It was a memorable year for Josh Taylor in many ways.
2022 begins with Scot as the undisputed ultralightweight champion and considered one of the boxing stars.
Six months have passed and a lot has happened in the life of the 31-year-old. Some good, some not so good.
There is radioactive fallout from his controversial win over Jack Catteralllinks to Irish Cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, the vacancy of his WBA titlemarried to fiancée Danielle, and a documentary about Taylor airs on Tuesday.
His career needs to get back on track and will do so in the 140lb class despite his and everyone’s opinion that he should move to the 147lbs. However, there are reasons for Taylor to remain super light.
“I want everyone to be quiet,” he said Nation. “The only reason I kept the weight was that I wanted to fight Catterall again.
“Because of everything I’ve been involved in and abused, and the way Jack is, mouthing and whining, I just want to keep his mouth shut. The only reason I kept the weight off was to shut him down and the others. “
Before Taylor can enter the ring against Catterall, he will have to battle his WBC mandatory challenger Jose Zepeda, a 33-year-old Californian of Mexican descent who has the qualifications and ability to carry Come give the unified champion a hard night.
“I would rather fight the next Jack, but Zepeda is a big fight and the people who are talking about it are people who don’t know the business. He’s a top-class fighter,” Taylor said.
The animosity between Taylor and Catterall really took off on the Friday before the fight. Enthusiasm flared up, they had seen each other enough and wanted to fight. Nature. But what happened at SSE Hydro in Glasgow remains intact for some. Social media also played its part, the two boxers had a back and forth while fans had their say with some of the decisions to breathe on Taylor’s family that made him angry and disgusted. .
“It’s disgusting some of the things people have said. That’s what it is, and we move forward,” he said while speaking to BBC Scotland in a separate interview.
Taylor, like the other warriors represented by MTK Global, the now-defunct company co-founded by Kinahan, has come under a microscope because its relationship with the business has resulted in people getting caught put two and two together. Kinahan is no stranger to boxing and has enough photographic evidence and social media posts to prove that he is widely known in the sport, whether it’s business on a personal level. core.
Taylor told the BBC: “I’m no longer in a relationship with Daniel. “MTK is gone, so everything is out the window.
“I am on my own now, continuing with a lawyer who does all of my contracts and management.
Move on with the highest Rank, that’s it.
“I wasn’t really caught up in whatever was going on. Obviously, the thing that comes to light is pretty serious, but no, I’m focusing on boxing and it has nothing to do with me. ”
Josh Taylor: Portrait of a Fighter airs on BBC Scotland at 22:00 BST on Tuesday, June 21 and will be available after streaming on BBC iPlayer.
