TAYLOR’S MADE FOR A WORLD TITLE BELT
BARRY McGUIGAN insists Josh Taylor’s sights are set firmly on winning the WBC title before the end of the year — as he dismissed talk of the Scot entering the World Boxing Super Series tournament. Regis Prograis, who relinquished the WBC belt to sign up for the lucrative Super Series event, said last month that he expected Taylor to join him in a 16-man elimination series starting in September. But McGuigan yesterday declared that Taylor, who takes on former champ Viktor Postol in a final eliminator at the SSE Hydro on Saturday night, would not be diverted from his main goal. ‘There have been all sorts of rumours,’ said the ring legend who is Taylor’s manager and promoter. ‘But we want to fight for the WBC title — that is what is on our mind, nothing more, nothing less. And Saturday night is what that is all about. Jose Ramirez (WBC title holder) is a great fighter and that would be a great fight for Josh. ‘That’s something we are looking for. But it is all about Saturday.’ Postol, who preceded Taylor into the ring at a public workout in Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre yesterday, is a former WBC champ with just one defeat on his record — against pound-for-pound phenomenon Terence Crawford. Yet McGuigan harbours a suspicion that Taylor can earn a mandatory shot at the crown by doing something no other fighter has done — and put the hardy Ukrainian away before the final bell. The former world featherweight champ said: ‘Can he stop Postol? There is every likelihood he can. ‘But this guy is quality and his record speaks for itself. Thirty fights, 29 wins, nobody has stopped him — not even Crawford. ‘But these are the risks you have to take to excite the boxing world. And Josh needs a challenge. The more the pressure is on, the better he fights.’