Ekow Essuman shocks Josh Taylor: Third defeat in a row for the former world champion on his return to Scotland.
Glasgow, Scotland – Ekow Essuman caused a major upset at the SSE Hydro Arena when he defeated Josh Taylor via unanimous points decision to seal his third consecutive defeat .
The judges scored the fight 116-113, 116-112 and 115-113 in favor of Essuman (22-1, 8 KOs). For Taylor (19-3, 13 KOs), the once undisputed super lightweight champion, it was a bitter evening in his home country. After his defeats to Teofimo Lopez and Jack Catterall, he now had a false start in the welterweight division.
Taylor, who was boxing in Scotland for the first time in over three years, seemed to be in control in the opening rounds. With quick hands and precise combinations, he initially posed problems for Essuman. But the man from Nottingham, a former British and Commonwealth champion, showed stamina and turned the tables from round six onwards. As the rounds progressed, Essuman found his rhythm, took control of the ring and finally secured the vacant WBO Global welterweight title.
The victory marks Essuman’s final return to the big stage after his career had stalled following his defeat to Harry Scarff. He had fought his way back with victories over Owen Cooper and Ben Vaughan – and now he finally broke free against Taylor.
Collins stops McGregor in featherweight battle
In the co-main event, Nathaniel Collins (17-0, 8 KOs) won the WBC Silver featherweight title with an impressive fourth-round TKO over Lee McGregor (15-2-1, 11 KOs).
The first three rounds were hard-fought, but in round four Collins burst the knot. With a right hook in the infight, he brought McGregor to the ground for the first time. He got up again, but was knocked down again seconds later with a body shot and a right punch to the chin.
McGregor got to his feet one last time, but another body shot caused him to buckle again – this time it was over. The towel was thrown in and the referee officially ended the fight at 1:45 of round four.
For McGregor, once touted as a future world champion, this is not only his second defeat, but also his first by knockout – a bitter setback in his career. Collins, on the other hand, moved closer to a world title fight with his convincing victory and is currently ranked fourth in the WBC featherweight rankings.