Taylor always knew he had measure of Mexican rival
● Scots champion was confident of stopping Vazquez and didn’t disappoint
Josh Taylor admitted he had a sneaky feeling he would stop former IBF world lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez.
The 26-year-old Edinburgh fighter retained his WBC Silver super lightweight title at the Royal Highland Centre on Saturday night, stopping the Mexican in the ninth round with a damaging body shot that left the 4,000 capacity crowd in awe of a boxer who is destined for the top.
The manner of Taylor’s latest victory, his 11th of his professional career, was quite remarkable given his opponent, with 39 wins, had never been stopped in 44 bouts. However, the Scot, who is managed by ring legend Barry Mcguigan, is a different animal altogether.
“I always knew I could take him out but I was trying a bit too hard early on,” Taylor said. “I was hitting him clean with some decent shots but he was recovering well really quickly. I knew I had to start going downstairs to slow him down a bit and that’s what I started doing.
“He was very experienced so that’s been the best fight so far and I’ve gained a lot. I’m over the moon with that, it was a good performance. He was really tough and it was definitely the hardest test I’ve had. That’s the first time anyone has ever stopped him so that’s a big, massive statement for me to make on the 140lbs scene. I’m happy overall.
“People say he wasn’t a puncher but he’s definitely more heavy handed than people give him credit for. It was good, he was very tough and very awkward and hard to hit clean and I found myself getting frustrated. But once I relaxed and stopped trying so hard then I started getting the shots off.”
Taylor’s stock is rising by the week and not just in Britain. Although he has previously stated his desire to go down the traditional route of challenging for the Lonsdale Belt, Cyclone Promotions manager Mcguigan believes he is too well equipped to fight at that level now.
“Personally I’d love to fight for the Lonsdale belt. I think it’s one of the most prestigious belts out there in the world, the British belt,” Taylor said. “I’d love to get my hands on that eventually but I’ll leave it up to Barry and see what he thinks is the best route. I’m confident in my own ability that I’m going to win a world title. I’ll take a few weeks off and spend time with my family and then go from there, a shot at a European title might be next on the agenda but who knows. My dream is still to fight at Edinburgh Castle, just before the festival comes on and all the stands are up.”
Meanwhile, Jason Easton made a successful first defence of his IBO Inter-continental super lightweight title against the very tough and durable Josef Zahradnik of the Czech Republic.
The capital fighter, whose record also stands at 11-0, was always on the front foot, picking off his opponent at will. That said, Zahradnik showed his mental toughness as time and again his resilience kept him off the canvas, Easton, in the end, having to settle for a 12-round unanimous win.
Bantamweight Lee Mcgregor marked his professional debut with a first-round stoppage against Bulgaria’s Stefan Sashov. The reigning British and Scottish 56kg amateur champion, 20, had the victory sewn up inside the opening three minutes, the referee halting the contest with just seven seconds remaining of the first round.