Taylor is far too hot for Joubert to handle

JOSH TAYLOR last night retained his Commonwealth superlightweight title in some style, and surely will not have to wait long before getting a shot at a far more prestigious prize. In front of a fired-up Edinburgh crowd, the local hero stopped Warren Joubert in the sixth round to extend his undefeated run. Promoter Barry McGuigan had demanded something spectacular from the Glasgow 2014 gold medal winner in just his ninth professional bout. A sixth-round stoppage was the perfect response. Taylor, 26, never looked in danger, hurting Joubert and prompting the 35-year-old’s corner to wave the white towel after a knock-down. With a Scottish super-fight against three-weight world champion Ricky Burns looking ever more likely, what does Taylor do next? He will not find too many in the division willing to face him. The MGM Grand to Meadowbank might seem a comedown to some, but Taylor was eager to capitalise on the hometown atmosphere so lacking in his last outing in Vegas, where he beat Alfonso Olvera. If reigning Pan-African champion Joubert stood up well in the first round, the second introduced him to a world of pain. Three times he was rocked by Taylor, whose sheer volume of punches and speed of movement made him always look a step ahead. Round three saw Taylor put the foot down, testing the survival skills acquired by Joubert in 35 professional bouts. The challenger was saved by the bell at the end of the fourth and fifth, having been clobbered by Taylor lefts. The end, when it came, was thunderous. Joubert seemed to be rousing himself for a last hurrah. But the moment he tried to open up and actually attack Taylor, he gave the Scot just what he wanted — an opening for a left hook that caught his man right in the sweet spot, sending him tumbling to the canvas. Referee Vic Loughlan did not even need to complete the count, with Joubert’s corner throwing in the towel. In the main undercard bout, Jason Easton was hugely impressive in his second-round stoppage of Zoltan Szabo. The Edinburgh fighter, whose fledgling pro record now reads 9-0, is trained by veteran corner man Billy Nelson — and showed potential to go further in a division becoming crowded with Scottish prospects.