On May 24 (May 25 Japan time), Queensberry Promotions held an event at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The main event was a 12-round bout for the vacant WBO Global Welterweight Title. Former undisputed world super lightweight champion and current WBO and WBC No. 11 ranked welterweight Josh Taylor (UK, 19 wins [13 KOs], 2 losses) faced off against WBO No. 4 and WBA No. 14 ranked welterweight Ekow Essuman (UK, 21 wins [8 KOs], 1 loss). Essuman claimed a decision victory to become the new champion.
The 34-year-old southpaw Taylor was coming off back-to-back losses to Teofimo Lopez (USA) and Jack Catterall (UK). This was his first bout in nearly a year, and his fifth in the past five years. It also marked his first fight at the welterweight limit, but he was unable to break down the 36-year-old Essuman, often finding himself in trouble after absorbing right hands.
The official scorecards read: Zoltan Enyedi (Hungary) 116–112, John Latham (UK) 116–113, and Giulio Piras (Italy) 115–113—all in favor of Essuman.
The fight, streamed on DAZN, guaranteed Taylor a base purse of £375,000 (approximately ¥72.4 million), with potential earnings rising to £1.5 million (around ¥289.6 million) if pay-per-view views exceeded 700,000.
Essuman earned a career-high guaranteed purse of £300,000 (around ¥58 million), with the potential to rise to £800,000 (around ¥154.4 million).
Once a highly popular unified champion, Taylor no longer displayed the sharpness he once had. His performance suggested he may no longer be a viable contender at the welterweight world level. Calls for his retirement surfaced immediately after the bout, casting uncertainty over his future in the sport.
Ranked No. 2 by the WBO, No. 3 by the WBA, and No. 7 by the IBF, 20-year-old heavyweight sensation Moses Itauma (UK, 11-0, 9 KOs) defended his WBO Intercontinental and WBA International heavyweight titles against Mike Balogun (USA, 21-1, 16 KOs).
In a southpaw vs. southpaw clash, Itauma applied pressure from the opening bell and scored the first knockdown with a straight left just before the end of round one. In the second round, he quickly landed a right hook for the second knockdown. After the restart, Balogun attempted to press forward, but Itauma caught him with a perfectly timed counter right hook. Balogun fell flat on his back, prompting referee John Latham (UK) to immediately wave off the fight. The TKO came at 2:46 of round two.
Itauma, who completely overwhelmed the 41-year-old Balogun, now has eight consecutive knockout victories. The finishing right hook was a brilliant counterpunch, solidifying his status as one of the top prospects to become the next world heavyweight champion.
In a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title, WBC No. 4 ranked Nathaniel Collins (UK, 16-0, 7 KOs) faced WBA No. 15 ranked Lee McGregor (UK, 15-1-1, 11 KOs). Collins scored three knockdowns in the fourth round and secured a TKO victory at 1:45, becoming the new champion.
Josh Taylor was once at the peak of his popularity, but judging by his performance today, it seems unlikely that he can capture a world title at welterweight.
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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