"The options aren't going to be small as for what is coming next." "We will take it as it comes," Taylor said about what's next. Crawford, who joins Taylor under the Top Rank banner entering the final fight of his promotional deal, has coincidentally been rumored as a potential next opponent. Taylor, a 30-year-old native of Scotland, became just the second undisputed junior welterweight champion in the four-belt era to join current WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in 2017. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news. I thought they were well wider than that."Ĭan't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. I felt the scorecards were a little bit tight. "At times, I could have given him a little bit more of success by holding my feet and letting him get his punches off but I kept moving instead and never let him near me over the 12 rounds. Although both fighters hail from different sides of the globe in this contrast between orthodox (Ramirez) and southpaw (Taylor) fighters, they are more alike than different from the standpoint of temperament, reputation and styles as boxer-punchers who never shy away from mixing it up when things get hairy.īoth Ramirez (in his 2019 slugfest with Maurice Hooker) and Taylor (in his majority-decision thriller against Regis Prograis the same year) also passed defining tests by walking through the fire of damage, fatigue and potential doubt to win their toughest fights to date."It was a great performance," Taylor said. In so many ways, Ramirez-Taylor is about as much of an old school and lunch pail type bout that could be made.Īside from the obvious draw of two unbeaten champions squaring off for the undisputed crown in an era of watered-down belt proliferation that makes doing so increasingly difficult, it's a perfect pairing of like-minded foes. Maybe it's apropos that the "Tartan Tornado" used such general terms to describe such a great fight. "It's a massive, massive fight in boxing," Taylor said. It's also the antithesis of the current circus era for the sport on the PPV level. Still, in today's era of social media clout and carnival sensationalism within boxing, Ramirez-Taylor remains everything that is still right about this broken, damaged and forever beautiful sport. Make no mistake, this is very much big news within the boxing community. The fight also has the backing of promoter Top Rank, which has spent more than a year lining these two fighters up just for this moment. The 28-year-old Ramirez will defend his WBC and WBO junior welterweight titles against Taylor, 30, for his WBA and IBF straps in primetime ( 8 p.m. Ask any hardcore boxing fan or journalist alike how far down the rabbit hole of illegal streams and non-English broadcasts they have been forced to go in the past - at all hours of the day or night - in order to see an important fight and you'd be anything from amazed to frightened. To be fair, it's not as if Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs), the Mexican-American pride of Fresno, California, will be taking on Scotland's Josh Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) in complete obscurity. Mayweather, now 44, will also return on June 6 in an exhibition match against Paul's brother, 26-year-old Logan, for a Showtime PPV event expected to only join that group from the standpoint of attention and pay-per-view buys.Īnd then there's this Saturday, when a fight takes place at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas to declare an undisputed king at 140 pounds featuring two elite and unbeaten champions who could likely walk down the street in any American city and be confused for a pair of average Joes. in 2020 (retired boxers with a combined age of 105) and Jake Paul-Ben Askren in April (YouTube star vs. Very often, in fact, thanks to the sport's open and free market - including the recent rash of exhibition bouts featuring celebrity names across the world of sports, entertainment and social media influence - some of boxing's most anticipated fights have very little to do with the current state of boxing at all.Īll one has to do is take a look at boxing's three biggest pay-per-view events over the last six years as evidence: Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor in 2017 (retired boxer vs. Given its disorganized nature and "wild west" reputation within the world of sports, it's no surprise that any given weekend on the global boxing calendar can produce a number of events that span the full gamut of importance, prestige and ability levels.īut it goes without saying that not all boxing events are created equal, especially as it pertains to a fight's meaning.
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