Taylor beats Ramirez to become junior welterweight champ

LAS VEGAS: Unbeaten Josh Taylor scored a unanimous decision victory over Jose Ramirez to unify the junior welterweight division and become Scotland’s first undisputed boxing champion in the four-belt era.

The 30-year old Taylor defended his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles and captured Ramirez’s World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization belts at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas.

Taylor won by 114-112 scores on all three judges’ cards to improve to 18-0 with 13 KOs.

Ramirez suffered the first loss of his veteran career with the Mexican-American falling to 26-1 with 17 KOs.

Taylor floored Ramirez in back-to-back rounds in the middle of the fight. He landed a left on the chin in the sixth to knock Ramirez down and then did it again in the seventh with a short uppercut.

Ramirez actually got the better of Taylor in the opening rounds and was the busier of the two in the 12th, but he couldn’t overcome the two knockdowns which seemed to sap him of some of his power and allowed Taylor to compile extra points on the scorecards.

Taylor is now just the sixth four-belt champion in boxing history and Scotland’s first undisputed champ since the great Ken Buchanan unified the lightweight division by winning the WBA, WBC and lineal championships in the 1970s.

Taylor beat Ivan Baranchyk to win the IBF title in May 2019 before beating Regis Prograis to earn the WBA strap.