Josh Taylor prepared to step up a weight in bid to become an 'all-time great'

The undisputed world light-welterweight champion reckons the successful defence of his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts against English challenger Catterall at the Hydro in Glasgow will leave nothing left for him to achieve in his division, but he far greater ambitions. Terence Crawford is the prime target.

Taylor is one of only five men in the history of boxing to hold all four belts in his division, but the 31-year-old Prestonpans puncher has not had the recognition his achievements deserve.

Moving up to welterweight is one way of helping him do that. It would open up the prospect of a mouth-watering dual with Crawford, widely regarded as one of the top three pound‑for‑pound fighters in the world.

In terms of profile, securing a shot at the American would propel the Scot into a different league.

Should he go on to achieve his ultimate aim of conquering that division too, Taylor knows it would make him an “all-time great”. That is his goal.

In an interview with The Guardian, he revealed: “If it goes the right way against Catterall I’ve achieved all I can at 140 pounds. I always believe in improving and setting new goals, so I’ve set my sights on becoming a two‑weight unified world champion.

“It’s definitely an achievable goal and this way it keeps my desire and fire burning to go down as an all-time great in British and world boxing.”

Taylor knows Crawford is a giant step up in class and admits it would give him the “fear factor”, but insists he would rather risk defeat rather than avoid facing one of the world’s greatest fighters in a weight category above him.

“If I can go my whole career without losing it would be absolutely fantastic, but I don’t think it’s the be-all and end‑all,” he added.

“I don’t think a loss