Notebook: Josh Taylor looks to reignite career vs. Ekow Essuman
Schofield-Farmer added to Paul-Chavez card; Marshall, Green set for women's super middleweight unification bout; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Four years ago, Josh Taylor was on the top of the world.
He held two junior welterweight titles when he traveled to Las Vegas, knocked Jose Ramirez down twice and won a narrow unanimous decision — 114-112 on all three scorecards, thanks to the knockdowns — to take the two other belts from Ramirez and become the undisputed 140-pound world champion.
He is the only male boxer from the United Kingdom to achieve undisputed status in the four-belt era, but since that glorious victory, however, it has been downhill for Taylor, who has had just three fights since and gone a very shaky 1-2.
He retained the undisputed title but in a massively controversial split decision over Jack Catterall in February 2022. Most thought Catterall won. Taylor wound up being stripped or vacating three of the four belts and a rematch with Catterall was repeatedly postponed and eventually canceled for various reasons.
Taylor still held the WBO title and was ordered to make his mandatory defense against Teofimo Lopez or risk being stripped of his last alphabet belt. He traveled to New York and lost the belt and lineal title by clear decision to Lopez in June 2023.
Eleven months later the rematch with Catterall finally took place, even with no title at stake. This time, Catterall not only won the well-deserved unanimous decision so many believed he warranted the first time but he made it look rather easy.
One year later almost to the day, Taylor, with his career at a low point, will look to get back on track in his first fight since signing with Queensberry Promotions.
Taylor has moved up to welterweight and will face Ekow Essuman in the 12-round main event of a Queensberry card on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, Taylor’s home country and the arena where he scored the disputed win over Catterall as well as other notable victories.
I am in my 26th year of full-time boxing coverage. Take advantage of that experience by upgrading to a paid subscription for full access to all posts and comments — and support independent journalism.
“I will get this journey rebooted and kick started again,” Taylor said this week. “Take care of business on Saturday, do it in a good fashion and look forward to moving on to big fights in the future.”
The southpaw Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs), 34, is, of course, happy to be home after the New York debacle against Lopez and losing to England’s Catterall in Leeds, England.
“It is great to be back here and this has been my home since the Commonwealth Games,” Taylor said. “I’ve had most of my big fights here. Victor Postol, my first world title (win) against Ivan Baranchyk. So I’ve had most of my big nights here, so I am looking forward to getting back. It has been a little while since I’ve been here, so I am looking to put on a big show on Saturday.”
Essuman (21-1, 8 KOs), 36, of England, is taking a big step up in competition against his former amateur teammate.
“I came prepared for the best Josh Taylor there can be,” Essuman said. “It doesn’t matter about being his backyard or if it was back in Nottingham or in London. I don’t have a lot of shows I’ve boxed on in my home city, like big shows, so I am used to being the away fighter. It is just same job, different venue.”
One thing Taylor is happy about besides his home surroundings is the move up to 147 pounds. He struggled to make 140 pounds in his couple of bouts but said he had no such issues in the new division.
“Training has been gruesome and hard, hard work, but it feels like I am at holiday camp this week,” Taylor said. “No dieting, cutting weight or drying out, getting the last bit of water you can out of you. There is none of that this week. I am full of beans, full of energy with a spring in my step. I can’t wait to get going on Saturday.”
Weight issues aside, Taylor said he decided to move up because there was nothing still to accomplish at junior welterweight after having unified all the titles and beaten top fighters such as the prime Regis Prograis and Ramirez in unification bouts.
“At 140 pounds what else was there left for me to do? I’d completed boxing in a sense and won every single belt in boxing you can win. What else was there for me in terms of challenges, setting new targets,” Taylor said. “There was nothing to do. So, what there was was moving up with an assault on becoming a two-time, two-weight world champion.
“I am planning on taking this guy out on Saturday and that is what I’m going to do.”
In the co-feature, England’s Moses Itauma (20-0, 10 KOs), 20, who was the 2024 Fight Freaks Unite prospect of the year, will face fellow southpaw Mike Balogun (21-1, 16 KOs), 41, a former pro football player from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in a 10-rounder. Balogun’s only loss came two fights ago when former unified cruiserweight titlist Murat Gassiev knocked him out in the second round of a heavyweight bout in March 2023.
Schofield vs. Farmer set
Lightweight up-and-comer Floyd Schofield and former junior lightweight titleholder Tevin Farmer will square off in a 10-rounder on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard on June 28 (DAZN PPV) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Golden Boy and Most Valuable Promotions announced, conforming a Fight Freaks Unite report.
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs), 22, of Austin, Texas, will be back in action after having withdrawn during fight week from a bout with WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson due to illness in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“Sharing the ring with former world champ Tevin Farmer is a huge opportunity for me to silence those who doubt me and my skills, and I know that I will come out with the win,” Schofield said.
Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs), 34, a southpaw from Philadelphia, has dropped three decisions in a row but all three we very close, debatable results. He lost to Raymond Muratalla, who went on to win the IBF interim lightweight title, and in his past two bouts lost to William Zepeda in WBC interim title bouts, a split decision in November, when he dropped Zepeda, and a majority verdict on March 29.
“My skills are different than anything he’s ever seen,” Farmer said. “I’m knocking him out to teach him a lesson.”
Two other 10-rounders were also added to the main card, joining the previously announced co-feature of unified cruiserweight titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez against mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos and female lightweight Holly Holm against Yolanda Vega:
Brian McIntyre-trained welterweight Avious Griffin (17-0, 16 KOs), 31, of Las Vegas, who recently signed with MVP, will face Julian Rodriguez (23-1, 14 KOs), 30, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.
Welterweight Raul Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs), 29, a 2016 Mexican Olympian fighting out of Riverside, California, who recently joined the training stable of Robert Garcia, will fight Victor Ezequiel Rodriguez (16-0-1, 9 KOs), 28, of Uruguay. “I will be looking for a knockout, and soon after an opportunity to become world champion,” Curiel said.
Marshall-Green unification made
When Most Valuable Promotions announced its recent signing of IBF women’s super middleweight titlist Savannah Marshall, adding her to a roster that also includes WBO titlist Shadasia Green, it was clear a unification match was in the cards — and now it is made.
Marshall, the former undisputed super middleweight champion, who never lost any of the belts in the ring, and Green will square off to unify titles on July 11 (Netflix) at Madison Square Garden in New York, in a fight MVP added this week to the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III all-women’s card.
Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs), 31, of England, and Green (14-1, 11 KOs), 35, of Paterson, New Jersey, will each be making their first title defense.
“Defending my IBF and Ring magazine belt in a unification fight with Shadasia Green, on an all-women’s card such as this, is a great way to start my new journey with MVP,” said Marshall, whose lone loss was a competitive decision to pound-for-pound No. 1 Claressa Shields in a unification fight for the undisputed middleweight crown in 2022. “There are so many great women on one show. I’m beaming that I can play my part in it.”
Green won the vacant title by split decision over Melinda Watpool in November on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard.
“I am really excited about fighting Savannah Marshall, who has accomplished a lot in the sport,” Green said. “We are two hard-punching world champions who will put everything on the line. I’m looking forward to putting on a great show, and I’m certain that Marshall will bring the best out of me.”
MVP also announced two bouts added to the preliminary card:
Newly signed WBC interim junior welterweight titlist and former undisputed champion Chantelle Cameron (20-1, 8 KOs), 34, of England, will defend against Jessica Camara (14-4-1, 3 KOs), 37, of Canada.
Somalia-born, England-based junior featherweight Ramla Ali (9-2, 2 KO), 35, will face Lila Furtado (11-2, 2 KOs), 38, of Brazil, in an eight-rounder
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked two fights on Saturday: former undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor’s move up to welterweight to face Ekow Essuman in Glasgow, Scotland and IBF featherweight titlist Angelo Leo’s defense against Tomoki Kameda in Osaka, Japan. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Glasgow, Scotland, for the Queensberry Promotions card on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET): Josh Taylor 146.8 pounds, Ekow Essuman 146.4; Moses Itauma 254, Mike Balogun 241; Nathaniel Collins 125.6, Lee McGregor 125.4; Aloys Youmbi 199, David Jamieson 198.4; Aston Brown 159.6, Reece Porter 159.4; Drew Limond 148.8, Ezequiel Gregores 150; Luke McCormack 143.2, Samir Cuentas 144; Alex Arthur Jr. 171, Robbie Chapman 171; Luke Bibby 135.3, Cesar Ignacio Paredes 134; Lee Welsh 133.1, Tony Morton 134.6; Marcus Sutherland 127.3, Dylan Nixon 127.4; Reese Lynch 141.6, Jonatas de Oliveira 140.1.
Weights from Osaka, Japan, for the world title bouts on the Kameda Promotions card on Saturday (ProBox TV in the U.S., 2 a.m. ET coverage begins, main event approximately 4 a.m. ET): Angelo Leo 125.7 pounds, Tomoki Kameda 125.7 (for Leo’s IBF featherweight title); Pedro Taduran 104.5, Ginjiro Shigeoka 104.9 (rematch, for Taduran’s IBF strawweight title).
In a homecoming fight, Terri Harper (16-2-2, 6 KOs), 28, made a successful first defense of the WBO women’s lightweight title, winning a unanimous decision against mandatory challenger Natalie Zimmermann (13-1, 3 KOs), 42, of Germany, on Friday in the main event of a GBM Sports card on Friday on DAZN at Eco Power Stadium in Doncaster, England. Harper has no trouble en route to winning 99-91 on all three scorecards. After the fight, Harper reiterated what she said during the buildup, that she wants a unification fight with fellow Brit and WBC titlist Caroline Dubois. “I said it the other day in the press conference — she rubs me up the wrong way,” Harper said. “That fight makes sense.”
Salita Promotions announced the addition of two bouts to the undercard of undisputed women’s heavyweight champion Claressa Shields’ defense against IBF light heavyweight titlist Lani Daniels on July 26 (DAZN) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Samantha Worthington (11-0, 7 KOs), 29, of Lexington, Kentucky, will face Victoire Piteau (14-2, 2 KOs), 26, of France, for the vacant WBA interim women’s junior welterweight title. Also, Caroline Veyre (9-1, 0 KOs), 36, of Montreal, will fight Licia Boudersa (23-3-2, 4 KOs), 32, of France, in a WBC title eliminator. Boudersa is coming off a one-sided decision loss challenging IBF lightweight titlist Beatriz Ferreira in December.
Show and tell
In 2010, Carl Froch traveled to Mikkel Kessler’s home country of Denmark and lost a competitive decision and his super middleweight world title in an outstanding fight in Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. Three years later they met again, this time on Froch’s turf in London, in an IBF/WBA super middleweight title unification fight and they waged another tremendous battle filled with action, drama and a wild crowd at The O2 in London. But this time it was Froch who pounded his way to a well-earned unanimous decision to avenge the loss. The fight, which turned out to be the final bout in Kessler’s fine career, took place on May 25, 2013 — 12 years ago on Sunday. Here is a site poster in my collection.
A note to subscribers
I sincerely appreciate your readership. If you’re reading, it means you love boxing just like I do. If you’ve been reading you also know the quality and quantity of what I produce. It’s one-stop shopping. Read the newsletters and there is no need to search multiple websites or click a multitude of links to get the latest news, opinion and detailed fight schedule. Everything you need is in one spot and delivered directly to your inbox (or via phone alert if you download for free the superb Substack app). You don’t have to hunt for the news; it comes to you.
I believe that is worth something, so while I will continue providing stories, notes and the schedule for free, I encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription for the most content. A paid subscription is your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism. I am beholden to no network, promoter, manager, sanctioning body or fighter. If you have read my work at all during the past 25 years I’ve covered professional boxing you know that I keep it real and that will not change.
To upgrade your subscription please go here:
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Photos: Taylor-Essuman and Taylor: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry; Leo-Kameda: Wendell Alinea
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
