The story of Josh Taylor isn’t just one of championship belts and victory parades—it’s about grit, heartbreak, and the bittersweet taste of achieving everything you ever dreamed of…only to be told you can’t do it anymore. The Scot, once celebrated as the undisputed king at 140 pounds, carved his name into the annals of boxing history by unifying the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring titles—a feat that put him in the company of the all-time greats. But beneath the surface of this glittering résumé lay a war-torn body, particularly two eyes that had taken more than their fair share of punishment.

It was after his final outing in May 2025—an underwhelming decision loss to Ekow Essuman in Glasgow—that the 34-year-old scheduled what he thought would be a minor eye procedure. The result? A devastating diagnosis: retinal tears in his left eye, significant enough that doctors warned one wrong punch could end in permanent blindness. Speaking to BoxingScene, Taylor shared the sobering moment he knew the fight outside the ring had become more important: “Do I get it done and then carry on and then potentially lose my sight? I said, ‘Nah, I’m not willing to do that.’”

The decision was more than physical—it was existential. “It’s been two weeks of processing it and coming to terms with it…It’s been quite emotional, to be fair,” the southpaw admitted. “I’m not playing lottery with something as precious as my sight.” The man from Prestonpans who once stormed through Viktor Postol, Regis Prograis, Ivan Baranchyk, and José Ramírez to a 19-0 start, said goodbye not with a final victory, but with clarity. “I’ve been there and done it and worn the T-shirt, but it’s now time to sit and reflect on what’s been a great career.”

Even his crowning moment—beating Ramírez in Las Vegas for undisputed glory—was bittersweet. COVID restrictions meant he couldn’t share the night with his family: “Only my team could go over…so that was a very bittersweet moment. I had dreamed all my life to go over to America and win titles… and nobody could go there.” It was the party of a lifetime, with no one at the table.

Yet if there’s one fight Josh Taylor refuses to lose, it’s the one for life beyond the ropes. “I’ve got a whole lot of life left to live after boxing, kids and family and doing all the things that I want to do… motorbike racing and things like that… just spending quality time,” he said.

“This isn’t how I wanted to say goodbye” — the raw emotion of letting go

Josh Taylor didn’t simply walk away from boxing—he was yanked from the sport he dedicated over two decades of his life to. And it hurts. This wasn’t a farewell tour. No standing ovation. No final triumph in front of adoring fans at the Hydro. Just the cold, clinical voice of a doctor saying: “One wrong punch, and you could lose your vision.”

Taylor confessed to BoxingScene how devastating the news has been: “My whole world caved in… it’s been quite a hard process to try and go through it and keep my head. So it’s quite raw, I’m quite emotional at the moment.” He’s cried. He’s wrestled with denial. He trained after the Essuman fight, believing he still had time. But time had other plans.

“It’s been a bit of a bittersweet, you know,” Taylor sighed. “My phone has just gone crazy since I announced it… Knowing that folk and the fans and stuff appreciated my time in the sport and appreciated what I gave… It’s been very comforting.”

His final fight left him unsatisfied. “I performed okay against Ekow, but it wasn’t my best, nowhere near… At my best, guys like Ekow don’t get near me… But on the night he was better than me and that’s it.” He admitted frustration over how he fought and even more over how little closure the night gave him. “I was only going to have maybe one or two more fights anyway, but to get this news now… I wanted to go out on a win.”

In boxing, a fighter rarely gets to script his ending. Taylor’s came suddenly, brutally, and before he could make peace with it. “That’s the end of it all of a sudden, like basically the door’s been slammed,” he said. And yet, despite the abruptness, the outpouring of support has made a dent in the grief. “It’s been overwhelming… cheered me up a little bit,” he added.

Josh Taylor’s voice may crack with emotion now, but it also echoes with something more lasting: resilience. Because even if his gloves are off, his legacy still punches loud.