Josh Taylor does not see why he needs to give up his lofty perch in the 140-pound division anytime soon – or ever, for that matter.
The undisputed junior welterweight champion from Scotland may have accomplished all that can be done in his current weight class, but that does not mean he is necessarily looking to leave it permanently.
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) is projected to make a hometown defense of his WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO junior welterweight titles against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs) on Dec. 18 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Taylor unified the division last May with a decision over Jose Ramirez.
“No, no, I don’t think so,” Taylor told IFL TV when asked if the Catterall fight could be his last at 140. “I think I can be a career 140-pounder.”
Still, Taylor is motivated to assert himself at 147, where there could be some significant – and lucrative – opportunities waiting for him. Bob Arum of Top Rank, who promotes Taylor, has spoken in the past of matching Taylor against WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford some time down the line. It is not clear if Taylor could face any of the other champions and top contenders in the welterweight class, given that most of them – Yordenis Ugas (WBA), Errol Spence Jr. (WBC, IBF), Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman – are aligned with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, a rival entity of Top Rank.
Taylor figures he can hold onto his belts at 140 while making a name for himself at 147 and alternate between the two weight classes. At 140, he could presumably take on Top Rank-stablemate and lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, should Lopez decide to move up.
“I do want to go up to [147] and prove that I am the best by winning all the belts in the division,” said Taylor. “I want to go up to 147 and challenge for a couple of big fights up there. And then maybe come back down and defend my [140-pound belts] and maybe fluctuate between the two weights.
Weight, the greatest bugbear perhaps for any professional boxer, apparently is not such a big concern for Taylor.
“I can make 140, no problem,” said Taylor. “There are big fights at 140 and there are big fights at 147, so in and around the two divisions there are massive fights [to be made].”