Josh Taylor Outclasses Jose Ramirez To Become The New Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion!
Following an all-action war, Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor (17-0, 13 KO’s) has achieved undisputed status in the junior welterweight division. The Irishman accomplished this by defeating former WBC and WBO World Super Lightweight champion Jose Carlos “Jaguar” Ramirez (26-0, 17 KO’s) by way of a unanimous decision. With the win, Taylor becomes just the seventh undisputed champion in the division’s history!
While they have respect for one another, tension between the two boxers had been mounting throughout fight week. In fact, following the weigh-in Taylor, Ramirez and their camps got into a minor skirmish.
JOSH TAYLOR
For many, going into this significant fight, Taylor was the favorite. This was based upon the belief that he was the more versatile pugilist due to his more diverse boxing skills. The Tartan Tornado put the full range of his technical abilities and toughness on display in his 2019 unification fight with Regis Prograis. There, he utilized a bevy of tricks over twelve rounds with an elite adversary banging, boxing as well as fighting at range and on the inside.
Not only was he pushed to his limits, he did so with an eye that was eventually beaten completely shut. As another testament to his willingness to face the best, Ramirez marked the fifth consecutive undefeated boxer that Taylor has faced.
JOSE RAMIREZ
Whereas some view Taylor as the more versatile pugilist, Ramirez is undoubtedly a world class buzz saw within the squared-circle. Yet, it would be an over simplification to describe him as merely a mindless come-forward boxer. Jaguar operates behind a very methodical attack, breaks the body down scientifically and is an excellent counterpuncher. Due to these attributes, it was widely believed that if he could suck Taylor into a phone booth, tit-for-tat themed contest he would have an excellent chance of nabbing the Irishman’s hardware.
This was somewhat the case in his unification bout with Maurice Hooker. In that prizefight, Hooker was enjoying great success fighting behind his jab on the outside. Yet, when he allowed Ramirez to get close, the Californian quickly broke his body down with lethal hooks and dispatched him in the sixth.
THE KIND OF ACTION FANS ANTICIPATED
Things kicked off in this undisputed clash with the intentions of both fighters made crystal clear! The body will not be safe! Ramirez would set it off with a beautiful left hook to the ribs of Taylor followed by a right hand to the head. Taylor would come back with a hard, straight left hand to the body of his own. The exchange immediately had fans ready to see their expectations of a war fulfilled!
Round two was fought at a pace clearly favorable to Ramirez. However, the Scottish fighter would temporarily nullify that pressure by utilizing his double jab. With about thirty seconds left in round two, the Californian would have more success to the body as he landed a bone-crushing left hook that would push his fellow unified champion back to the ropes.
Round three was all Ramirez! Pressure only increasing, Ramirez would hit anything he could on Taylor, who started to show effects of the non-stop body attack. Round four was also a very good round for Ramirez as he continued his assault to the head and body of Taylor, who now was cut over his left eye.
HERE COMES THE DRAMA!
Round six started with Taylor landing a beautiful, counter straight left hand that would send Ramirez down! To his credit, the Mexican rose to his feet and went back to work landing punishing shots of his own! Another straight left hand from Taylor temporarily hurt Ramirez again.
After a slow start to the seventh round from both men, Taylor, a great inside fighter, caught Ramirez slipping on the inside and unleashed a wicked left uppercut that sent Ramirez down again for the second time, this time severely hurt! He made the count but struggled to get his body off the canvas momentarily. When the fight continued, the Californian only needed to survive for a dozen or so seconds. Taylor unleashed his entire offensive arsenal and, had time been on his side, could have gotten the stoppage.
At this point, it seemed only a matter of time before we would see a knockout victory for Taylor. Yet, Ramirez made sure to regroup physically and mentally within his one minute break before continuing the fight.
DEFEATING ADVERSITY
Though seemingly on the verge of being knocked out, Ramirez recovered nicely. He entered the eighth round as if he were never hurt. Several times, Taylor had to make adjustments to nullify the pressure. This actually set the tone of the fight going into the championship rounds. It was the wit of Taylor and his ability to adjust versus the relentlessness and strong will of Ramirez.
Clearly down on the cards heading into the twelfth and final round, Ramirez would come out aggressive trying to muster the strength to pull off the dramatics. He definitely needed to recoup on the two knockdowns he suffered with a pair of knockdowns of his own to be considered the winner of this bout. That would seem to be a miracle as Taylor had never been dropped, amateur or pro! While he gave his all, in the end it was clear Taylor would leave this fight with all four belts!
Ultimately it would be the man who hails from Scotland announced as the winner and the new undisputed junior welterweight champion! The scores were 114-112 across the board. Interestingly enough, if the knockdowns didn’t happen for Taylor, the fight would have been declared a draw.
THE NEXT MOVE
Full credit goes to Ramirez who showed he is truly one of boxing’s best fighters. While he takes his first professional loss, he also showed he is a force to be reckoned with. There is still room for improvement, specifically on the defensive side of things. He needs to work on his head movement to prevent him from running into counters from wittier opponents.
Taylor is the first fighter to become undisputed junior welterweight champion since Terence Crawford did it in 2017. He mentioned previously that if he won this fight, he would look to move up to welterweight to challenge Crawford. If that is indeed his intention, what a fight that would be!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
