Taylor ready to step up in class but showdown with Burns can wait
JOSH TAYLOR, the Commonwe alth Game s gold me dallist from Edinburgh, be lie ve s he is re ady to ste p up in class afte r compiling an unble mishe d e ightfight re cord unde r the tute lage of ring le ge nd Barry McGuigan.
But, while McGuigan has e xpre sse d a de sire to match his 26-ye ar-old supe r lightwe ight rising star with Scotland’s first thre e -we ight world champion, Ricky Burns, Taylor has sounde d a note of caution about the rushing of such a bout.
Taylor, who is sche dule d to re turn to action ne xt month with a first de fe nce of his Commonwe alth title against South African Warre n Joube rt at Me adowbank Sports Ce ntre on March 24, insists the prospe ct of facing Burns, the 33 -ye ar-old Coatbridge ring ve te ran, doe s not hold any fe ars for him.
“I would be 100 pe r ce nt confide nt in the fight and I be lie ve if I was to fight him ne xt we e k I could win,” he said.
“At the same time , I ne e d to ge t more e xpe rie nce and have more de ve loping fights first.
“I be lie ve in my ability but I have to be te sting fights to know I am re ady for that chance whe n it come s. It’s a case of de ve loping a bit more and ge tting gre ate r e xpe rie nce be cause I don’t want to rush and ge t chucke d in at a le ve l I am not re ady for.”
Some conside re d that McGuigan had jumpe d the gun whe n he se cure d a championship bout for Taylor afte r just six paid conte sts.
But the forme r world fe athe rwe ight champion-turne d-manage r/ promote r was fully vindicate d whe n Taylor e me rge d victorious last Octobe r at Me adowbank. He se cure d a fifthround stoppage against e xpe rie nce d Englishman Dave Ryan, by dint of te chnical knock-out, afte r dominating the conte st for the vacant Commonwe alth crown from the ope ning be ll.
“The Ryan fight was good for me be cause of the name s he had on his re cord and the fact he had give n the m hard fights,” he said.
“But I was ve ry ne rvous and appre he nsive in the build-up as he is ve ry e xpe rie nce d. I did always be lie ve in my own ability that I could be at him, but it was pote ntially my first 12-round fight.
“But by the time the fight night came I was absolute ly flying in the gym. I had done thre e 12-round spars and I was more than re ady to go for anothe r thre e or four rounds.
“I was in the be st shape of my life and I prove d it that night. Now I fe e l more and more that I be long at this le ve l.”
Taylor ste ppe d up to the plate again last month whe n he made his Las Ve gas de but against Me xican Alfonso Olve ra in a none -title bout.
Olve ra suffe re d a similar fate to Taylor’s pre vious oppone nts whe n the 27-ye ar-old Tucson-base d boxe r was outclasse d, a unanimous de cision going against him.
“I won with e ase ,” said Taylor. “I ne ve r had to move out of se cond ge ar, so I am now e ve n more confide nt in my ability that I can go the distance and I’m de ve loping we ll.
“But also, be ing critical of myse lf, I fe lt at the time that I had only boxe d five or six out of 10.
“It was only whe n I watche d the fight back that I re alise d I actually boxe d not too bad.
“Howe ve r, in te rms of putting the combinations toge the r and my timing and e ve n working off my jab a bit more , I can box 100 time s be tte r than that.
“But, while it was an amazing fe e ling be ing on the bigge st stage in world boxing, the re was pre ssure on me to put on a good pe rformance on Showtime and live on Sky for the first time , and I le arne d from the e xpe rie nce .”