Taylor made to be a world champion
THERE are fights that make careers. Nights in the ring where a boxer proves himself to be the complete package, the real deal, worthy of all the hype that the soundbite-hungry world of pugilism throws around with such abandon.
The manner of Josh Taylor’s triumph over Miguel Vazquez on Saturday night elevated his 11th professional bout into that particular territory.
Already, men who know the fight game inside out are happy to assert the question of Taylor becoming world champion is now more about ‘when’ than ‘if’.
The Prestonpans puncher’s hardworking, cleverly-constructed, bludgeoning stoppage of former IBF lightweight champ Vazquez silenced the few remaining doubts harboured by judges who had dismissed his opponents to date as no-mark journeymen.
Now we’re all seeing the quality spotted early by the likes of Barry McGuigan — Taylor’s manager, admittedly — and Alex Arthur, who beams with pride when talking about his young compatriot.
Arthur has no compunction about declaring Taylor ‘the best 140-pound boxer in the world right now’. McGuigan believes his man could beat just about any superlightweight on the planet, too. All he has to do is take his pick from the alphabet soup of organisations and their champions.
‘We’re left with a problem,’ said McGuigan. ‘Where do we go from here? It’s a nice problem to have.’
Around about midnight on Saturday, when the delirious 4,000strong crowd had long since left Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre looking like an empty barn, Taylor joked that his only thoughts over what to do next revolved around ‘a few beers and a pizza’.
He was nursing a bashed-up knuckle on his right hand, an occupational hazard of smashing it against an opponent’s granite jaw, and needed attention to a cut above his eye caused by a clash of heads.
Apart from those minor injuries, though, he gave the impression of being ready to fight anywhere, any time. For any prize up to — and including — the biggest in the world.
On the evidence of his ninthround KO of 30-year-old Vazquez, himself a former world champ who had never been stopped, Taylor looks capable of stepping up a level, certainly.
Because this was the kind of fight, the kind of opponent, destined to push him all the way.
With Vazquez banking on his defence and durability, tucking that chin behind his shoulder and looking to counter when he could, Taylor couldn’t just rely on natural ability to get the job done.
All of those skills that made him such a brilliant amateur and propelled him to Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow 2014 could not help him. Not against a guy who had survived against some of the biggest hitters around.
Instead of dancing, floating and throwing those flashy long-range shots, possibly enough to win but no way to really trouble Vazquez, Taylor had to get inside. Almost under the skin of his opponent.
Throwing in the odd orthodox moment amid his southpaw assault, the Scot effectively had his man beaten by the fifth.
It was during that round where he really began to open Vazquez up like a tin can, gradually stripping away his defences to get at the soft meat underneath.
He connected four or five times with his left, sending the head of his opponent snapping back. But, already, the best of the work looked to be around the body.
As the fifth ended, Taylor nodded towards his opponent. As if to say: ‘I’ve got this. I’ve got you.’ The speed of the punching, the sheer intensity of the work being done, mostly by Taylor but not without a contribution from Vazquez, was obvious ringside.
Sure, there had been other good scraps on the bill earlier in the night. But these guys were a cut above.
Sitting in the front row, Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths seemed to appreciate watching fellow athletes operating at a very high level. That it took until two minutes and 30 seconds of the ninth round for Vazquez to finally crumble says a great deal about his strength and bravery; the ovation he got from the partisan home crowd let him know that his efforts were appreciated.
When the end came, however, there was nothing the Mexican could do to even catch his breath, never mind fight back.
Having been caught with a big left to the jaw, Vazquez was only slightly shaken and stirred.
But the follow-up, a thunderous right hook to the body, did for the man who held the IBF belt for four years.
He was flattened by a shot that caught him bang on the floating rib, leaving him so winded that he couldn’t have picked himself up by the count of a hundred, never mind ten. Even as Taylor celebrated, Vazquez was receiving oxygen from paramedics on a stool which had been moved over to where he had fallen.
No lasting damage, thankfully, but the effects of this one will be felt for a long time.
Already a top-10 fighter in the Ring Magazine rankings, Taylor’s triumph will most definitely have caught the eye.
‘With the greatest respect to the British title, I think it would be a step back for Josh right now,’ said McGuigan on Taylor’s future.
‘Why would you take a step back when you are so close to something at the world level?
‘He’s sixth in the WBC rankings, he’s 11 in the IBF. We haven’t canvassed the WBO and WBA yet — but they will be looking at him after that performance.
‘The kid did the business. It was a world-class performance against a guy who’d never been stopped
‘Josh took him out in only his 11th fight. It’s pretty spectacular.’