WORLD’S BEST
Taylor set for ‘super fight’ with Ramirez in NYC or Edinburgh
JOSH TAYLOR was hailed as the ‘best fighter in the world’ after his stunning victory over Regis Prograis on Saturday night — and tipped to headline at Madison Square Garden or even Edinburgh Castle in his next bout.
A unification super fight against Jose Ramirez is on the cards for the Scot, according to manager Barry McGuigan, and newly crowned double world champion Taylor says he is eager to accept his super-lightweight rival’s challenge of an all-or-nothing clash that would put four titles on the line.
Taylor added the WBA superlightweight belts to his IBF title by outclassing and out-pointing Prograis in the final of the World Boxing Super Series in London, a performance which led his trainer to declare the 28-yearold as ‘the best fighter in the world’.
Ramirez, the WBO and WBC champ, and manager Rick Mirigian both talked up the prospect of making the fight — on social media — in the
aftermath of Taylor’s triumph. And Taylor responded right away, saying of Ramirez’s demand for a head-to-head: ‘Ramirez can get it. He can get it. ‘I believe that’s an easier fight than Prograis. I really do. It’s a more straightforward fight. ‘I’ve had him in my sights for a while. If this tournament hadn’t come around, I would have fought him by now. ‘You never know with boxing politics but he’s fighting Viktor Postol next. He would have had to fight me at some point. ‘But the great thing about this Word Boxing Super Series is I’ve had three world-class fights and I’ve proved I’m the best.’ McGuigan mocked promoter Eddie Hearn for trying to punt a Taylor title defence against Lewis Ritson — and said only the most spectacular venues would now be considered for his man’s showpiece events. ‘Ramirez should beat Postol but there are no guarantees,’ he said. ‘I want him to beat Postol — and then come to Edinburgh Castle or Madison Square Garden. ‘Josh can fight anywhere. He’s fought all over the world. He’s the best kid we’ve ever had. ‘He can go to America and fight Ramirez either in America or over here. ‘I don’t want to hang around with him. What we’ve done all the way through his career is matched him hard. ‘I’ve told all the Scots since the start that he was going to be huge. And I believe, 100 per cent, that he can bring a big crowd with him if we go to America. With the greatest respect, I want fights that keep moving him. Eddie would love that (the Ritson fight) because he’s got his own fighter. And he’s been great and we want to work with Eddie. But we want the winner of Ramirez and Postol. ‘I don’t want to be arrogant but for us it (Ritson) is a step back. In this game, we’ve always made the right decisions with his opponents. We’ve matched him aggressively and we’ve got the results, so we’re not going to turn back to that. ‘He wins the unified title, then we might consider that kind of thing. ‘We want him to be one of the greatest British fighters of all time. And I don’t think he will achieve that, fighting these fights. ‘With the greatest of respect to Lewis Ritson, I think he is a nice kid. He is not in Josh Taylor’s league. ‘So we will go and fight the winner of Postol and Ramirez. That is the one we are interested in. That is the one he is interested in. And that is it.’ Ramirez’s manager Mirigian was also enthusiastic, saying: ‘A super fight has been born. Can you imagine Ramirez/Taylor on a huge platform like ESPN or ESPN PPV and the lead-up programming that could be done next year? ‘My god, that would set the sport on fire.’