Josh Taylor insists that his decision to move up to the welterweight division has reignited the drive and ambition that propelled him to the undisputed and Ring Magazine junior welterweight titles.

After spending his entire career at 140lbs, the Scotsman will make his official welterweight debut against the relentless Ekow Essuman, 21-1 (8 KOs), at Glasgow’s SSE Arena on May 24th.

Former long reigning British and Commonwealth champion, Essuman, may be 35 years old but is phenomenally fit and has been craving an opportunity like this for some time.

There are plenty of welterweights who would have offered Taylor, 19-2 (13 KOs), a more high profile but far easier passage into the 147lbs division but taking on Essuman is a sign that 34 year-old Taylor still has a real hunger for the sport.

“I just thought I need a fresh start, a fresh change. New beginnings, new challenges, set new goals, new targets which then refresh your energy, refreshes your enthusiasm for the sport, refreshes everything because then it's back to being the hunter again,” Taylor told Queensberry.

“It's a new challenge. I've been there, done that, worn all four t-shirts so it's like, ‘Right, you’ve not got any t-shirts at this next weight, let's go get them.’”

Although it would have been almost impossible for Taylor to maintain the constant level of high opposition he ploughed through on his way to the top of the 140lb mountain, he has undoubtedly been affected by inactivity.

His fight with Essuman will be just his fourth appearance in the four years since he outboxed and outfought Jose Carlos Ramirez in Las Vegas to become the undisputed 140lb champion in May 2021.

He made a successful defence of his unified crown by scraping past Jack Catterall the following February but then wouldn’t box again for 16 months. When he did reappear, a foot injury played its part in the uncharacteristically tame showing he produced when losing to Teofimo Lopez in June 2023.

There were signs of the old Taylor during his rematch with Catterall last May but he dropped a unanimous decision to his old rival.

A competitive performance was never going to provide Taylor with the type of peace that would allow him to drift happily off into retirement.

Taylor once again has the bit between his teeth and believes that there are still chapters to be added to his story.

“The first and only UK undisputed world champion in the four-belt era. Who can say that? No one. One in whatever the population of the UK is 60, 70 million. I’m the only one that can say that so I can quite happily go to my bed at night and sleep like a baby,” he said.

“I could retire tomorrow and be happy but I still know in six months time I’d say, ‘I could have got more.’

“If it doesn't work - which I believe it will - but if it doesn't work I can say ‘Well, I tried it it didn't work’ rather than stopping and then two, three years down the line, ‘I could have maybe tried that. I could have done that’.

“That would grate on me for the rest of my life.”