Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Sam secures British title
LOCHEE Amateur Boxing Club’s Sam Hickey has added a British title to his illustrious list of achievements.
The 18-year-old defeated England’s Owen Cooper to win the British junior welterweight title at Ravenscraig.
Sam is a six-time Scottish champion, a European Juniors silver medal winner, European Youths bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Youth Games bronze medal winner.
His dad, Darren, said: “Sam put on a really good show and is now bound for the World Championships in Budapest in August.
“Domestically, he will now be into the seniors and, hopefully, he will do just as well as he has done in the youths and juniors.”
JOSH Taylor was in a bullish mood as the countdown to his WBC world super lightweight final eliminator contest against Viktor Postol continued in Glasgow.
The two will face each other at the SSE Hydro in the city on June 23, with both boxers keen to move on to a world-title bout should they win.
Connor Law (Glenrothes) boxes on the undercard.
Postol makes the trip to Scotland looking to get back to his position of 2016, when he held the super-lightweight title before losing to Terence Crawford.
And while acknowledging his team have taken a gamble by setting up such a bout so soon in his career, Taylor is certain he will emerge the victor in what looks set to be an intriguing contest.
“I know what this fight means,” Taylor, who has a perfect 12-0-0 record in professional boxing, said.
“I want to be world champion and Viktor Postol is standing in the way of me becoming world champion.
“I need to focus on him and make sure I get past him and get past him well and move on.
“If I don’t get past him, my dream is then a little bit further away and I’ll have to take a couple of steps back and rebuild again – but that is not going to happen.
“I am going to win and I will move on and challenge for that world title.
“I am fully confident that I can beat any fighter that is put in front of me.
“I feel I have got youth over him, I have speed over him, I’ve got power as well and I can match him in his departments and beat him in other departments. I feel really confident.”
Postol will be no pushover for Taylor, having lost just once, to Crawford, in his 30 bouts to date.
The 34-year-old has made no secret of his desire to get back to the top of the division and claim the world title, and is currently rated No 1 in the division.
And Taylor who is ranked second and is the silver champion, is aware of the threats Postol poses.
He said: “He has got that experience and could be very foxy and smart with it. He looks in great shape so he is obviously taking the fight really seriously.”