There was a moment late in the fight, after yet another attack had been foiled by the immovable Ekow Essuman, when Josh Taylor looked out into the distance and shook his head.

Only he knows what was running through his mind in that precise moment, but you can imagine it was something along the lines of: "It didn't used to be this hard."

Taylor has spent the last four years desperately trying to recapture the form that led to him conquering the world and clean out the light-welterweight division.

There were signs early on that the 34-year-old may have found some of the old magic. In the fourth round, he rocked Essuman and looked like he might be about to apply the finish, only for the gutsy Englishman to turn the tables and wobble Taylor with a big right hand.

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From that moment on, this first dip into the welterweight waters became a grisly swim against the tide, battling an opponent that just kept on coming.

The Scot's face at the end – bloodied and bruised – told its own story, one of a fighter who has been taking too many shots for too long.

The question over whether Taylor should retire has been hanging in the air for some time and this defeat strengthens the case for the Tartan Tornado to hang up the gloves.

Taylor's friend and former stablemate, Carl Frampton, told BBC Scotland: "I saw glimpses of real good stuff at the start from Josh and then it just started to fade in the second half and just, sadly, it looks like he's not the fighter that he once was.

"That's what happens when you're involved in hard fights and you get older. It happened to me and it happens to us all.

"It's a shame to see, a real shame to see."

Taylor cut a bemused figure in the ring when the judges' scorecards were read out, all scoring in favour of Essuman. When he has had time to reflect, surely, deep down, he will know he did not do enough to win.

There has been some mitigation for Taylor's previous defeats, with injury disrupting his preparations, but this loss was not to a Teofimo Lopez, or even a Jack Catterall.

That is not to denigrate Essuman, a thoroughly likeable man and a good fighter who delivered his career-best performance and victory. Having come into the lion's den and overcome the local hero, he deserves whatever opportunities that will now come his way.

The Engine was viewed before the fight as a tough but eminently manageable first step into the welterweight division – and Taylor's first on the path to becoming a two-weight world champion. However, the Nottingham fighter had other ideas and Taylor's ambitions were left in tatters.

The Edinburgh fighter came up hard and he came up fast in the professional ranks, with some aggressive matchmaking fast-tracking him to become world champion in just his 15th fight, unified champion in his 16th and undisputed in only his 18th bout.

It was a tough road that brought great rewards, but we are seeing the effects of that now.

Very few boxers get to bow out on their own terms and time their exit to perfection. For every Joe Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis, there are hundreds more who held on for too long, chasing that final moment of glory.

If and when Taylor calls it a day – and most will feel that time is now – he should be celebrated for an extraordinary career most fighters could only dream of.

"He's someone who never got the credit he deserved when he should have had it," said Frampton, a former two-weight world champion who was the headline act on Taylor's debut back in 2015.

"The guy should have been Sports Personality of the Year.

"Incredible what he done when he won undisputed, who he fought to win it and how quickly he done it in his career.

"But it's clear to see that he's not the fighter that he used to be."

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