Mind games evident but Taylor, Essuman successfully weigh-in

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Mind Games At Play As Josh Taylor, Ekow Essuman Make Weight Before Welterweight Matchup

WEIGH-IN RESULTS

Mosope Ominiyi

RingMagazine.com |8 hours ago

Mind Games At Play As Josh Taylor, Ekow Essuman Make Weight Before Welterweight Matchup

GLASGOW, Scotland -- Former undisputed junior welterweight world champion Josh Taylor makes his long-anticipated foray into the 147-pound division on home turf tomorrow night in Glasgow, and gets a stern test in a bullish Ekow Essuman across from him this weekend.

Taylor was two ounces under the welterweight limit, Essuman triple that tally and noticed the headline act made him wait before they faced off in-front of the cameras, hinting at the Scotsman's need to rehydrate and take on fluids showing he was tight at his new weight.

That layer of intrigue lingers as questions will be finally answered this weekend as Queensberry play host to another 12-fight card at Glasgow's OVO Hydro - the scene of Taylor controversially edging past Jack Catterall in his last homecoming three years ago.

The lowdown

Almost fitting this weekend marks the one-year anniversary of defeat by Catterall in their off-rescheduled rematch, Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs) kicks off his Queensberry debut with new aspirations and a point to prove in an ever-changing welterweight division without a kingpin.

IBF, WBA and Ring Magazine champion Jaron Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs, 1 NC) is widely considered the top dog, but has been hinting at a weight move himself and the landscape remains murky Stateside, where Taylor lost his leverage and remaining WBO world title after being outpointed over 12 rounds during a vintage Teofimo Lopez display two summers ago.

Taylor has looked shaky of late, but the general consensus is clear: if he's still serious about making noise at world-level, this represents a must-win fight and one he needs to win well.

He faces an ex-Team GB teammate in Essuman (21-1, 8 KOs) knowing the mutual respect between one another will disappear once the first bell rings, against a British and European titleholder who rejected other fight offers for this marquee matchup on away soil.

Essuman, two years his senior, prevailed in a pair of thrilling domestic duels against previously-unbeaten Owen Cooper and Ben Vaughan in the second-half of 2024 after Harry Scarff outpointed him in November 2023 to inflict his first pro career defeat.

He told The Ring of his promise to show a more aggressive, different side after rechristening himself as "The Spectre" and will need an inspired display if he's to come away victorious here.

The rest of the card

Prodigious heavyweight talent Moses Itauma (11-0, 9 KOs) makes his belated start to the 2025 campaign against America's former American football linebacker Mike Balogun (21-1, 16 KOs), who enters unchartered territory with a flashy record on paper and plenty to gain.

Perhaps more importantly, the 41-year-old has been awfully inactive in recent years and only had one fight since suffering a second-round stoppage loss by former unified IBF/WBA cruiserweight world champion Murat Gassiev in March 2023. This shouldn't go very long.

After weighing a career-heaviest 254lbs, the 20-year-old spoke well about not looking past a hungry contender double his age coming into this contest with nothing to lose.

"I know everyone's here to see the main event, I've just got to dust him up and do my job. It's very disrespectful to name others before [I've beaten] him, gotta send him on the way home," he said to a rousing reception.

America is in dire need of a heavyweight they can get behind and as such, Balogun knows how beneficial a surprise result could be. He replied, saying: "Accuracy and determination [gets the job done], it changes the American heavyweight scene and division entirely."

Queensberry chief Frank Warren declared Aloys 'Junior' Youmbi was the real deal during the inaugural press conference before his vicious third-round knockout victory over Lewis Oakford on December 7 and now, the 22-year-old faces an even tougher challenge - seasoned veteran David Jamieson isn't coming to lose and this represents the youngster's first 12-rounder.

After some verbal jawing was shared on social media earlier this week, Youmbi - proudly sporting an English shirt and sunglasses - relished playing the villain role after a fiery face-off.

"I am who I am, if he doesn't like me it's okay, I respect him as a man but on fight night, I'm gonna f--- him up."

Jamieson, who had close friends and family watching in the audience, said he would be stern but stoic before letting his fists do the talking when it matters most.

"It's all jovial nonsense, I'm too long in the tooth, my mum and gran are watching this so I'm not going to start swearing and all that, just get in there and deal with him. He's getting knocked clean out."

In an all-Scottish scrap at featherweight, unbeaten Nathaniel Collins (16-0, 7 KOs) returns to prominence after enduring a hellacious year with injury and severe illness. Lee McGregor (15-1-1, 11 KOs), fresh from victory over Isaac Lowe on Saudi shores in December, is a compelling assignment and neither will want to concede ground against a domestic rival.

Collins was praised for his chiselled physique and in good spirits, before a vacant WBC Silver title fight awaits.

"I'm so happy, made [the weight] perfectly, it's my first time being back here in a whole and he's just a guy standing in-front of me [stopping me] from winning world titles. You'll see a Nathaniel Collins masterclass tomorrow night."

Elsewhere, a tasty Scottish Area title fight beckons when unbeaten middleweights Aston Brown (7-0, 2 KOs) and Reece Porter (5-0, 3 KOs) vy for bragging rights over ten rounds.

"The pressure is on him, his career is over once he loses this. It feels good to be on a good show, I'm gonna chin him," Porter told Queensberry's Dev Sahni.

Brown fired back with the same, insisting he'd show there are "levels to this game" and it would be the 26-year-old who'll be sleeping inside the distance.