Josh Taylor eyes ‘big fights’ after welterweight test against Ekow Essuman

Taylor, who was previously undisputed champion at super-lightweight, enters a new division on Saturday

Josh Taylor has said he is eyeing “big fights” after his homecoming clash with Ekow Essuman this weekend, as he begins an “assault” on the welterweight division.

The Scottish star fights on home soil on Saturday as he takes on Essuman at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro, in a must-win bout for the former undisputed champion.

Taylor, 34, retained all four major belts at super-lightweight with a controversial decision against Jack Catterall in 2022, before vacating the WBC and IBF straps, being stripped of the WBA title, and losing the WBO gold to Teofimo Lopez.

Taylor then fell to a defeat by Catterall in their rematch last May, meaning he is eyeing a return to winning ways on Saturday (24 May).

“It is great to be back here, and this has been my home since the Commonwealth Games,” Taylor said at a press conference on Thursday. “I’ve had most of my big fights here – Viktor Postol, my first world title against Ivan Baranchyk.

“It has been a little while since I’ve been here, so I am looking to put on a big show on Saturday. Obviously training has been gruesome and hard, hard work, but it feels like I am at holiday camp this week.

Josh Taylor at the press conference for his bout with Ekow Essuman (Leigh Dawney/Queensberry)

“No dieting, cutting weight or drying out tonight, getting the last bit of water you can out of you. There is none of that this week, I am full of beans, full of energy with a spring in my step. I can’t wait to get going on Saturday.

“I will get this journey rebooted and kickstarted again, take care of business on Saturday, do it in a good fashion and look forward to moving on to big fights in the future.

“At 140lb, what else was there left for me to do? I’d completed boxing in a sense and won every single belt you can win. What else was there for me in terms of challenges, setting new targets? There was nothing to do, so what there was was moving up with an assault on becoming a two-time, two-weight world champion.

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“I am planning on taking this guy out on Saturday and that is what I’m going to do.”

Josh Taylor (right) during his rematch defeat by Jack Catterall last May (PA Wire)

Essuman, 36, responded: “I don’t take offence to it, it is what it is. He’s in my way, I’m in his way. Of course he believes it, he should. That is good; if he wants to try and end it early, it might be to his detriment. I came prepared for the best Josh Taylor there can be, so this is just confirming what I thought would come.

“It doesn’t matter about being his backyard or if it was back in Nottingham or in London. I don’t have a lot of shows I’ve boxed on in my home city, like big shows, so I am used to being the away fighter. It is just same job, different venue.”

Should Taylor win on Saturday, he could find himself in line for a world-title shot, with Jaron “Boots” Ennis holding the IBF and WBA belts, Mario Barrios owning the WBC strap, Brian Norman Jr the WBO champion.

However, Barrios is due to defend his title against a returning Manny Pacquiao, 46, in July, after Norman Jr puts his gold on the line against Jin Sasaki in June.