JOSH TAYLOR’S recent declaration of retirement from the ring justifiably and righteously resulted in a welter of tributes to a career that saw him reach, boxing-wise, the stars and more. 

From Prestonpans in East Lothian, 32 minutes from Edinburgh along the A1, he was an acne-ridden working-class kid who had no right to believe that he could ever bestride the boxing firmament like the Colossus he became.

There he is now, back in 2011, sparring with another Scottish boxing legend, Alex Arthur, at Lochend Boxing Club in Edinburgh. I was a regular at Lochend at the time and watching the spar unfold, it was a classic apprentice versus master affair. 

There he is now, too, turning up for an early Saturday morning fitness session at Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur’s Seat, being taken by yours truly. He’s fifteen minutes late, rocking up in a car so beat up and old that it’s a wonder that it got him here.

Josh had nothing in 2011 — nothing, that is, apart from the determination and self-belief that he could transcend the hard streets of the “Pans” to rise and touch greatness in the hardest sport and business of them all.

A brilliant amateur career saw him represent GB at the 2012 London Olympics and take gold for Scotland at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. For many top amateurs the transition into the pros brings with it challenges that are hard to surmount. This was not the case where Josh Taylor was concerned.

On the contrary, he set about the task of making his name in the paid ranks with the gusto of a young man with no time to waste. He fought every contest with ferocity on his mind and fire in his fists. Tartan Tornado by ring name and Tartan Tornado by nature.

He was ably trained by Shane McGuigan but under-promoted by Cyclone, headed up by Barry McGuigan — for no other reason than the promotional and managerial arm of the McGuigan set-up lacked the resources necessary to elevate his standing and status beyond a certain point. 

Regardless, the McGuigans were key in Josh’s early development as a pro, and he has publicly credited them on that score. That he became disenchanted with aspects of their set-up and made the decision to move on was a seminal moment in his career. Because from now on, Josh Taylor was his own man, who would stand and fall by his own decisions rather than anybody or anyone else’s.

Of his pro fights, his war — and it was indeed a war — against and with Regis Prograis stands out. With both fighters in their mental, spiritual, and physical primes, what ensued when they met in London on October 26 2019 was a brutal back and forth affair. On the line, ostensibly, was the Muhammad Ali trophy as the culmination of a super six series tournament that was at the time as innovative as it was gruelling. On the line over and above the trophy and the accolades attached was the right to be considered best in class.

At 140lbs, super lightweight, Josh asserted that right and more, to prove beyond any doubt that he would not be denied.  Maybe it was down to the sheer speed of his ascent to greatness in the sport, maybe it was due to Covid — during which he became undisputed against Jose Ramirez in Vegas in May 2021 — or maybe it was just down to Josh’s refusal to  play the media game. Whatever the reason or reasons, if ever a fighter did not get the recognition that their achievements deserved, look no further.

The stats and the record do not lie, no matter what the haters may say. Josh Taylor fought the best to become the best of the best. During his ring career there was no door that he failed to walk through, no matter the pressure and expectation involved. No gym fighter he. Under the lights, with the noise of the crowd at his back, he became and will go down as one the most explosive and exciting fighters to ever do it. 

At his spiritual boxing home, Lochend Boxing Club on the east side of Edinburgh, he forged a bond with the man who did much to turn him from a boy into a man, Terry McCormack. It was a connection and relationship that has about it the distinct echoes of the Mike Tyson and Cus D’Amato dynamic. Back in the day, Terry would berate Josh in the gym, due to his failure to control his temper, while Josh would challenge Terry, to the point of pushing him to ever greater attributes as a trainer.

The road of sporting excellence that Josh Taylor travelled was short, merely due to the speed with which he traversed it. From that early Saturday morning at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh for that conditioning session — when he was still unknown — to undisputed, Josh Taylor never took a backward step.

Of course, yes, he primarily fought for himself and his family. But for him, country was an added motivation. His Scottishness is etched into his heart and mind. The desire to make his country proud was untold, to the point of producing untold magic.

What a career and what a story.