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Josh Taylor on Jose Ramirez unification bout, if Terrence Crawford could be next

Kevin Iole talks to IBF-WBA super lightweight champion Josh Taylor ahead of his May 22 fight versus WBC-WBO champion Jose Ramirez.

Video transcript

KEVIN IOLE: Hey folks. I am Kevin Foley from Yahoo Sports. Thank you for joining me. And I am really excited about what's going to happen in Las Vegas on May 22nd. We are going to have the undisputed super lightweight championship between Jose Ramirez and my next guest the tartan tornado, Josh Taylor. Josh, how are you, my friend?

JOSH TAYLOR: Yeah, I'm good. Thanks. How are you, Kevin?

KEVIN IOLE: I'm doing awesome, bud. This is going to be a hell of a fight with you and Jose Ramirez for-- you know, you have had an incredible career already, 17-0 with 13 knockouts as a pro, that big win over Regis Prograis. But a lot of people may not know about your amateur career where you beat Robson Constanzo, an Olympic gold medalist.

In the 2012 Olympics, you beat him, Jamelle Herring. We've had a lot of good stuff going on in your career. But would you say that this is the biggest fight that you've seen, going up against Ramirez? Is this the pinnacle right now to this point?

JOSH TAYLOR: Yeah, this is a pinnacle. On paper, this is a most difficult fight I've ever had, you know. He's Unified World Champion, unbeaten, 26-0 with a high knockout ratio himself. So yeah, on paper, it's the hardest fight that I've had. It's the biggest fight, for sure, for what's at stake. All the belts are at stake, you know.

Only six people in the world of boxing of have acquired this title. They've been Undisputed Champion in the four belt era. So it is a massive, massive fight. So, yeah, I mean, I'm super pumped for it, but at the same time, I'm nice and relaxed. And yeah, I'm super confident and can't wait to get in there.

KEVIN IOLE: I want to go into your mindset, because, you know, you did the unification fight with Prograis, which was a tremendous fight. And now you're doing this one. A lot of guys, you know, we're looking for those kind of fights, and they don't want to do it. The time's not right. The side of the street is not right. What is your mindset about that? I mean, do you feel like, hey, you know what, I have a short career, I might as well make the most of it? What is it that leads you to seek out these big challenges?

JOSH TAYLOR: I'm a fighter. I'm a bred fighter. And, you know, I'm not in the game to beat around the bush and fight people that I'm supposed to overwhelm and win. And, you know, I turned pro at 25, so it's not as if it was like I turned pro when I was 18, 19 and I time to build this record, the fight and 10, 12 journeymen, and things that, you know, and build up a partied sort of record. I didn't want to do that.

I knew that I was world class. I knew the talent that I had. I knew that my amateur career and experience was enough to take me to world level. So it would have been 25 years old when I turned pro. I wanted to progress quickly, and push myself as quickly as possible, and take the hardest fights, and challenge myself. I'm in this game to be the best that I can be. So why beat around the bush and fight people that you know you're going to blow away? It's not a challenge.

It's hard to get up for fights that you know you're going to win and going to blow people away. So you want to fight the best. You want to be a fighter, you got to fight the best. If you want to call yourself World Champion and Undisputed Champion, fight the best. Fight the guys that have got the belts. And that's what I believe in doing, and that's what I've done my whole career is always take challenges and big fights and progress forwardly, and quickly and as rapidly as possible.

KEVIN IOLE: When you were done fighting--

JOSH TAYLOR: I believe the my own ability. I'm saying I believe a ability, you know, and if you're good enough, you'll win. End of.

KEVIN IOLE: We're going to name you commissioner of boxing when you're done fighting, because I like that attitude. That's what we need to have. We need to see the best guys, because the sport is healthy when you have the best guys fighting the best. Now your last time out, you fought a mandatory fight that wasn't a great opponent. You won that open run.

But the significance of that fight was that was your first fight with Ben Davison as your trainer, Ben probably most known for having worked with Tyson Fury. And I'm kind of curious. You come off a win over Regis Prograis, and then you change. You were trained by Shane Mcquigg, and you changed to Ben Davidson. First of all, what has been added to your game? How has your game changed since working with Ben Davidson, compared to what you were doing before with Shane?

JOSH TAYLOR: Well, you'll see this one on the May 22nd, what we've be working on, the things that have been doing in the gym, and the nuances that we've been working on it. And just more well rounded, you know, doing things that I'm good that, but I was neglecting a lot. Back to things I was neglecting a lot, what's my make up as one very good failure. I was neglecting and a little bit in my last couple of fights. And let's just say this performance in next week is going to be a real good one, and you'll see what we've been working on.

KEVIN IOLE: Do you feel like it was a risk at all? Because, you know, you're a World Champion, you've unified the titles, you've been successful, and you're late in your career. Right? You know, you're just 30 years old. So you're not starting out. Was it a risk to make that change, and did you have to think about it a lot before you signed on the dotted line and said I'm going to make this a career change?

JOSH TAYLOR: No, it was a big change, you know, because what I was doing with Shane, it was working. In the gym, things were working, you know. But everything else just wasn't. So it was a big positive. Shane was a good coach, but everything else was a big massive negative. So I wasn't a happy fighting. I wasn't happy with what was happening. I wasn't happy where it was at. I just wasn't a happy person.

And I got to move on with my life and do what I wanted to do and be happy, and I have. I met Ben. Ben was my first choice, because I watched the way you trained with Billy Joe, and about the things they were working on, the kind of hard workout they we're doing. And I knew it was suited to my style with Billy Joe being so for fast hands combination puncher and that, as well. I knew that his style of training and coaching with a certain [INAUDIBLE] And as soon as I had the first session, we really clicked straight away, and I knew this was the man for me.

And since getting to know him a lot better and settling down with him, he's not just a good coach. He's a really good teacher, as well. But there's not a lot of him boxing anymore. You've got lot of good coaches and pad men, and this, and good pad men, and doing nice fancy combinations on the pads and the mats. But you don't get a lot like teachers anymore. And Ben is a real teacher, and I believe he's the very best in the coaches in the sport of boxing world wide.

KEVIN IOLE: There are so many fascinating parts to this match up, you know. And the trainer match up is one, you know. Jose is with a new trainer-- relatively new trainer. He's been with Robert Garcia for a while now. But you have two undefeated fighters, both with two championships, both with the elite trainers going in there. What do you see as Ramirez's vulnerability? Do you look at him, and does he get hit too often in your eyes, and do you feel like it'll be a different reaction if he gets hit by you, compared to some of the other guys he's fought?

JOSH TAYLOR: If he gets hit by me, he's going to get a shock once he gets hit by me. He's very hittable, as well. But I see a lot of things in his arsenal that I can exploit on fight night. I'm not going to tell you them, because he might be watching this and things like that. But I see a lot of things in his arsenal and in his game that-- and holes in his game that I can exploit, you know.

He says he's got a good heart, will, determination. Who fucking hasn't? Who hasn't? I'm a fighter. I've got heart. I've got determination. I've got will. I'd rather be nuked under the canvas than quit in a fight. You know, you have to knock me out to stop me coming for you. You know, who hasn't got that? Who hasn't got that at this level of the game?

You know, one thing he's forgetting is I've got skill and boxing IQ, and brain, as well. It's better than his. So I think that, you know, if it comes down to skill and will, and that's where he's relying on, that's all he's got. The facts is all he's hoping that he's got the heart and will, then it's game over for him. He may as well give me the belts now.

KEVIN IOLE: You know, I mean, I think one of the things you give him credit for, and what I think was his career best performance, the win over Mo Hooker, a guy with a huge reach advantage over him. You know, seemed like he made some adjustments in that fight that led to him stopping him. When you look at his fight with Hooker, A, do you, of all the fights you've seen of his, do you believe that that was his best performance? And, B, where you impressed with the changes he made as that fight went along?

JOSH TAYLOR: I've not seen any changes from Jose Ramirez in all these fights. I'm not seeing any. He does the same thing. Comes forward, breaks his opponents down, tries to get in their face, hit them to the head and body, and that's all I've seen from him. But having said that, is a very, very good fighter. But that's his game. His game is come forward, put the pressure on, and try and beat your opponent down. And he's very good it. I've not seen him do much else.

KEVIN IOLE: You know, if you win this championship, become-- what is it-- the sixth Undisputed Champ in the four belt era, that will put you in a unique position in Scottish boxing history. You know, whenever I think of Scottish boxing, the two names I think of are Jim Watt, of course, and Ken Buchanan. Do you feel like, you know, this is a legacy fight for you from the standpoint that, hey, you win this, and this is going to put you to a point where they're going to be talking about with names like that long term?

JOSH TAYLOR: Yeah, 100%. This is a massive, massive fight for me. And Ramirez, as well, you know, he's got the chance to become the first American Mexican to become the Undisputed Champion, as well. So it's massive for the two of us. And yes, certainly, when I win this fight, it's definitely going to put me up there with the best Scottish fighters, you know. So it's a massive piece of history being made. And the first Scottish person to have all four belts, as well, and from Scotland and the UK is massive. So it's a massive motivator for me, as well.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, like, I think, you know, as great a fighter as Ken Buchanan was, you know, what I always think of Ken Buchanan is the guy that lost the title to Roberto Duran. Right? So now you'd be that one Scottish fighter to take it to the next level you win this one. So that would be a big one for you. Before I wrap this, I just kind of maybe want to check on one or two other points.

I saw an interview that you did, and it really shocked me. Everybody talks about maybe moving up in weight. You talk about if you win the belt, maybe going back down and trying to gun for a lightweight championship. Is that serious, and is that something that would be in your mind if you did this of maybe you going after one of the lightweight champions?

JOSH TAYLOR: Oh, we'll see if it comes. You know, I'm making 140. Everybody's assuming that I'm just going to jump up to 147. I make 140 very comfortable. And now that I've got a nutritionist on board, a nutritionist chef on board, I'm making the weight even more comfortable.

I'm eating like a horse every day, you know. I'm eating five, six meals a day, drinking eight liters of water a day. You know, I've never ate and drank so much. And the training camp, you know, and the weights fall off me. I'm strong as an ox. And so yeah. I think I probably could make lightweight. But the natural progression would be probably go up to 147. But yeah we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens.

KEVIN IOLE: Is there any-- you know, your countryman Ricky Burns lost his title to Terence Crawford. Is there any, like, you want to avenge that for the pride of the country and maybe see Crawford in the ring someday?

JOSH TAYLOR: No, listen. I'm not thinking about that, no. What I'm thinking, I'm just thinking about myself, you know. But I'm just in this game to do the best that I can do, you know. I do firmly believe that, you know, Terence Crawford is, obviously, one of the best fighters on the planet at the minute.

And 147 is, I believe, he's pound for pound, second in the world behind Canelo. So he's a very, very good fighter. And I do believe when I win this fight, he's struggling a bit to get a fight at the minute. So yeah. I'd love to go up and fight him and fight him after this. Why not?

KEVIN IOLE: That would be awesome. Well, I love to hear it. Love to hear that attitude. This is the kind of guy we need in boxing. Wants to fight everybody, wants to fight the best. Josh, wish you the best of luck, all the best. See you on May 22nd in Las Vegas.

JOSH TAYLOR: Cheers, Kevin. Thank you very much. See you soon.

KEVIN IOLE: Thanks, mate.