Josh Taylor (18-0) became the undisputed junior welterweight champion as he defeated Jose Ramirez (26-1) by unanimous decision.
Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) was crowned the undisputed junior welterweight champion (WBO, WBA, WBC, and IBF belts) as he defeated Jose Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision in front of a pro-Ramirez crowd in Las Vegas.
Taylor, the more technical boxer of the two, was looking to establish his jab in the first round whilst Ramirez tried to work on the inside against Brit.
After two rounds Taylor had landed more punches, but Ramirez was still very much in the fight landing some good shots of his own. In the third round, Ramirez troubled Taylor with two hard body shots but Taylor did a good job of recovering before the bell ended the round.
Both men landed some heavy shots at the end of the fourth round. Ramirez backed up Taylor against the ropes but the Brit finished the round on top landing two hard left straights.
Taylor scored the first knockdown of the fight at the start of the sixth round when Ramirez walked on to an uppercut. After recovering well and seeing out the rest of the round, Ramirez was badly hurt in the seventh when Taylor landed an uppercut following a clinch break.
Ramirez was hesitant at the beginning of the eighth round as he recovered from the heavy knockdown in the seventh. Taylor continued to land shots at range with Ramirez struggling to get back into the fight. In the tenth round, Ramirez started to land more punches but the counter left of Taylor continued to trouble the American.
The fight ended with Ramirez attempting to land a barrage of punches but Taylor was displaying some first-class head movement to avoid the shots.
Official result: Josh Taylor def. Jose Ramirez via unanimous decision (114-112, 114-112, 114-112)