cruiserweight champion Aloys Jr (9-1, 8 KOs) will take on a Scottish challenge from East Kilbride’s David Jamieson (13-3, 10 KOs).
There’s a Glasgow derby at middleweight with Aston Brown (7-0, 2 KOs) taking on Reece Porter (5-0, 3 KOs) over 10 rounds for the Scottish title, along with a host of other Scots: Drew Limond (3-0), Lee Welsh (4-0, 1 KO), Sean Lazzerini (2-0, 1 KO) and debutant Alex Arthur Jr.
Tickets for Land of the Brave go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 7 from ticketmaster.co.uk
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