Josh Taylor retires from boxing due to eye injury
The 34-year-old will go down in history as one of Scotland's greatest boxers, having won and then unified the world light-welterweight titles.
Taylor said in a statement: 'As has been publicised before, I've had a recurring issue with my eye that unfortunately means I now have to call time on my career or risk losing my eyesight.
'While the fighter in me always wants to box on, I know I have to listen to the medical professionals and save me from myself.
'It is certainly not the way I wanted to bow out but I have to listen to the doctors and those around me.'
Taylor, from Prestonpans, turned professional one year after winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
He claimed the IBF version of the world light-welterweight title with a points win over Ivan Baranchyk in Glasgow in May 2019, and added the WBA 'super' title by beating Regis Prograis in his next bout.
Taylor went on to beat previously undefeated Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed champion in Las Vegas in May 2021.
Taylor suffered his first defeat to Teofimo Lopez in New York in June 2023 and was also beaten in a rematch by British rival Jack Catterall in his following bout.
After undergoing surgery, Taylor returned for a bout against Ekow Essuman in Glasgow in May this year, but suffered his third consecutive defeat.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
British and Irish Lions suffer MAJOR double blow with captain Maro Itoje and Tommy Freeman both out for remainder of Australia third Test after failing HIAs in the first half
British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has been ruled out of the remainder of Saturday's final Test after failing a Head Injury Assessment (HIA). More to follow
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Sir Chris Hoy's heartbreaking realisation that ensures he feels 'lucky' after cancer diagnosis
Legendary Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has opened up on the positives of his terminal diagnosis and how he continues to make it through a devastating period of his life Chris Hoy has revealed he is 'lucky' to have the opportunity to appreciate life following his cancer diagnosis. The Olympic cycling legend revealed last year that he has incurable Stage 4 prostate cancer and had been told he has just two to four years to live. Hoy, 49, has since dealt with his illness in remarkable fashion and raised awareness to the extent that almost 5,000 extra men were referred for urological cancer in the six months after speaking of his own diagnosis. But there have been difficult moments too. Just weeks following Hoy's devastating news, wife Sara discovered she had multiple sclerosis. Both however, are training for the six-time gold medalist's mass-participation charity ride Tour de 4 in September. Hoy believes positives can come out of a really dark situation as he continues life with Sara and their four children. And the opportunity to say goodbye has become a powerful thing for the British icon to reflect upon. Former Scottish cyclist and journalist Richard Moore is a figure Hoy thinks about a lot. Moore died in his sleep in 2022, aged 48, leaving behind his wife Virginie and five-year-old son Maxime. READ MORE: Sir Chris Hoy shows true colours with phone call to Dermot Murnaghan after cancer diagnosis Hoy delivered a eulogy for Moore, perhaps never imagining his own tragic news would arrive. But the cyclist has other contemporaries in mind now too in Scottish cycling coach Ivor Reid, track sprinter John Paul, who passed away suddenly aged 28, and former Scottish mountain bike champion Rab Wardell. "They didn't get the chance [to say goodbye to their loved ones]," said Hoy in an interview with the Telegraph. "And in some respects you think: 'That's the ideal way to do it, just keep living until the lights are switched off.' But for the people who are left 'To be able to tell your loved ones what you feel about them, to appreciate what you've got, and yeah, for Richard, or for anybody who dies suddenly, to have 24 hours left on the planet, to be able to live that last day… you know, what would they have given for that? And therefore, for me, I think: 'Well, aren't I lucky?' Look at the privilege I've got, the time to really appreciate life.' Asked for the advice he would offer other's as they go through difficult moments, Hoy suggested remaining in the moment is crucial. Fear of the future is one of the more difficult struggles to endure. He said: "I think when it gets tough, when it gets really tough, it's bringing yourself back to the exact moment you're in and recognising 'Can I keep going another 10 seconds? Can I deal with what I'm going through right now? I'm here, I'm breathing, my kids are next door sleeping, they're OK.' 'It's the fear of the future that causes anxiety and stress for most people. So it's not allowing yourself to fast forward and try and predict what's going to happen because you never know.' And Hoy is still exploring the possibility that stage four cancer will one day be treatable. The Scot's cancer is currently stable and he has visited Professor Dr Chris Evans, a specialist whose remit is focusing on creating cancer prevention and diagnostics solutions. Hoy admitted he is 'always looking at the new options coming out'. 'When it [his treatment] stops being effective I will look to other treatments that are available, hopefully there are a few waiting in the wings,' he said.
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
How Bonnie Blue porn on Channel 4 helps fuel dangerous attitudes towards women among young men
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... What are we teaching our children? Last Sunday night, I suspect even die-hard Tartan Army fans cheered on the England women's football team as they battled against Spain to win the 2025 European championships. Chloe Kelly, the hero of the team's 2022 Euro victory, is once again the nation's darling, her blonde ponytail bouncing with joy as she scored the vital goals that kept England in contention. And she has been joined in our affections by a newcomer, 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang from Essex, whose two equalisers were equally as important. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Every player in the England squad is a positive role model for our girls and boys. The very best of British and the champions of a feminist revolution that saw women's football transformed from a laughing stock to the most popular sport for girls in less than a generation. Channel 4 documentary 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story showed graphic sex scenes | Bonnie Blue on Instagram 'I'm a girl boss' Fast-forward to Wednesday night and Channel 4. The public broadcaster aired a documentary which made my skin crawl. The film, 1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, followed 26-year-old Tia Billinger (Bonnie Blue) as she attempted to break a world record by having sex with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours. Or to be more accurate, she lay on her back while queues of 'ordinary' men, many wearing balaclavas to hide their shame, queued up to ejaculate over her face. The female director, Victoria Silver, took a very uncritical stance to her subject. Even her question to Billinger about feminism was a polite, almost hesitant attempt to interrogate the impact of pornography on young women and contemporary culture. 'In terms of feminism, are you not maybe sending us backwards?' she asked tentatively. Billinger was robust in her answer, declaring that her lifestyle as a self-employed porn star was what feminists had been working for. 'I'm a girl boss, an entrepreneur,' she said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sorry Tia, but no feminists I know, or any I hold in high regard, have ever argued that sex with 1,000 strangers for cash, or even just one, is empowering, or has anything remotely to do with the social and economic liberation of women. Quite the opposite. There is a school of thought among some 'liberal' feminists that selling sex is work, in the same way that being a nurse or civil servant is employment, but their wrong-headed, naïve analysis doesn't bear close examination. Prostitution and pornography are exploitative and abusive, whether they involve a vulnerable teenage girl offering oral sex for sale on the back streets of Edinburgh or an emotionally stunted woman urging men to 'treat me like your s***', as Billinger did on her OnlyFans site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad READ MORE: Pimping websites that advertise trafficked women for rape must be prosecuted Boys' attitudes to women The Channel 4 documentary highlights something even more worrying than the long-standing argument among feminists about prostitution. It exposes a culture which has dehumanised young women, where their only value is as a sexual vessel for men. In the week the country celebrated the achievement of some of country's most talented sportswomen, a porn star was elevated to something akin to a national treasure, at least by some sections of the media. Little wonder that young people, male and female, are confused about sex and their respective roles in society – with girls believing that choking during sex is 'normal', and many boys viewing women as little more than sexual objects. And right on cue, a Glasgow University study published this week shows that a third of boys believe that skimpy outfits meant that girls were 'asking for trouble' – attitudes reminiscent of the 1970s when rape survivors were told they were 'asking for it' because they wore a mini-skirt or walked home alone at midnight. And the same proportion of boys said they would 'judge' a girl more than a boy for having sex with lots of people. Kirstin Mitchell, professor of social sciences and public health at Glasgow University, who worked on the study, said its findings gave an indication of the 'general culture' behind serious incidents of violence against women and girls. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Channel 4 tried to justify commissioning the Bonnie Blue film by saying its role is to tell stories 'at the edge of modern morality'. This would be almost acceptable if the documentary results in a public debate about the parlous state of our collective morality, and the mixed messages that we are giving our children. The sewer we are swimming in But I fear all the film has done is provide late-night titillation for teenage boys, and many older men who should know better. Worse, it elevates Tia Billinger and her ilk as role models – implying to susceptible teenage girls that sexual degradation is something to aspire to, not dread. One of most unsettling moments in the film – and there were many – was when Billinger's mother said: 'If you earn £1 million a month, your morals would change and you'd get your tits out.' At the risk of sounding like Mary Whitehouse, the art teacher turned conservative campaigner who argued in the 1960s and 70s that the media was partly responsible for a fall in the nation's moral standards, I fear for our society. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Have we really reached a point where personal degradation is a price worth paying for fame and fortune? And how can any mainstream broadcaster, let alone one funded by taxpayers, justify promoting a lifestyle based on exploitative pornography to young people? Billinger's descent into a cesspit of group sex may make an interesting topic at a metropolitan dinner party. However, I hazard a guess that very few parents, no matter how progressive, would want to see their own daughter selling herself to a crowd of strangers.
