Josh Taylor’s fiancée 'on cloud nine’ after Prestonpans boxer becomes Britain’s first undisputed world champion in four-belt era

Josh Taylor’s fiancée says she is still on “cloud nine” after the Prestonpans boxer became Britain’s first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era after defeating Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas.

Danielle Murphy also echoed her hubby’s calls to stage his next fight “on home turf” in Scotland - ideally at Edinburgh Castle - but said they will first be taking some time to “chill out” and make wedding plans for next year.

The 28-year-old, who has been with Taylor for 11 years and supported his career from amateur boxing, believes the bout should have been stopped in the seventh round when he floored his Mexican-American opponent with a left uppercut - and says the referee gave Ramirez “too long to recover.”

Danielle, who is planning to wed the ‘Tartan Tornado’ in June 2022, also criticised a general lack of media and TV coverage for the light-welterweight unification bout, given the magnitude of the fight, and said some of the older members of their families were unable to watch it because they did not know how to live stream it.

Danielle Murphy and Josh Taylor have been together for 11 years.

Danielle, a hairdresser by trade, watched the fight from her Prestonpans home with some friends and said her partner “boxed really well” to become only the fifth man in history to hold all four belts in a weight division.

She said: “My phone was going mental when it happened, and we opened some Prosecco and had a wee drink. I was out celebrating on Sunday as well.

“I was definitely a bit more nervous for this fight and knew what was on the line and not being there was so hard because you never know what is going to happen.

“Josh and Ben (his trainer) had a gameplan and stuck to it and that’s what you saw on Saturday night. He scored two knockdowns which was fantastic but the fight should have been stopped in the seventh because the referee did a 14 second count down rather than ten. He was given far too long to walk about and his legs were still shaking. I think it should have been stopped, but he is still coming home with the belts.”

Ramirez started the fight well but the tide changed in the middle rounds when Taylor, 30, knocked his opponent down with a big left hand. In the seventh round, he earned a second knockdown with a solid uppercut which left Ramirez struggling to find his feet.

Taylor went on to box confidently and was crowned undisputed world champion after just 18 professional fights, half a century after his Edinburgh boxing idol Ken Buchanan, who became undisputed world lightweight champion with success over Ruben Navarro in Los Angeles in 1971.

Following his victory on Saturday night, Taylor described Buchanan as his “inspiration” and spoke of meeting him at Edinburgh’s Lochend Boxing Club and gaining valuable advice from him since his days as an amateur at the age of 18. He said Saturday night’s win at the Virgin Hotel in Nevada was the culmination of 15 years of relentless grafting.

Danielle says she has now been away from her partner for nearly six weeks but is expecting him to return home on Tuesday this week.

Taylor had been based in London for training before he and his team flew out to Las Vegas four weeks before the fight. Covid-19 restrictions meant he had to enter a ‘bubble’ last Wednesday which meant Danielle would not have been able to see him in the days beforehand - so she opted to stay at home. She usually attends his fights and is always vocal from ringside.

Speaking of how she felt when her partner was crowned champion on Saturday, Danielle said: “Because of how much work he has put in and how much he has sacrificed over the years, it makes it more bittersweet that he has actually done it.

“We have been together 11 years this year and got engaged last year. It’s been a rollercoaster for sure but I would not change a thing. It’s amazing what he has done and I would 110 percent support him no matter what happens.

“Hopefully he can get some time off and we can get this wedding organised and get married, and maybe go away for a weekend somewhere and chill out for a while.

“I have been on cloud nine and it still feels surreal because he is not here - but once I see him it will definitely kick in and I can not wait.”

She added: “There will be another fight but hopefully it will be back here in Scotland. He has made noises about Edinburgh Castle before so hopefully he could get it there, which would be absolutely amazing, and to get the fans there as well would be brilliant.”

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