Ekow Essuman pulled off an upset on May 24 when he faced Josh Taylor at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The pair squared off in the main event, battling it out for the WBO “Global” title at welterweight.
Essuman secured the victory by unanimous decision with scores of 116-113, 116-112, and 115-113. In the seventh round, Taylor suffered a cut over his left eye due to an accidental clash of heads.
Nottingham, England-based Essuman of Botswana improved to 22-1, 8 KOs, and recorded his third win in a row. Edinburgh’s former undisputed super lightweight champion Taylor, who made his debut at 147 lbs, dropped to 19-3, 13 KOs, suffering his third straight defeat.
In the co-main event, Nathaniel Collins (16-0, 8 KOs) dominated Lee McGregor (15-2-1, 11 KOs) to claim the victory via fourth-round TKO at featherweight. Collins sent McGregor to the canvas three times, which led the referee to call it a day. McGregor’s corner also threw in the towel. With the win, Collins took the vacant WBC ‘Silver’ title. The time was 1:45 into the round.
Among other Taylor vs Essuman results, Moses Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) of Slovakia floored Mike Balogun (21-2, 16 KOs) of Washington, D.C. once in the first round and twice in the second to secure the victory by TKO. The referee waved the heavyweight bout off at 46 seconds into the second round after Itauma dropped Balogun with a right hand.
Reese Lynch of Scotland successfully debuted in pro boxing, stopping Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-27, 5 KOs) of Brazil at the end of the second round at super lightweight. On his way to victory, Lynch dropped his opponent with a body shot.
In the main card opener, Aloys Youmbi (10-1, 9 KOs) of England dropped David Jamieson (13-4, 10 KOs) of Scotland three times en route to a third-round victory by TKO. Jamieson went down in the first, second, and third rounds. The final knockdown came from a left hook. The time of the stoppage was 1:54 into the third round.
On Taylor vs Essuman prelims
Among the Taylor vs Essuman prelims, Aston Brown (8-0, 3 KOs) stopped Reece Porter (5-1, 3 KOs) in the third round of their all-Glasgow showdown at middleweight. Alex Arthur Jr (1-0) of Scotland made his pro debut, scoring a 40-36 points decision over Robbie Chapman (13-50-9, 2 KOs) of England at light heavyweight.
Local fighter Drew Limond (4-0, 1 KO) defeated Ezequiel Gregores (3-23) of Spain, by way of Argentina, via a 40-36 points decision at super welterweight. Luke McCormack (4-0, 3 KOs) of England stopped Samir Cuentas (4-6) of Panama in the second round at super lightweight.