I knew Josh Taylor wasn't all that when..

Agree with @Serge RE JT.

He was an elite fighter.

IMHO, JT beats Catteral & Lopez with ease if still with McGuigan. That was JT's biggest downfall - leaving a trainer that understood the sport as well as he did and playing to JT's core strengths as a style. Shane was rigorous and so was his training. As soon as he left Shane, he lost the ability and confidence to fight on the inside, get on the inside, maintain (close-med) distance and throw his body shots with some defense in mind. He started to try and box and move and he just couldn't convert to the style, not at the B+/A- level. He wasn't really that great at utilising his jab IMO and he didn't have the fleetest footwork which doesn't lend itself to a boxer puncher/mover (backfoot fighter)

JT was always decent at controlling distance - being just close enough to get in loads of different punches. He was a proper throwback fighter to me as he loved a tear up on the inside without the excessive holding and clinching, it kinda reminded me of Duran. And, he had a high volume style which was exciting. For the time, he was fighting the top brass of the division and doing it quicktime - he was in the same bracket as Inoue, Loma and usyk - cut from their cloth.

One other thing, he was old, as was Prograis, had their matchup +5 years ago now RE saying Haney would beat prime Prograis or that JT's prime was subpar. Name me a list of fighters with someone like JT's resume and accomplishments. The guy had a high octane style l, left his optimal trainer, drunk a bit too much, reached the pinnacle of his career, earnt a wedge all in less than what, 10 years? Sounds like a ledge to me IMO.

 

This thread has gotten silly and it comes across the OP has a bit of personal grudge against Taylor.

Taylor was class at his best. Not a long career in the pros by any means but he still gave some excellent performances and he became undisputed at 140lbs. Impressive no matter how you look at it.

Taylor had a career most boxers could only dream about. Exciting fighter as well.

 

Anyone that knows anything about boxing should be able to see that the Taylor that beat peak Prograis and Ramirez (where many on this board were predicting he'd get stopped by both) was a very different fighter from the one that went in against Catterall and Lopez.

Whether it was leaving Shane McGuigan, Undisputed going to his head, the bottle, injuries, staying at 140, or a mix of them all, he was a clearly regressed and different fighter, not as sharp, not as fluid, shot selection was not as good, and reflexes were not as good either.

The Taylor that went in with Prograis beats Lopez, Catterall and Essuman in my book, and no one will convince me otherwise.

Josh and Regis both left something vital in the ring in their fight IMO, whilst Josh did enough to prevail against Ramirez, there were signs of having left McGuigan and the change it made to him in the ring (Shane would never have let Josh coast the last 3 rounds like he did)

Also Shane is on record about how he didn't like the changes in how Josh was approaching fights after their split:-

On the Catterall fight:-

 

Lopez beat Lomachenko. Teo beats ANY VERSION OF TAYLOR. Teo is a level above at his best and just straight up more skilled.

Taylor beating inferior fighters like Prograis and limited Ramirez has flattered his legacy. People always crap on Crawfords undisputed run at 140 but Taylors wasn't much better. Taylor fans aren't logical about his losses, he was an great fighter but his resume aged so badly because his opponents were just good, not elite. You mention Ramirez but Taylor literally beat Ramirez less than a year before he had his work cut out for him against Catterall. Catterall gives any version of Taylor problems and yet prime Catterall lost to Barboza who Teo dominated with ease