Josh Taylor vacates his WBC belt, here's how Jose Ramirez can win it

Josh Taylor has vacated his WBC super lightweight title. The move comes two months after ‘The Tartan Tornado’ vacated the WBA super lightweight championship.

By vacating his championship belts, Taylor will not have to face any mandatory challengers. The former undisputed champion, who unified the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF super lightweight championships, has plans to move up to welterweight. Taylor originally planned to move up to welterweight after his last bout, a defense against ‘El Gato’ Jack Catterall.

However, the fight against Catterall was hugely controversial. The Scot was awarded victory on the night by split decision, yet almost everyone viewing the fight believed that Catterall had clearly won the contest. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power refunded those who bet on Catterall to win the fight, stating that "it was an absolute robbery."

Johnny Nelson and Natasha Jonas covered the bout for Sky Sports, and both were outraged at the decision. The British Boxing Board of Control would even get involved, demoting one of the judges who scored the bout for Taylor.

Watch Jonny Nelson and Natasha Jonas react to the decision:

Taylor, however, was adamant that he won the fight and would not give Catterall any credit. In the last month, Taylor had a change of heart and decided that he would give Catterall a rematch, which was likely due to the abuse he was getting from fans. As such, Taylor is vacating his titles so that he is not forced to fight any mandatory challengers.

Catterall was originally denied the chance to become the undisputed champion at super lightweight. As of now, Taylor is still the WBO and IBF Super Lightweight Champion, so ‘El Gato’ will have the chance to become a unified champion. Whether he can repeat his masterful performance is another question.

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Josh Taylor vacating the WBC belt has opened the door for Jose Ramirez.

The WBC have ordered a bout between No.2-ranked Jose Ramirez and No.1-ranked Jose Zepeda for the super lightweight championship. Ramirez and Zepeda have fought once before, with Ramirez winning the bout via majority decision.

Watch the bout here:

Jose Ramirez has only lost once in his professional career: a 2021 bout against Josh Taylor for the unidsputed super lightweight championships. It was a close bout, but all three judges scored the bout 114—112 for ‘The Tartan Tornado’. Josh Taylor knocked Ramirez down twice during the bout, and ultimately that is what gave him the victory on the judges' scorecards.