Boxing can be a cruel and unforgiving sport, and it seems no man knows that at the moment quite like Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor.
In 2021, Josh Taylor reached the highest heights of boxing as he claimed the undisputed super-lightweight title against Jose Ramirez, knocking the 26-0 fighter down twice to claim glory.
In his next fight, Taylor took a different kind of loss. Taylor’s controversial win over Jack Catterall, and subsequent reaction to it, tarnished Taylor’s reputation in the eyes of many, but what Taylor didn’t know then was that it was all downhill from there.
In his next two fights, the 34-year-old lost to Teofimo Lopez and then to Jack Catterall in their rematch. With two losses in a row, he made the move to welterweight against 21-1 Ekow Essuman. The Scottish former champion was expected to win, but living up to his nickname, ‘The Engine’, Essuman picked up in the second half of the fight, and defeated Taylor by unanimous decision.
With three, arguably four, losses in a row, the Brit’s career was going down a dark path. Until recently, that is, when Taylor was forced to give up boxing altogether.
Josh Taylor speaks on being one punch away from blindness and the pain of retirement
In an interview with IFL TV, Taylor finally spoke on his retirement, which he first announced on July 21st.
Taylor detailed the injury that caused his premature withdrawal from the sport, and what it could’ve meant for his long-term health.
“I had laser surgery on my eye. They thought they saw a wee tear in my retinal tissue. At the end, they were seeing six tears. So I was a bit like, right, okay, that’s it. I’ve got to look after my health now.
“I probably could’ve continued but it was a big risk to take. I was literally one punch away from going blind in that eye.”
On the prospect of retiring, Taylor admitted, “I never ever thought about life after boxing until two or three weeks ago, so it’s all a bit raw. […] It’s a bit of a f—— heartache still.”
Taylor has paved the way for Scottish boxing and leaves behind a record of 19-3. He was the second Scotsman to ever become undisputed and the first Briton to become undisputed in the four-belt era.
Taylor became a world champion in 15 fights, unified in 17, and undisputed in 18. Taylor has made a fortune in boxing and has set himself up for life, with a great legacy on top.
In his final fight, Essuman praised Taylor after defeating him for the last time.
Josh Taylor’s career was derailed by more than just an injury
In the same interview, Taylor spoke on the impact of inactivity in his career, and how, after the Regis Prograis fight, the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the momentum of his career.
“The whole COVID stuff kind of killed the momentum and then the injuries just started coming.”
Since 2019, Taylor fought just once a year for the rest of his career. In 2020 it was against Apinun Khongsong, in 2021 it was Ramirez, and then the fateful Catterall fight in 2022.
When asked if Taylor planned on sticking around in boxing in a managerial or training capacity, he replied, “Aye, hopefully.”