JOSH TAYLOR apologised to his fans and vowed to fight again after storming out of the ring following a nightmare homecoming.
Taylor moved up to welterweight after signing with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions in a bid to revive his career.
But in his first fight back in a year, the Scottish great was handed a humbling points loss against Ekow Essuman in Glasgow.
The ex-undisputed world champion refused to stick around to congratulate Essuman and thank the 13,000 who came out in support.
But Taylor, fuming with the scorecards, posted: “I would just like to apologise to all the fans last night for leaving the ring before having an interview and before taking the time to thank you all for showing up and showing out, as you always have done over the past 10 years.
“I headed to the changing rooms because I did not want to say something in the heat of the moment or that I’d later regret on live tv.
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“Your support means the world to me and you’ve created wonderful memories for me that will stay with me until the day I die.
“You’ve all helped to create some incredible moments in my life and despite the result, last night was another special night that was right up there, so thank each and every one of you.
“Thank you to Queensberry for bringing a big show back to Scotland and to Ekow once again on the victory.”
Taylor became undisputed super-lightweight kingpin in just 18 fights and found himself in the top ten pound-for-pound discussion.
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But cracks in his career started to appear after a controversial split-decision win over Jack Catterall in 2022.
He was then beaten by American Teofimo Lopez, 27, in 2023 before losing his rematch to Catterall, 31, last May.
Defeat to Essuman, 36, now his third on the spin leaves Taylor’s career in tatters but the southpaw insisted he will fight on.
Sporting a battered face and swollen eye, the 34-year-old told iFL TV: “I’ll be back to the gym in a couple of weeks.
“That’s the mistake I’ve made in the last couple of years. Got into that routine. I’ve had one fight a year since 2020, it’s just not enough activity.
“Congratulations to Ekow and his team. He fought a good fight, it was a great fight and I’d love to do it again to get it back.
“But he’s obviously well entitled to go and do other things. He’s been waiting for his chance so he’s going to want to look onto bigger fights.
“But I’d love to get it on again and have another good fight because it was a good fight.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
