This was a story of 2 halves. Former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor had a fast start in his welterweight debut and built up a lead, but Ekow Essuman came on strong in the second half. Essuman landed 140 of 363, 22% in total punches and Taylor landed 125 of 493, 25%.

Taylor did hold a 117-115 connect advantage in power punches in the end, but a lot of that was done early. Scores were 116-113, 116-112, and 115-113.