When former world junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor goes into the ring on Saturday night against Ekow Essuman, he will be fighting for more than a victory. Instead, Taylor (19-2 with 13 KOs), will be looking to assert his place amongst Scotland’s boxing greats. The former champion has seen his career dip in recent years: a highly disputed win over Jack Catterall just over three years ago was followed by decisive unanimous decision losses to Teofimo Lopez in New York and then anohter loss in the return fight that was held in Leeds, to Catterall. Now, after a year away from the ring, Taylor will return at the weekend against Essuman (21-1 with 8 KOs), in a bout in the welterweight category. Essuman is no pushover, being a former British champion, with his only loss being on points over twelve rounds against Harry Scarff. Despite living in Edinburgh, Taylor will be the hometown fighter as the event is to be held at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
In taking to the ring, Taylor follows in a long line of great Scottish fighters.
Ken Buchanan: Buchanan, 61-8 (28), who died a little over two years ago, is probably best known for his losing effort in 1972 against Roberto Durán. But the Edinburgh fighter was a fine boxer and an undisputed lightweight world champion. He went to Puerto Rico in 1970 and outpointed the great Ismael Laguna, then went on to win the WBC lightweight title against Ruben Navarro in Los Angeles, before defending it once more against Laguna in New York. However, he ran into Durán in 1972 and, after Durán hit him low (“I think about you every time I piss,” Buchanan told the Panamanian years later), the referee counted Buchanan out in the fifth round. After that loss, Buchanan gradually moved out of the top division. There was no rematch against Durán and despite winning the British title, the locations for Buchanan’s bouts moved further and further from the bright lights until his retirement in 1982.
Jim Watt: Like his contemporary Ken Buchanan, the Glaswegian Watt, 38-8 (27), was a world lightweight champion. He also lost a close, competitive fight against countryman Ken Buchanan in 1973. Watt won his title in 1979 against Alfredo Pitalua at the famous Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. He then defended it five times before coming up against all-time great Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello, 77-8 (62), in 1981. In possibly the best performance of his career from a historical perspective, Watt went fifteen rounds against Arguello, losing a fairly narrow decision. It would be Watt’s last fight.
Benny Lynch: Flyweight world champion Benny Lynch died young at thirty-three years old, but those three-decades-and-a-bit were lived hard. Lynch learned his profession in the boxing booths of the 1920s and 1930s, then turned professional as the new decade began. After living the British and European titles, Lynch beat Small Montana for the world title in 1937, unifying the division’s belts for the first time (he had beaten Pat Palmer for the NBA title the year before). Lynch defended in Glasgow but forfeited a year later. Legal issues and alcoholism swiftly undid Lynch’s career, and he passed away just a few years later in 1943.
Alex Arthur:
There was a time when Alex Arthur, 31-3 (21), was the sole shining light in Scottish boxing. The Edinburgh fighter held the British, European, and WBO super-featherweight titles during the early 2000s, making repeated appearances at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh. Despite a fifth-round loss to Michael Gomez in 2003, the faithful kept their faith. At the peak of his career, Arthur outpointed Ricky Burns to pick up the British, Commonwealth, and European titles. A loss to Nicky Cook in 2008 spelled the end of his being at the top levels and despite winning five of his last six, Arthur’s career faded to an end in 2012.
Ricky Burns:
Burns, 45-8-1 (17), had his last fight at the end of 2023, so he may still appear within a ring. Back then, he stopped fellow Scot Willie Limond in five rounds in Glasgow in a match that few wanted to see. But Burns had been special in his career, winning the British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles in 2007 and 2008. At world-class level, Burns beat Roman Martinez for the WBO world super-featherweight title in 2010, then defended it against Andreas Evensen, Joseph Laryea, Nicky Cook, Michael Katsidis, Moses Paulus, Kevin Mitchell, Jose A. Gonzalez-Ramos, and Raymundo Beltran. Burns lost to pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford by decision in 2014, after which his career began to diminish. He lost again immediately after the Crawford fight before travelling to Hidalgo, Texas, to face Omar Figueroa Jr. Eventually, after a series of less-impressive wins, he lost to Julius Indongo and Anthony Crolla.
Scott Harrison: There may never be a larger ‘What if…’ question in UK boxing than, ‘What if Scott Harrison had been able to remain on the right side of the law?’. The Glasgow fighter, 27-3-2 (15), held the British and Commonwealth titles, then moved up to world class by stopping Victor Santiago in six rounds for the WBO world featherweight title. Harrison then moved through Julio Pablo Chacon and Wayne McCullough, before losing a split decision in Glasgow to Manuel Medina. Harrison reversed that result four months later and then made six defences before legal troubles and a spot of time in a Spanish prison kept him on the sidelines for seven years. He returned in 2012 and had two fights that year against less-than-stellar opposition before losing a wide unanimous decision to Liam Walsh in 2013.
