Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman LIVE RESULTS: Taylor homecoming ends in HUGE DRAMA after Itauma scores DEVASTATING win
EKOW ESSUMAN left Josh Taylor STUNNED after scoring a career best win in Scotland!
The Engine handed Taylor a THIRD successive defeat with a 116-113, 116-112, 115-113 unanimous win that leaves the former unified champion at a major crossroads.
It was a deserved win for Essuman, who came on strong in the later rounds in what was one of the best performances of his career.
Scots hero Taylor needed a win to revive his own career after suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Teofimo Lopez and Jack Catterall - it is unclear where he now goes from here.
On the undercard, highly-rated heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma scored a BRUTAL second round KO of Mike Balogun, having dropped him THREE times inside two rounds.
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Collins with impressive victory
Nathaniel Collins certainly got the job done there tonight.
Protecting his unbeaten record, he left McGregor wanting and went in for the kill when his opponent started to struggle.
He eventually finished it with a body shot as McGregor dropped to his knees and his evening was done.
Credit: PA Nathaniel Collins beats Lee McGregor by TKO
Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor (Round 3)
These two fighters have come through the amateur ranks together.
All that is forgotten this evening as they look to go to war.
Collins edge another round but they are both landing good punches.
Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor (Round 2)
McGregor looks to go on the attack from the off.
A lot of the big punches he is unloading are missing.
Collins comes back into it later in the round and lands combinations of big hits.
Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor (Round 1)
Collins makes the more impressive start in this 12 round fight.
His southpaw stance works so well for him and he really gets some power behind those punches.
McGregor needs to impose himself more in this one.
Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor
This one is for the vacant WBC silver title in the featherweight division.
Lee McGregor will want to impress in front of his home fans.
Collins is announced and receives boos from the crowd, Collins is still undefeated in his career to date.
Nathaniel Collins vs Lee McGregor
Next up is a battle of the Scots.
There is so little to separate these fights.
It should be an absolute classic bout this one.
Keeping youngster grounded
George Warren has spoken about Moses Itauma being a 'generational talent' they need to manage well.
They would like to see someone take im more of a distance but that seems easier said than done with this British youngster.
He is already being likened to Mike Tyson due to his young age and raw knockout power.
Big things happening for Itauma
After his victory this evening, Francis Warren had some news about his fighter.
It seems 2025 could be a big year for the young British fighter to make an even bigger name for himself.
From what we he has shown us tonight, we want to see him on more cards.
He now looks set to feature on the Usyk vs Dubois 2 undercard at Wembley Stadium in July.
Moses Itauma vs Mike Balogun
What a fight by 20-year-old Moses Itauma.
He knocked Balogun down three times but somehow he kept getting up.
Itauma felled him with a perfectly-timed right hook to the temple which sent him crashing to the canvas.
What a beast of a boxer this man is.
Credit: PA Moses Itauma wins by TKO
Moses Itauma vs Mike Balogun (Round 1)
Superb round from Moses Itauma.
He catchesd Balogun with an overhand which rattles his opponent.
Then the Brit catches him so big head shots and drops the American.
He as such quick hands Balogun did not know what had hit him.
To his credit he manages to get up on an eight count and finishes the round.
Moses Itauma vs Mike Balogun
Itauma is known as a bit of a drop-merchant in his previous fights.
His hard hitting has felled many an opponent.
At 20-years-old, big things are expected of the young British boxer.
Moses Itauma vs Mike Balogun
Next up we have a heavyweight showdown.
It is a return to the ring for Moses Itauma.
He is fancied to be a real prospect in the heavyweight division.
The British prospect will be looking to send a message tonight.
Reese Lynch beats Jonatas de Oliviera by TKO
Reese Lynch vs Jonatas de Olivier (Round 2)
This one is a four round fight.
Despite taking constant pressure, de Oliviera goas his opponent.
Lynch catches him with a good head shot that rattles him ane he follows it up with a good combination.
This Brazilian is a tough guy but he was struggling to stay on his feet there.
After a series of body shots de Oliviera drops to the floor and does not make the count at all.
Reese Lynch vs Jonatas de Olivier (Round 1)
Debut fight for Lynch against a seasoned pro.
However, he is really taking this fight to de Oliviera.
There seems to be real power behind them as well.
Some of body shots have been seemingly having their effect.
Aloys Junior vs Davie Jamieson
What a fight by Aloys Junior.
He puts Jamieson down three times but the final one just turned his opponent off like a light switch.
Fortunately the boxer is back to his feet and all fine.
Aloys Junior has made a real statement tonight, he is some threat in this weight division,
If he career keeps on at this rate, there is no reason you could become a world champion in the near future.
Aloys Junior vs David Jamieson R3
And there it is - that fight didn't last much longer into round three!
Aloys Jr was streets ahead of Jamieson and lands a STUNNING shot to send Jamieson tumbling to the floor once again.
Brilliant jabbing and then a peach of a left hook to end the fight.
Beautiful stuff from the 22-year-old budding star!
Aloys Junior beats Davie Jamieson by TKO
Aloys Junior vs David Jamieson R2
The feed is finally up and running – thanks IT department.
Unfortunately that meant I missed the first round of action between these two.
But within 10 seconds of being shown images we can see that Aloys Jr is WELL on top.
He DROPS him with a massive shot – and the commentary team lets me know he also dropped him in the first.
Dominant stuff but he’s not quite putting his foot on the gas here, maybe he wants the rounds.
Time sensitive
We're expecting the main event at about 10pm BST tonight.
For those of you on the look out for Moses Itauma, we'd expect him to be on between 8.30-9pm - depending on the fights ahead of him, of course.
The big heavyweight is the third of five fights being aired tonight, although my feed is yet to show anything live...
Quick recap
With the TV coverage just about to start there have already been a few fights completed on the undercard.
Here's how the action has gone so far with the bigger fights of the night coming up soon:
- Aston Brown beats Reece Porter - TKO
- Luke McCormack beats Samir Cuentas - TKO
- Alex Arthur Jr beats Robbie Chapman - PTS
- Drew Limond beats Ezequiel Gregores - PTS
- Lee Welsh beats Tony Morton - TKO
- Luke Bibby beats Cesar Paredes - PTS
Itauma title tilt?
Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren hasn't been shy in pumping up heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma.
Warren claimed that the towering young boxer could even get a world title shot THIS YEAR.
He told Sky Sports: "I think he could fight for a world title this year. Who knows? He may fight him [Usyk] this year. Anything's possible.
"We've got to see what happens but the thing is with Moses, I think within another fight or two he's quite capable of being in exactly the same company as all these guys.
"He can be up there with all of them."
Credit: Getty Slam dunk
Ekow Essuman has had a slam-dunk boxing career after leaving behind his hopes of being a basketball star.
He started playing basketball while at school and only began boxing in a bid to better his chances on the court.
Essuman told : “When I eventually moved to the UK, I got into football and then basketball and I was doing really well at basketball.
"One season I went to some try-outs for a big team locally and I didn’t get in because I wasn’t fit enough.
"They wanted me to be more ambidextrous. It really got to me and I wanted to better myself, get fitter and come back stronger for the next season.
I gave it a go and my first session, I had two left feet and struggled with the bag.
"I slowly got into it and it got to the point where I thought ‘I’ll have one bout’ and I just caught the bug."
Credit: Ian Hodgson/PA Wire