GLASGOW, Scotland – There is a chance that Josh Taylor could find himself in a wild firefight on Saturday night. 

He meets Ekow Essuman at the Hydro in Glasgow in front of what is expected to be around 10,000 of his adoring fans, and the man from Prestonpans – a little more than an hour east  – will hope to use Essuman as a springboard into a second successful and lucrative act in his career as he makes his debut at his new weight, welterweight.

Essuman is tough, fit, and ambitious. He wants the big fights he’s never had, but in his past three he lost to the tall-and-rangy Harry Scarff, had to climb off the floor to defeat Owen Cooper – from a hard knockdown; Cooper has four stoppages in 11 wins – and then eked by the southpaw Ben Vaughan on a majority in a hard-fought and bloody battle.

If it comes down to experience and class, it is a one-horse race. Where it becomes more interesting is if it comes down to desire. 

Taylor has ticked every box imaginable. An Olympian in the amateurs, and undisputed champion at 140lbs, he is at 147lbs in pursuit of another mountain to scale. 

But presumably with money in the bank, and a cabinet brimming with trophies, if he is in the trenches with a tireless “Engine”, as Essuman is known, will he have the required hunger to grit it out?

The answer to that, surely, should be yes. Taylor is a fighting man through and through. He is a tough guy, and even should his speed and reflexes dim, his fighting heart will always beat. He will always want to have a row. He also – as clichéd as it sounds – fights for his fans. He won’t want to go out with a whimper in front of thousands of Scots at the Hydro.

Taylor has cut a fascinating figure on the eve of this contest. He’s been jovial and open. We spoke on the banks of the River Clyde on Thursday after the press events, and on Friday sat together through the weigh-in until he was called on stage. Relaxed, he cheered for the Scots on the undercard, and he showed me a tweet from Teofimo Lopez, crediting him with being the toughest guy Lopez has faced so far in his career. With Lopez mentioning his name, Taylor was buoyed to the extent that he knows victory over Essuman, to announce himself at 147, will likely unlock significant opportunities.

Essuman is ranked fourth by the WBO and 14th by the WBA. Taylor, for services rendered at 140, is the WBC’s No. 11 and he holds the same position with the WBO. There is a WBO bauble at stake on Saturday night, and the full champion with the WBO is Brian Norman Jnr.

Others have felt Taylor’s calm fight week demeanour has been due to not having to trim a final 7lbs, while those reading the tea leaves of an anticipated decline think he needs some of his old spite and rage in order to be at his best.

It is not knowing what is there that makes it so compelling. It is not as if we have a rich form guide to go on for the Scot. Taylor has fought just three times in four years and he has not looked near his best in any of those outings. First came the disputed win over his bitter enemy Jack Catterall, then came his first loss – to Lopez – which was followed by his second defeat, in a fight the Scot performed better in, by Catterall.

It was in 2021, in a Covid-hit Las Vegas and in the fight before his first duel with Catterall, when Taylor hit the heights, unifying the 140lbs title against Jose Ramirez, whom the Scottish braveheart twice dropped. Two fights before that, Taylor won a thrilling-but-also-savage fight with Regis Prograis – one of the best of 2019, but also the type of contest from which a part of a man is left behind and does not re-emerge.

Taylor was moved hard, fast, and aggressively from the start. He’s 21 fights deep into his career, but he fought Miguel Vazquez in his ninth fight and never looked back.

The point is, 21 fights ordinarily is not a red flag. Twenty-one fights, allied with inactivity, at a high level, on top of a long amateur career, and at the age of 34, changes things. It is at this point where natural attributes are harder to depend upon and those that are obtained in the gym are more difficult to find and maintain.

Essuman, 36, is physically rock solid. Born in Botswana, but fighting out of Nottingham, he poses a threat with his left hook and overhand right, and both could be useful against the southpaw, but should have been well-scouted by Taylor and his coach, Joe McNally. Essuman can be guilty of suffocating his work such is his enthusiasm to let his hands go, and his ruggedness can leave him open for shots through the middle, and for short uppercuts.   

Cooper dropped Essuman with a booming right hand in the ninth, but a round later he knocked Cooper clean out, so there’s not much wrong with his recuperating powers. But he hasn’t faced many lefties. Vaughan and Darren Tetley, with all due respect, are not the “Tartan Tornado”.

There is a chance that Taylor, who some say was marked up from sparring recently – not that that’s always a cause for alarm; it is the job, after all – finds himself in a real fight, and one he doesn’t want or need. But there is also a chance that, at 34 and without the weight to cut, he is fresher and more energised than almost anyone is giving him credit for. And while it is easy to be impressed by Taylor’s grit and toughness, you don’t achieve what he has – amateur and pro – without skills and fundamentals. He can outbox Essuman handily. Where the direction of the fight becomes vague is if he tries to outfight him. 

I was previously leaning towards an upset but, as time’s gone on, the feeling is Taylor can do what’s necessary to win a clear decision. The sands of time might be running out on his career, but they shouldn’t run out just yet.