Sweat pours down Josh Taylor’s face as the rope whirrs above his head and his feet blur beneath him. The best boxer in Britain, and one of the leading pound-for-pound fighters in the world, skips faster and faster in a stark and anonymous building in Harlow, Essex. We’re in the gym where Taylor has spent so much of the past two months preparing to defend his undisputed world light‑welterweight titles against Jack Catterall in Glasgow on Saturday.
In his last bout, nine months ago, Taylor became the first British fighter, and the fifth man in boxing’s four-belt history, to win the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles in his division. He defeated the previously unbeaten José Ramírez in a thrilling battle, twice knocking down the tough American on his way to a unanimous victory on points in Las Vegas.
