BISH BASH JOSH
Taylor’s super show paves way for dream Burns bout
AN iconic fight should take place in an iconic venue according to Josh Taylor.
The Prestonpans ace silenced loudmouth Ohara Davies with a devastating display at the weekend then shouted his next dream from the rooftops.
Taylor wants Ricky Burns. Badly. He would love to take on Scotland’s three-weight world champion somewhere really special.
Edinburgh Castle in his home city would do nicely. Hampden Park in the west wouldn’t be bad either. Easter Road would be sweet for a mad Hibbee.
Regardless of where the Scottish superfight takes place, Taylor sees Burns as his date with destiny – and he’s not the only one.
The 26-year-old delivered a stunning seventh-round demolition of Burns’ stablemate Davies then immediately delivered his message to his fellow Scot who was ringside on television duty.
Taylor, who added the WBC Silver super-lightweight title to his Commonwealth crown in his 10th pro fight, said: “I’d love to fight Ricky now.
“When this fight with Davies was being talked about he said he wouldn’t entertain a fight with me as I’d need to get past his team-mate first. Well I’ve fought him and blown him away.
“Ricky’s done great for boxing and he’s a nice guy but the time has come for me to fight him. The Scottish fans deserve a fight like that. That would be great for me next.
“I’d love to fight at Edinburgh Castle, the SSE Hydro, Hampden or even Easter Road – anywhere outside would be great. The castle would be an iconic setting but it’ll be a sell-out anywhere.”
Burns has never been a man to duck a challenge though. The Coatbridge hero has former world champ Anthony Crolla as an option but said: “Josh shouted, ‘You’re next!’ I just say, speak to my team and we’ll take it from there.
“I know he made a few gestures towards me at the end but I expected it. It’s no problem.
“I’m fighting in October but nothing is set in stone. If he wants to fight me then make me an offer. A fight with him is inevitable, it’s going to happen at some point and would draw a huge crowd in Scotland, that’s for sure.”
It’s a thrilling prospect. Burns has proved he’s world class. Taylor has just joined him. The Davies dismantling fired him into the top 15 in the rankings but it did so much more.
It announced him as a genuine star. The terrestrial TV audience were treated to a masterclass on Saturday.
Davies was the one who called for this fight. He taunted Taylor on social media, ridiculed and goaded him all the way up to the first bell.
Taylor rammed his words down his throat. Sure, he maybe went a bit OTT at the end with a few naughty gestures towards his collapsed opponent but with the adrenalin surge he was lucky