Under the shimmering lights of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Josh Taylor etched his name into the annals of boxing history with a masterclass in grit, timing, and championship pedigree. In a 12-round battle for junior welterweight supremacy, the undefeated Scotsman toppled fellow unbeaten champion José Ramírez by unanimous decision (114-112 across all cards), unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO titles in a fight that lived up to its billing — and then some.

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), now the first British fighter to hold all four major belts in a weight class during the four-belt era, executed a high-stakes game plan with poise under fire. The action began with Ramírez (26-1, 17 KOs) pressing early, outworking Taylor in the first third of the fight, showing urgency with compact combinations, especially in close quarters. But boxing is about moments — and Taylor seized his.

The turning point came in round six. A perfectly timed counter hook from Taylor sent Ramírez crashing to the canvas. The Californian answered the count swiftly, but Taylor smelled blood. In round seven, he followed up with a blistering uppercut that dropped Ramírez again, this time leaving him visibly shaken. Though Ramírez fought back valiantly, those two knockdowns shifted momentum and, crucially, tilted the scorecards in Taylor’s favour.

Despite a cut near Taylor’s eye and a relentless body attack from Ramírez, the Edinburgh fighter remained composed, using his jab, angles, and defensive awareness to outland his opponent 145 to 134 in total punches. A staggering 279 of the 313 landed punches were power shots — evidence of the high-octane nature of this world title collision.

From Commonwealth Games gold to undisputed champion of the world, Taylor now stands among legends. He joins Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk as modern-era four-belt kings, and becomes only the second Scotsman in history — after Ken Buchanan — to achieve undisputed glory.

With victory sealed, talk of future mega-fights looms. But on this night, Taylor didn’t just win a bout — he claimed a legacy. A classic, a war, and a crowning all in one: the undisputed light welterweight king has a new name — Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor.

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