JOSH TAYLOR is the undisputed PHWOAR-belt king of the super-lightweight division.
In just his 18th pro fight, the Scotland icon snatched the WBC and WBO belts from American Jose Ramirez, in his Las Vegas backyard with a unanimous decision.
The 30-year-old southpaw dropped the 26-0 ace twice, in rounds six and seven, before completing the collection by adding to his WBA and IBF crowns.
The Tartan Tornado roared: “I’m ecstatic. I’ve trained my whole life for this. I’ve dedicated my whole life for this moment.
“I’ve dreamt of it so many times over, man. I’m so, so happy. I’m over the moon. I’ve trained for this moment all my life.”
“I’ve got nothing but love for Ramirez. This week was no disrespect.
“It was all part of the mind games to get in his head, to make him more eager to jump in at me and be more aggressive, to use his aggression against him.
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“I thought the scorecards were a little tight. I thought they were well wider than that. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of the judges, but I wasn’t going to moan.
“I was confident in winning this fight anyway.”
The Prestonpans superstar put on a masterclass of precious counter punching to drop his rock-hard opponent a couple of times.
And he danced and ducked out of danger for the final two rounds, safe in the knowledge he was on the cusp of something truly incredible.
The first decking came right at the start of the sixth when Ramirez tried to spring a surprise attack.
But Taylor slipped his shot and thumped home a left hand that folded the Mexican-American into the canvas.
Ramirez, who had been down twice before but never beaten, beat referee Kenny Bayliss’ count with superb courage.
But he was back on the canvas moments later in the seventh when Taylor scorched him with an uppercut.
After trading blows in the pocket, Ramirez took a step back and gave Taylor the space to slash a left hand up and through his guard.
The fall was heavy but again the proud father refused to be counted out and bounced up to continue piling on pressure.
Thankfully for Taylor, he had robbed Ramirez off his bite and he was able to coast the final few sessions, leaving the three ringside judges to score it 114-112.
England’s WBC world champion Tyson Fury was ringside, after revealing to the world he had signed the contract for the third Deontay Wilder fight, instead of the undisputed Anthony Joshua battle.
And the Gypsy King enjoyed watching the action as his fellow Brit beat him to supreme status of undisputed champ.
And, after a spiteful build-up in which Taylor shoved Ramirez and his trash- talking manager, the respect after the final bell was typically exquisite for a fight of this elite level.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
