JOSH TAYLOR aims to be back in the ring before the end of the year and will definitely do so at welterweight.
The former number one super-lightweight is currently on honeymoon with his wife Danielle and upon his return plans to get straight back to work with trainer Joe McNally in Liverpool.
Taylor experienced defeat for the first time as a professional on June 10 at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York. The 32-year-old Scot was undone by the maverick Teofimo Lopez on points losing his WBO strap in the process. The Brooklyn-based fighter grew stronger and stronger as the bout wore on with Taylor at one stage telling trainer Joe McNally “my legs are gone”.
“We are going away to switch off for a couple of weeks and then I will be back,” he told the East Lothian Courier.
“I will be back to Liverpool and preparing to get out at the end of the year.
“I will be campaigning at welterweight and have a lot more of a spring in my step and a lot more energy. I know it is only a seven pounds difference, but it is a lot of weight to be shifting, especially when you are already tight on the weight and been doing it since you were 19.
“I will be grabbing the bull by the horns and starting back.”
Having narrowly defeated Jack Catterall in February 2022 Taylor had told sections of the media that his time at 140lbs was over. However, moving to McNally’s gym from Ben Davison’s helped change his mind and decide to give the weight another attempt. Prior to the Lopez fight the Edinburgh boxer looked in tremendous shape and spoke of how well preparation had gone for his fifth contest Stateside.
Despite McNally’s belief that his fighter can still make the 10-stone limit it finally looks like the time has come to move up a division.
Taylor, who once held all four of the sanctioning body belts, cited inactivity as having been a problem for him over the last couple of years. Since defeating Regis Prograis in the 140lbs division World Boxing Super Series final in October 2019 Taylor has fought just four times.
“Inactivity has been a problem for the last couple of years,” he said.
“That’s not an excuse but I will be looking to be as active as I can over the next couple of years.
“One defeat is not going to define my boxing career.”