Josh Taylor and the art of psychological warfare

After five rounds, the unification bout between Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez was intense and extremely competitive.

Taylor, the faster boxer, popped Ramirez with jabs and sharp combinations.

Ramirez, gritty and determined, punished Taylor whenever the favored fellow champion languished on the ropes.

Everything changed in round six.

Taylor had been trying to time the on-rushing Ramirez for a few rounds. His shots just missed. But he was getting closer. Ramirez trainer, Robert Garcia, warned his charge to be careful.

Ramirez is aggressive. That’s his style. His pressure can be suffocating for most fighters.

Problem was, Josh Taylor, is not most fighters. He knew what to expect from Ramirez. He wanted more though. So, he applied a little bit of psychological warfare the day before the fight. His goal was to rile up Ramirez. Make him even more aggressive.

It worked.

As Ramirez forced Taylor into the ropes in round six, Taylor timed the aggression perfectly. He stepped inside and uncorked a sneaky punch that collapsed Ramirez like a snowman in the summer.

Taylor’s plan worked perfectly.

“It was just part of the mind games to get inside his head to make him more eager to jump in on me, to use his aggression against him,” Taylor said after the fight.

Psychological warfare. It’s been around in boxing for years.

Roberto Duran used it against Sugar Ray Leonard before their epic encounter in 1980.

“He (Duran) challenged me, he pushed me, he punched me, he kicked me,” Leonard said during an interview with ABC Sports. “I mean he cursed me, cursed my wife. He did things that challenged my manhood. I was always taught not to respond. So I did not react to it or respond to it, but it hurt me. I couldn’t retaliate. So, that made me fight him the way I did in the first fight, toe to toe.”

Leonard had lost his focus. Duran had taken away his game plan.

Taylor sent Ramirez to the floor for a second time in round six. A jolting uppercut did the job. Ramirez, though he denied it after the fight, was hurt, but his championship heart pumped stronger. He got up, and battled – even winning some later rounds as Taylor cruised.

Ultimately, it was too late.

Taylor won the fight fair and square by unanimous decision, with some help from a tactic that’s been around for over 100 years.