Rather than vacate his belts in a timely manner, undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor seems dead set on wasting everybody’s time.
He and his team haven’t even acknowledged the fact that TGB Promotions won the purse bid for his WBA-mandated defense against Alberto Puello last week, and now the WBC has ordered him to begin negotiations with Jose Zepeda. The pair have until May 24th to avoid a bid.
Since we all know this isn’t going to happen, let’s talk about what happens after Taylor stops sitting on the belts.
Zepeda (35-2, 27 KO), last seen obliterating Josue Vargas in under two minutes, would presumably face No. 2 Jose Ramirez in a rematch of their ultra-competitive 2019 tussle. That said, Ramirez was recently promoted to No. 2 in the WBO rankings behind Liam Paro, who seems like a much easier opponent for their inevitable vacant title fight. Behind Ramirez sits Regis Prograis, who would make for a phenomenal fight with Zepeda.
The 140 lb division will be a very interesting place once it’s allowed to move again. Let’s hope that’s soon.