Josh Taylor is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world and we take a closer look at the Tartan Tornado.
Early Achievements
Taylor began life in the taekwondo sphere, but at the age of 15 he made the switch to boxing and it’s fair to say that was a wise move.
As an amateur the Scot won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and he then went on to box at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Tartan Tornado went one better at the 2014 Commonwealth, when beating Namibian Junias Jonas and claiming gold in Glasgow.
Turning Professional
Taylor turned professional in 2015 and he quickly gained hot-prospect status. Of course, the Tartan Tornado wasn’t in with world champions at the start of his career, but 11 of his opening 12 victories came via stoppage and it was clear that Taylor was going to be a powerful performer.
First Real Test
Ohara Davies was making plenty of noise in the super-lightweight division and it wasn’t just his trash talking.
The Hackney hitter was unbeaten in 15 pro fights, when stepping in with Taylor and Two Tanks had just beaten former Commonwealth and British champion Derry Mathews.
There was plenty of buzz in the build-up to the fight, but it proved to be more of a non-event.
Taylor had Davies down in the third round and then got his man out of the ring in the seventh. The Tartan Tornado announced himself on the domestic scene with the demolition of Davies.
The Only Way Is Up
At this point Taylor was unbeaten in 11 fights and the Prestonpans puncher wasn’t hanging around in his pursuit of a world title.
Wins over Miguel Vazquez, Winston Campos and Viktor Postol followed and that opened up a slot in the World Boxing Super Series.
The Tartan Tornado still wasn’t fancied to be winning the lightweight event, but a victory against Ryan Martin got him a place in the semis and a shot at Ivan Baranchyk’s IBF world title.
The Scot’s aggression and punch output proved too much for the Belarussian, and the Tartan Tornado picked up his first world title, and a place in the final of the Super Series.
The reward was a shot at Regis Prograis’ WBA belt. Once again Taylor outpointed his opponent and became the unified light-welter king.
Undisputed
Jose Ramírez brought the WBA and WBO belts to the ring in May 2021 and the Prestonpans puncher made no mistake in taking the belts from the American.
The Scot is ranked as the world’s best active light-welterweight according to BoxRec and the Ring have Taylor as a top-five pound-for-pound fighter.
Taylor is due to defend all four belts against fellow Brit Jack Catterall in February and you wouldn’t bet against the Tartan Tornado once again storming to victory.