Josh Taylor reveals family tragedy motivated him throughout match

Following his victory against the American undefeated champion Regis Prograis, boxing champ Josh Taylor has revealed that it was his personal situation that motivated him to win.

Just six weeks ago, the 28-year-old’s girlfriend of nine years, Danielle, sadly lost her father James Murphy, however the weight of the upcoming fight distracted Josh’s attention from grieving.

Josh said: “I just wanted to give my family a hug and a kiss. I don’t want to sound emotional but I’ve not been able to grieve properly.

“It’s been hard as I haven’t been able to be there properly for Danielle and the family as much as I’d like to have been.

“But I used it as motivation. Especially in those last two rounds when I couldn’t see. It was pure determination and heart and I was thinking of James, well, I called him Jimmy.

“I was just thinking about doing it for him. I couldn’t see and it was on pure heart and instinct.

“Everything went out of the window but there was no way I was getting beat. That was my drive and I was thinking about him.

“I knew he was with me.”

Last night, Taylor defeated Prograis by a majority decision at London's O2 Arena winning the Ring Magazine belt and World Boxing Super Series’ Muhammad Ali Trophy in the process.