Josh Taylor refused to make any excuses after he relinquished his world crown in New York last weekend.
But he could have been forgiven for offering plenty. Despite what some of the keyboard warriors might say, there was no disgrace in the Scot losing on points to Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden. If anything, producing a performance as competitive as he did was every bit as impressive as anything he’s achieved in his sensational career.
Excuses? How about the fact Taylor went toe to toe with one of the best fighters on the planet just 10 weeks after he could barely walk properly? His promoters did him no favours whatsoever anchoring him to the June 5 booking when they knew he had missed a huge part of his prep with a foot injury earlier in the year.
Taylor needed an extended camp after more than 14 months without a fight - not a reduced one. He was doing the early rounds of promotion for this fight when he still couldn’t go full pelt on a treadmill. It was a miracle Taylor made the weight - which is notoriously brutal at light welter - never might going the full 12 rounds.
There were other factors. He was fighting in Lopez‘a backyard, the fight politics and problems with his promotion teams meant he’d fought just three times in three years and then there is a savage run of contests the 32-year-old has been involved in.
Taylor has NEVER had an easy fight. Not one. He was rushed through the ranks and his CV stacks up with any in the boxing world - not just now, but ever. Get this. Taylor has been involved in 20 fights - and eight of them have been against reigning or former world champions. Six of them in his last eight fights, with his opponents having just two defeats between them.
No one in the global game has
Boxing
as
Josh Taylor