After the fight: The case for Josh Taylor on the pound-for-pound list

Josh Taylor entered elite company when he defeated Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed super lightweight champion. He’s a pound-for-pound boxer.

Josh Taylor captured a rare achievement in boxing when he defeated Jose Ramirez on May 22 to become the undisputed super lightweight champion. Taylor’s name might not be as popular as some other boxers, but his skills deserve the highest recognition.

There’s nothing official about pound-for-pound rankings. The topic drives some people nuts, but it’s a fun way for boxing fans and pundits to imagine a world where weight doesn’t matter, and the only value in judging a boxer is their skillset and accomplishments in the ring.

Being undisputed is complicated today. There are four sanctioning bodies whose titles are generally acknowledged as true championship caliber. It’s even worse that several of these four identify as many as three champions per division.

Still, fighting through the politics and opponents to earn a division’s WBO, WBC, WBA, and IBF titles is a remarkable feat, especially in a division as loaded as the super lightweight division.

Other than Taylor, the only other current undisputed champion is Teofimo Lopez. Lopez conquered the lightweight division in 2020 by defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 by unanimous decision at 23 years old. Lopez has some company after Taylor’s big win.

Lopez is seen as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and Ring.com. Taylor has been added to Ring.com’s list and stands a good chance of making the BWAA’s list when members cast their next votes within the next two months.

Taylor is more than deserving of being named a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter. Yes, it’s a designation of respect and not an official honor, but it does have meaning. It signifies that boxers are receiving fair praise for the tremendous work they do in the ring.

Josh Taylor is an undisputed champion and deserves all the recognition and praise that comes along with that status

Taylor traveled a hard road to become the super lightweight undisputed champion. He won the World Boxing Super Series in 2019 by defeating a heavy-handed Regis Prograis. He also earned the IBF and WBA titles in the process.

In that tournament, Taylor knocked off Ivan Baranchyk and Ryan Martin in addition to Prograis, who were all undefeated at the time. He took a major risk in a tournament with high-level competition, but his daring paid off in a big way. It gave him the seasoning he needed to best Ramirez.

Throw in a past win over Viktor Postol, and Taylor has built an eye-catching résumé in just 18 career professional bouts. Those are accolades deserving of being mentioned, along with boxers like Lopez and the great Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez is widely considered the best pound-for-pound boxer because of the number of divisions and big-name opponents he has vanquished over 59 career contests.

No one is touching Alvarez’s status yet, but several are chasing that type of greatness, Taylor included. Becoming an undisputed champion alone doesn’t assure pound-for-pound status, but doing it in a division as deep as super lightweight should.

Taylor is improving with each fight and has the size to move up if he chooses, but super lightweight suits him well at the moment. However, there are few worthy opponents out there for him to add to his legacy. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a rematch with Prograis, but I don’t see any other super lightweights posing a threat to Taylor at the moment.

He’ll eventually have to move up if he wants to elevate his standing up the pound-for-pound rankings, but he deserves time to enjoy the fruits of his labor. When he does decide to enter the welterweight picture, he could tilt the power structure of that division. He has the talent, and there are exciting times ahead for Taylor.