Josh Taylor admits post-retirement struggles as he battles with life beyond the ropes

Josh Taylor has struggled to come to terms with retirement

Boxing is a brutal sport. It demands everything from a fighter, and when it's time to move on, it can be hard to adjust to a life of normality following years of dedication and sacrifice. 

Scotland's Josh Taylor has been struggling with the sudden end to his own career, and when the tragic news of the legendary Ricky Hatton's death broke, it may have proven to be the call to action he needed.

“It’s a sad and horrible and not pleasant lesson to learn,” The former undisputed champion told BoxingScene. 

“Because I was kind of going down that kind of route myself, with feeling shit. I don't like using the word depressed because it gets thrown about too much, but I was in, let's just say, a hole really. 

“You know, feeling shit, feeling down in the dumps, and feeling that it’d been ripped away from me. That I’ve got nothing left to live for and all that kind of shit. So yeah, I woke up to that news and it kind of sobered me up a little bit. I kind of gave myself a shake.”

Taylor’s career was halted due to injury and a bad run of performances. It is always difficult to give up something so heavily intertwined with your daily life. But when a fighter's career and life's work is taken from them, it's an even more bitter pill to swallow. 

“I’ve had my ups and downs because it’s still quite raw, really,” Taylor revealed

“I knew I was coming to the later end of my career anyway, but to kind of have it halted, kind of like cut down straight away because of my eye, I was a bit pissed off, a bit gutted. I didn’t finish on the way I wanted to finish.”

The Tartan Tornado admits that he has been struggling, but to every cloud there is a silver lining, and the Scot has certainly found some positives in life beyond the ropes. 

“I’ve been struggling a little bit, I’m not going to lie,” he said

“It has been tough at times, but life moves on and you find other things and other passions and stuff. I’ve got things like my motorbikes and all that that I can get into. 

“And go and spend time with my wife that I’ve never really been able to do, and now I’ve been able to spend time with my friends and my pals that I grew up with at school that I’ve never been able to spend time with. 

“Going on holidays and this and that, going out together to go bowling or go to the cinema or something. I’ve never been able to do that for years.”