Ekow Essuman has his doubts about Josh Taylor’s mindset heading into their contest Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Essuman will welcome Taylor, a former undisputed champion at 140lbs, to the welterweight division. On fight night it will be almost a year to the day that Scotland’s Taylor last fought, losing a unanimous decision to Jack Catterall.
Although it was a close contest, many were unsure if Taylor, now 34, would return after the defeat, his second in as many fights, after he had achieved it all at junior welterweight. The Scot now looks to kick start his career up at 147lbs and under new promoter Frank Warren.
Essuman got the call to fight Taylor – a man who has rejuvenated his own career with two victories, in particular his 10th round stoppage of Owen Cooper back in July, since losing his British welterweight title to Harry Scarff in 2023.
“Well, from what I was told, I might not have been the first name, but my name was pushed,” Essuman told BoxingScene. “If I'm the top welterweight before you sign, then he has to get past me.”
There has been talk of Taylor moving up to 147lbs since he won his undisputed junior welterweight title against Jose Ramirez back in 2022. The Scot has probably been guilty of staying in the division a little too long but he has finally made the jump up in weight.
“I think it's going to give him a bit of energy and invigoration,” Essuman said. “But it is a big jump – we'll see. We'll see when we're in there, but I think they picked the wrong person to take the big jump and test it with.”
The main concern regarding Taylor, at least from the outside looking in, is what does the now 34-year-old have left to achieve in the sport? One of Scotland’s greatest, he’s the only man from the United Kingdom to have held all the belts in the four belt era.
“A lot of champions at the moment are becoming undisputed at different weights, so maybe he can see he wants that accolade and the money that comes with it,” Essuman said of Taylor’s motivation. “But you have to think it's hard to go out running and train hard when you wake up in silk pyjamas every morning. Not saying that he wakes up in silk pyjamas, but I mean it's hard to motivate yourself when you've achieved so much. So it just depends on his mindset, really.”
Adding the name of Taylor to Essuman’s CV will catapult the 36-year-old onto the world scene and in line for a fight with one of the division’s leading fighters. Essuman, however, isn’t just looking for a big fight, he’s aiming for the top.
“I'm going to become a world champion and I'm going to enjoy doing it,” he said.
Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.