Josh Taylor Vs. Ekow Essuman Key Battles

Josh Taylor boxes Ekow Essuman in a welterweight clash on Saturday as we look at how the fight could play out. 

Taylor moves up to 147 for the first time, looking to bounce back from his poor run of form. He has lost his last two fights against Teofimo Lopez and Jack Catterall. There were worries that Taylor could no longer make 140, as he moved up with the aim of becoming a two-weight world champion. Essuman is undefeated, with a 21-1-0 record. He enters the fight with a majority decision victory over Ben Vaughan. Taylor is his biggest test, but having boxed at 147 previously, he may get no better time to beat him. 

Taylor fights behind a high guard while using his jab to keep his man back. The Scott tends to double up on it, using it as a power shot if necessary. Taylor is equally capable of boxing on the back foot and can land those counters. Meanwhile, Essuman is known for his high volume and front foot pressure. If Taylor gets his timing right, he can pick his man off. Taylor’s 19 wins consistent of 13 knockouts, but his last one was in 2020 against Apinun Khongsong.

Meanwhile, Essuman’s last KO was against Owen Cooper in 2024. However, he had to get off the canvas to get the stoppage. Taylor is the more experienced fighter, having been the former Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion. He has been in the ring with the bigger names such as Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis. All of Essuman’s fights have been in the UK, but Taylor is the biggest name on his resume. The pair were ready to put on a statement performance. 

Pre-Fight

“I will get this journey rebooted and kickstarted again. Take care of business on Saturday, do it in a good fashion and look forward to moving on to big fights in the future. At 140lbs 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? 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,” Taylor

“If Taylor wants to try and end it early it might be to his detriment. We are going to find out on Saturday. I came prepared for the best Josh Taylor there can be, so this is just confirming what I thought would come. 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,” Essuman

Full Card

Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman ; Welterweight

Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor ; Featherweight

Aloys Junior vs Davie Jamieson ; Cruiserweight

Moses Itauma vs Mike Balogun ; Heavyweight

Luke McCormack vs Samir Cuentas ; Light welterweight

Alex Arthur Jr vs Robbie Chapman ; Super middleweight