Destiny awaits
Taylor is primed to take his next step on the road to a world title shot
JOSH TAYLOR is going with the flow in his quest to enter the pantheon of Scottish world boxing champions. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist is on the cusp of a world title as he eyes a 13th consecutive win in what is effectively a WBC super-lightweight final eliminator at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena on Saturday evening.
But while declaring that defeat is not an option, Taylor, from the small fishing town of Prestonpans to the east of Edinburgh, sounded remarkably cool, calm and collected ahead of his showdown with Ukrainian Viktor Postol.
Taylor’s home town is famous for the first significant conflict of the Jacobite Rising of 1745, a skirmish between Charles Edward Stuart’s troops and those of Hanoverian George II, won, incidentally, by the ‘home’ side.
But one suspects that if he is successful in realising his dream of following in the footsteps of another of the capital’s acclaimed boxing sons, former world lightweight champion Ken Buchanan, Bonnie Prince Charlie may have to step aside and make way for a new prince of the ring.
However, in spite of the heavy weight of expectation, Taylor, 27, is shouldering the burden with comparative ease.
He said: ‘Everything is good. I did my last spar on Thursday evening and it’s probably the sharpest I’ve felt all camp.
‘I feel like I am firing on all cylinders and
the experience I gained from the Commonwealth title fights I’ve been involved in on the big stage against Ohara Davies and Dave Ryan have put me in good stead.
‘I’m not putting any pressure on myself, I’m just going with the flow, and the fact that I am more relaxed, I think, is why I am performing better.
‘In a sense, anything other than a win is not an option. But I still believe that if anything does go wrong — an injury during the fight, for example — I will still be a world champion. It would just be a minor speed bump on the way, that’s all.
‘But it isn’t going to go wrong. I feel so confident the way I have been performing in the gym, I have total belief that I’ll win this fight and then go on to realise my dream of becoming a world champion.’
Not that Taylor expects Postol to provide him with anything other than a searching examination of his credentials.
‘He is my toughest opponent to date, without a doubt,’ said Taylor. ‘He’s been around the block, is an ex-world champion, and his only defeat was to Terence Crawford, so it would be daft to claim otherwise.’
That loss to the American legend in July 2016, on points, appears not to have affected the 34-year-old’s belief that he can blow the self-styled ‘Tartan Tornado’ away.
‘Although I lost to Crawford, I am happy I fought him because I am a better fighter for the experience,’ Postol claims.
‘I’ve watched film of Taylor and he’s a good opponent. But while I didn’t see any particular weakness, neither did I see anything spectacular. My only concern is that I will be fighting in his home country.’
For his part, Taylor said: ‘I’m sure the nerves will kick during the next week, but right now I am relaxed and enjoying everything that surrounds a big fight and that’s important.
‘I am going into my fourth year as a pro and time has flown by. The next thing I know I might be another four years down the road and thinking of retirement and asking where the time has gone.
‘So I’m relishing what’s happening and living in the moment as I move closer to my dream of being a world champion.’
While the past four years, since Taylor was Scottish boxing’s poster boy at Glasgow 2014, may feel like they have flown by, he is resigned to time standing still over the next few days.
He added: ‘The last week before a fight is invariably a bit of a drag. It’s mainly about conserving energy and ensuring I make the weight.
‘Maybe I’ll go to the pictures to pass the time and perhaps I’ll also watch a bit of Postol now that all the hard training has been done.
‘But I’m not all that interested in the World Cup. I’m not really a football man, although if it’s on the box and I’m loafing around, I’ll probably watch it.’