There was a period in Josh Taylor’s career when momentum was with him to the extent he was travelling at the speed of light.
There are shooting stars – they’re quick, and then they’re gone. Taylor – for a period – was unmissable. He was incredible. At his very best, he represented one of the best fighters I’ve seen.
Even most champions don’t reach the levels Taylor once did. To win the undisputed junior-welterweight title in 2021 he had to beat a lot of very good fighters. He defeated Ivan Baranchyk, a very good puncher, Regis Prograis, who was very dangerous, and later Jose Carlos Ramirez in a showdown that divided opinion about the likely outcome. In the build-up to all of those fights Taylor wasn’t once a big favourite – it was difficult to pick a winner – so every time he won he recorded another worthwhile achievement, and he also always did so in impressive fashion.
At his very best, Taylor had speed, was a strong combination puncher, and had an understanding of when to throw and effectively execute particular punches. His IQ – his sense, and his instincts – was also impressive, and succeeded against very good fighters.
Until he started to decline he didn’t have many weaknesses. It was only when he started to perform to a lower level that there were suggestions about his professionalism and a lack of focus – and those suggestions can be common when a fighter declines, as he did, at speed. I’ve spoken to him a few times in my life but can’t claim to know him well so I can only attempt to judge him by the standards of his boxing – and when he performed, he really was something else.
There’s an interesting debate surrounding his perceived “greatness” among both Britain’s greatest ever and also the greats, anywhere, of the modern era. “Greatness” is often complemented by longevity, which Taylor didn’t have – but longevity isn’t necessarily always rewarded with descriptions of greatness.
At his very best Taylor was capable of competing with any fighter Britain has produced. I remember expecting him to prove Scotland’s greatest ever – he was certainly on his way to surpassing Ken Buchanan – so the question surrounds whether his peak lasted long enough for him to have done so. At his very best – during the World Boxing Super Series, and the victory over Ramirez in 2021 – he would have troubled any fighter in history.
The era, at 140lbs, in which Taylor proved himself the best was a very good one – possibly the best since the era I competed in, led by Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter. There was another very good era after that led by Timothy Bradley, Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander and Amir Khan, but unlike in Taylor’s time we didn’t then regularly see the best fight the best – and I believe he could have competed in both.
There’s another interesting debate surrounding how Taylor compares with Hatton and Khan, fellow British world champions at 140lbs. If he’d fought Hatton – the Hatton who beat Kostya Tszyu – Hatton might have had the physical edge, but Taylor would have more sharply put his punches together, making it difficult to separate them. If he’d fought Khan, Khan would have had some advantages and Taylor would have had others – and the combination of their speed and combinations would again have impressed.
But that’s the Taylor at his best. After the victory over Ramirez he was awarded a controversial decision over Jack Catterall, and then lost to Teofimo Lopez, Catterall, and, at welterweight, Ekow Essuman. Catterall’s a crafty, difficult fighter capable of making opponents look bad, but the Taylor of the World Boxing Super Series would have beaten him. Lopez was very good and very sharp that night in 2023 and would have been tough for any version of Taylor – but, again, the best Taylor was already gone.
There’s a quote from the movie The Gladiator that comes to mind when I hear people discussing Taylor’s career during that run. “The mob’s very fickle, brother.” The mob is very fickle – does that run undermine what came before it and the legacy he built? When we reflect on fighters’ careers we should remember them at their very best – on the nights they sparkled. Most fighters don’t have nights when they sparkle – Taylor had several of them. The absence of longevity in his career shouldn’t be allowed to hold it back when it’s judged.
Taylor had a career worthy of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He’s also retiring, at the age of 34 having suffered an eye injury, with – we can all hope – his health and finances intact. Most fighters probably don’t have that, either.
