Jose Ramirez vs Josh Taylor undisputed title fight official for May 22nd on ESPN

The best 140-pound fighter in the world will be crowned on May 22nd, as Top Rank has officially announced the long-awaited undisputed super lightweight title fight between WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez and IBF/WBA champion Josh Taylor.

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KO) first claimed WBC gold in 2018 with a strong decision over Amir Imam, and after defeating Antonio Orozco and Jose Zepeda in successive defenses, he added to his hardware by smashing WBO champ Maurice Hooker. Taylor (17-0, 13 KO), meanwhile, got all his belts during his time in the WBSS, taking the IBF belt from Ivan Baranchyk in the semis and the WBA belt from Regis Prograis in the finals.

When Taylor signed with Top Rank early last year, the plan seemed obvious: they’d deal with their most pressing mandatories, then duke it out later in 2020. Then, of course, COVID intervened, leaving Ramirez to edge out Viktor Postol after a Sisyphean series of reschedulings and Taylor to wipe out Apinun Khongsong in one.

Now, after one last bit of malarkey regarding Canelo-Saunders stealing their original date, the fight’s finally here.

“I look forward to making history by becoming the first boxer of Mexican descent to hold all four major world title belts,” Ramirez said. “I dedicate this fight to the Central Valley farm workers, who are out there every day helping feed the world. This fight is big, but nothing is bigger than getting vaccinations to the farm workers right now in the Central Valley.”

Taylor said, “I’m excited it’s been finalized and over the line. I can’t wait to get in there for the biggest fight of my career. Fighting for the undisputed title is something all boxers dream about.”