Josh Taylor: Scottish former world champion announces immediate retirement

A talented amateur, Taylor represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London but it was two years later that he shot to prominence by winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at the Hydro in Glasgow.

That venue would host some of Taylor’s greatest nights, including his victory over Ivan Baranchyk in 2019 when he captured his first world title.

Later that year, the Scot edged a classic fight against American star Regis Prograis in London to unify the IBF and WBC light-welterweight titles.

That in turn set up a showdown with another US fighter, Jose Ramirez, in Las Vegas in May 2021 for all four belts. Taylor made history by flooring Ramirez twice en route to a points victory and became undisputed champion of the world.

A controversial points win over England’s Jack Catterall in February 2022 sparked the downturn in Taylor’s career, with injury and inactivity a blight on the past few years.

Having vacated three of his four belts amidst a host of injury problems, he lost the last of his world titles to American Teofimo Lopez in New York in 2023 and was beaten by Catterall in their rematch in Leeds last year.

Defeat by Essuman in Glasgow two months ago proved to be the final chapter in an extraordinary career few other fighters, particularly from the UK, have ever enjoyed.