Undisputed junior welterweight world champion Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 18-0 (13) has revealed he dropped reigning WBA welterweight boss Yordenis Ugas 27-4 (12) in sparring.
Cuban Ugas, 35, scored a breakthrough win over Filipino superstar and former eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao 62-8-2 (39) on points in Las Vegas last month.
He was a late replacement for WBC and IBF 147-pound kingpin Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 27-0 (21) who withdrew after failing his pre-fight medical due to a retina injury.
Scottish southpaw Taylor, 30, who is scheduled to face mandatory contender and fellow lefty Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall 26-0 (13) at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on December 28, says he can be just as successful at welterweight as he has proven to be in the 140-pound weight class.
“Yes. I believe in my own ability,” Taylor told Sky Sports News. “I have goals and targets and things I want to reach. I do a lot of visualisation and manifesting things.
“My longer-term goal is to become a two-weight world champion by winning a belt at welterweight. I can beat these guys.
“Ugas, we sparred in Vegas, and it went well. That’s all I’ll say. It went very, very well. I dropped him!
“If that fight came around? I’ve got more experience, I’ve been in big fights. This was at a time before I’d fought for titles. Now I’ve been in hard fights, big fights, for titles.
“I can beat these guys, I really do believe in my ability.”
First he will have to turn back the challenge of the undefeated Catterall who stepped aside to allow Taylor to face then WBC and WBO champion Jose Carlos Ramirez 26-1 (17) in Las Vegas in May.
Taylor dropped Ramirez twice in the middle rounds to win the fight by scores of 114-112 across the board.
The Catterall fight will be the third for Taylor under former Tyson Fury coach Ben Davison.
“He is a very tough test,” Taylor said of Catterall. “He’s 26-0, he has beaten everybody in front of him.
“There have been no questions asked. We haven’t seen the best of Catterall yet.
“I’ve seen a few of his performances and they haven’t been very impressive.
“That is because he hasn’t the opponents to really fire him up. He will be fired up for this one.
“It’s his chance to win all the belts and he will do everything in his power to make his dreams come true.
“It’s my job to make sure he doesn’t.
“No disrespect but I am better than him in every department – boxing ability, speed, timing, power, I can fight, I can box.
“I will have to prove that on December 18.
“He will have seen my fights and think he has seen holes in my game that he can exploit.
“I am super confident and it will take a special fighter to beat me.”
