Josh Taylor-vs-Ekow Essuman?

I think this will be a great fight; Essuman vs Vaughan was incredible entertainment, and Taylor will come to Essuman as did Vaughan, though I see the verdict going to Taylor in this one. Saying that Essuman is the calibre of fighter Taylor would have dispatched with relative ease in his prime, and it is a testament to Taylor's decline that I see this fight being competitive. If I have misjudged Taylor's decline then I have also misjudged the competitiveness of this fight, but if that is not the case then Taylor should consider calling it a day on a high. He is a British great and it will be sad if he continues to fight during his decline and goes out with relative indignity.

 

Eddie, Matchroom and Taylor too.

 

So Taylor by five round knockout out then, after a slow start ?

 

Taylor left the ring against Ramirez proving he was an elite fighter and goes down as one of the ATGs from the UK.

Should have retired after that fight and sad to see such a great fighter losing to a mediocre at best Catterall.

Taylor's hunger, desire, tank and physicality left the ring with him at the end of the Ramirez fight 4 years ago.

Time stands still for nobody in their thirties and once one starts to enjoy life too much through alcohol etc gaining weight at his weight level, he is done.

 

Never seen Essuman in a bad fight. Taylor will have to be fit and focused to win this. I think if he is, he should still manage even with his clear decline, but if he's not 100% Essuman likely outworks and outhussles him over twelve

 

Not sure why Josh Taylor is still fighting. Looked terrible in his last fight, massively on the slide. He does not look motivated. Surely, this is a dangerous sport to do half arsed and that is what appears to be happening here. I would not be surprised if he loses this fight, even though its well below the level he was at 3 years ago.

 

Can't believe its 4 years tomorrow since Taylor beat Ramirez, time has flown by.

Hopefully fighting at 147 lbs, having had a break and going in against an opponent who is beatable (no disrespect intended), a motivated Taylor can reel off a good performance in this latter part of his career.

Good luck to him

 

This fight in my opinion isn't a gimme, Ekow is a good level operator that was probably kept at British level too long... Josh is favourite and rightly so but I just hope he isn't looking past Ekow.

I'm going with Josh to get a comfortable win on points but with Ekow having some success

 

KO'd allegedly.

 

Any idea who he’s been sparring?

 

I think Essuman gets the upset here. Taylor has looked done for a while.

 

Not sure if I’m a fan of this more “fan-friendly” version of Josh Taylor we’re seeing during fight week and just now at the weigh-in. I’ve been openly critical in the past — especially of some of the bully-boy antics — but there’s no denying he seems supremely confident here.

That said, I can’t see anything other than a comfortable win for him against Essuman.

But if he struggles in any way — physically, mentally, or tactically — retirement has to be on the table. He’s operated at levels far above this, and if he’s slipped to the point where this becomes a real fight, then the writing’s probably on the wall.

 

Aye, back during his run to the top you could always count on Hank to turn up during fight week and it was always entertaining if not a bit bully boy at times like you say.
Without that it feels like he's lost his edge a bit

 

Yeah, he’s not at the same level as he was in his peak (prograis imo), but the takes on his last fight are grossly exaggerated - wonder why…..

he looked decent in his last fight, and I had him beating catterall by 2 clearly. That fight never got the same VAR **** as the Englishman won. Taylor is still semi world level, and should beat this jobber handily. As he will catterall of the fight again.

if only boxing fans believed their eyes as much as their ears when watching a Hearn fight.

 

Yeah, I’d say peak Taylor — in and out of the ring — was probably in the build-up to the Ramirez fight. That felt like the summit, both in terms of persona and performance. You had the chip on the shoulder, the spite, the confidence — but it was all still backed up in the ring.

Now? Could be that he’s at that “silk pyjamas” stage, or maybe he just doesn’t see Essuman as a real threat and can’t bring himself to dial into the old mindset. Either way, we’ll know soon enough if that edge is gone or just tucked away until needed.

That said, should still be a decent scrap — and credit where it’s due, the card looks strong across the board. Not often you can say that lately, so that’s a big plus.