World boxing champion Josh Taylor today met the man he hurled racial and homophobic abuse at to issue a face-to-face apology.
Taylor was fined £350 this week for verbally attacking the doorman in a drunken rant after he was ejected from an Edinburgh nightclub.
The boxer, from Prestonpans, East Lothian, met his victim in Fountain Park, Edinburgh, yesterday and shook his hand after calling him “a gay-looking c**t” and “a big orange-looking c**t” as he and a pal were chucked out the capital’s Shanghai club in the early hours of Sunday.
The victim, who has not been named, appeared to welcome the exchange, which came a day after Taylor issued an apology on Twitter.
Taylor, who holds the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles, was at the club with friends when he was asked to leave the premises following “a disturbance”.
Police were called by club staff and Taylor – nicknamed The Tartan Tornado – was arrested and charged. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday, 28-year-old Taylor admitted to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by acting in an aggressive manner, swearing and uttering offensive remarks.
The charge was aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation and the offence was also racially aggravated.
In a lengthy apology on Twitter, the boxer said: “I whole heartedly apologise for my stupid actions. It has been a rollercoaster of a year for me, becoming unified world champion and on this occasion I’ve taken it too far.”
