27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Where is Josh Taylor positioned in the welterweight division?
This is Taylor's first fight at welterweight after consecutive losses to Jack Catterall and Teofimo Lopez at 140lbs.
The 34-year-old will be hoping for an accelerated run towards a world title given his status as a former undisputed champion. First, he will have to get through a veteran welterweight in Essuman to establish himself in the division.
With that in mind, we break down where Taylor is currently positioned at welterweight and who his obstacles to becoming a two-weight world champion are.
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The kings of the welterweight division
The welterweight division is currently topped by three champions: Brian Norman Jr (WBO), Jaron Ennis (WBA, IBF and The Ring) and Mario Barrios (WBC).
Norman Jr, 27-0 (21), had his interim title elevated to full champion status after Terence Crawford vacated to fight at super welterweight in 2024.
He has since defended his belt against Derrick Cuevas in March of this year and is scheduled to fight the number 2 ranked Jin Sasaki on the 19th of June in Tokyo.
Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, 34-0 (30), is the unified welterweight champion, in possession of The Ring, WBA and IBF world titles. Ennis' interim title was upgraded in 2023 when Crawford was stripped by the IBF for not agreeing to fight the Philadelphia man as his mandatory.
After defending his title by forcing David Avenesyan to retire, he had a unification bout with Eimantas Stanionis in April this year, claiming his WBA belt and the vacant The Ring championship.
Mario Barrios, 29-2-1 (18), was also a beneficiary of Crawford vacating his welterweight titles, becoming a fully-fledged champion in June 2024. He has only fought once since, in a draw with Abel Ramos six months ago in Texas.
He will defend his WBC title in a controversial fight against the 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao in July.
Where is Taylor Ranked?
With a well-established hierarchy in the welterweight division after the chaos of Crawford's departure, where is the Scot ranked as a welterweight?
BoxRec have Taylor ranked at number four among the British welterweights behind Jack Catterall, Lewis Crocker and Harlem Eubank.
Among the four major organisations, the former undisputed super lightweight champion has been ranked just outside the top ten with the WBO, the title he last held before losing to Teofimo Lopez, and the WBC, who both place him at number eleven.
Although winning this fight could be the key to unlock world title opportunities at welterweight, Taylor is not looking past Essuman, admitting it will be a challenging debut at welterweight.
Taylor told ESPN: "Get the win this weekend then I'm in the mix for some big fights at welterweight, but I'm not thinking about that because Ekow's a very tough test," he explains. He's tried and Commonwealth and British champion so I'll have my hands full."
