‘Bring on Burns’ cries victorious Taylor
● East Lothian star wants all-scottish super fight after thrashing Davies to take the WBC belt
Josh Taylor is a man on a mission. Having easily dismantled the highly controverisal Ohara Davies in their grudge bout “Badb Blood” at Braehead Arena on Saturday night, the new WBC Silver super lightweight champion immediately pinpointed his next opponent in the shape of Scotland’s former three-weight world title holder Ricky Burns.
It’s testament to his ambition that so soon after such an emotionally-charged seven rounds of championship boxing, Taylor, who also successfully defended his Commonwealth crown, is already contemplating his next move in the sport.
“I’d love to fight him,” the 26-year-old responded when asked about the possibility of an all-scottish showdown with Burns, who is eight years his senior.
“A while back when the fight with Ohara was first being talked about he [Burns] said he wouldn’t entertain it and that I’d needed to get through his stablemate first. Well, I’ve just fought him and blown him away.
“I respect Ricky as a fighter and a person but I think the time is now to fight him. It would be massive for Scottish boxing and I think the fans deserve it.
“Alex Arthur gave Ricky Burns a chance at the start of his career when he was up and coming so why can’t Ricky Burns do it for me? It would be a great fight for me next.”
Anyprospectofthescotsduo going head to head is expected to gather momentum over the next few weeks but Burns, who was at ringside to witness Taylor’s demolition of his English stablemate, would appear keen to accept the call.
“I just say speak to my team and we’ll take it from there,” said the Coatbridge fighter, who is believed to be locked in talks over a deal that would lead to him boxing former world champion Anthony Crolla in October.
“I know he [Josh] made a few gestures towards me at the end, but I expected it. It’s no problem, he was excited with the win.
“I’m fighting in October but nothing is set in stone. If he wants to fight me then make me an offer.
“I think a fight with Josh is inevitable, it’s definitely going to happen at some point. It’s not so much Josh talking about it these last few months, it’s more been [Taylor’s promoter] Barry Mcguigan.
“Ohara got well paid to come to Glasgow to fight and I said he’d need to come through him first. It will be the same again for them. It would draw a huge crowd in Scotland, that’s for sure.”
Any discussions over a future match-up with compatriot Burns, though, is for another time. For now, Taylor can rest up, recharge the batteries and enjoy the ride.
“It’s just pure joy at coming away with the win and a win I always knew would happen,” he said.
“It’s put me in the top 15 in the world rankings so I’m over the moon and I’m one step closer to getting to where I want to go which is to become world champion.”
Despite all of his pre-fight antics that involved labelling Taylor’s promotional team, including former WBA featherweight champion Barry Mcguigan, as “bums”, Londoner Davies appeared gracious in defeat.
“In boxing you take losses. Even though I did say a lot of things that is a bit embarrassing now that I’ve been beaten, my personality doesn’t change,” the 25-year-old said. “Boxing is all about being an entertainer. If me and Josh ever fight again in the future I’ll do the same thing before and after the fight. You can make up [your own minds] as I believe that’s what boxing is about. I want to wish Josh all the best in his boxing career. Him and all his team are great.
“He was a lot tougher than I thought. I was in the gym sparring 15 rounds while I thought he’d get a bit tired. I’m still a good fighter. My credibility doesn’t go down because of that loss.”
Meanwhile, fellow Scot and former Craigmillar amateur Jason Easton, secured a ninthround stoppage against Belgian Steve Jamoye to become the new IBO Inter-continental super lightweight champion.
It proved to be a fascinating contest and one that neither was willing to give an inch, until Easton’s superiority took over late on.
“It was an exciting fight so I think this will have opened up a lot of doors for me going forward,” said Easton, who is also the current Celtic champion. “I want to be taking more titles but more importantly keep winning as that’s the main thing.”