DESTINY CALLING FOR THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
IT’S A BIG YEAR FOR JOSH TAYLOR
IF the next 12 months go as planned for Josh Taylor, he will end 2020 as the undisputed super-lightweight champion of the world. And put himself firmly on course to be considered the greatest Scottish boxer of all time.
As befits such a glittering prize, the road to glory will be anything but easy. And careful navigation of its perilous pathways must ensure no repeat of the shameful conviction and fine for racial harassment that has tainted what was previously a blemish-free year.
Away from this fall from public grace, it involves maintaining the unprecedented pace set in 2019 — a year of living dangerously for a fighter who ducked no challenge, shied away from not a single opportunity.
It shouldn’t be possible. Logic dictates that continually facing previously all-conquering opponents in titanic contests must eventually take its toll.
Yet there are times when Taylor seems unbound by the laws that govern even extraordinary athletes.
Moments when his capacity for work, punishment and dogged endurance — allied to a fearsome ability to hit experienced world-class fighters with something they’ve never seen before — transcends what is ‘supposed’ to be achievable.
So, should he add the WBC and WBO belts held by Jose Ramirez to the WBA and IBF titles won in such spectacular fashion over the past 12 months, Taylor will deserve to enter the pantheon of Scottish boxing legends.
The Prestonpans pugilist, also in possession of the Ring Magazine belt after winning the Muhammad Ali Trophy in the World Boxing Super Series, is already part of the conversation when talk turns to ranking the greatest to emerge from this small-but-proud fighting nation.
That, in itself, is a remarkable achievement after just 16 professional fights. The guys who work with him on a daily basis understand, on some level, why those who haven’t followed Taylor’s career closely remain wary of going overboard on a relative newcomer.
The fact that he’s yet to be given a top-ten ranking in the list of best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet is, they feel, merely a mistake borne of ignorance, rather than poor judgment.
The trainers, sparring partners, cornermen and other sages of the spitbucket who spend time watching Taylor put in the hours — and then see him demolish opponent after opponent — believe it won’t take much to convince the few remaining sceptics.
Shane McGuigan, having tutored the promising amateur in the murky arts of the pro game since day one, is adamant as he declares: ‘Josh Taylor is the best on the planet, no doubt about it.
‘He goes through so much to reach these heights. And he always digs in, even in the toughest rounds. Muhammad Ali was renowned for his fights with Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
‘In the final of the Ali Trophy, against Regis Prograis, I think he lived up to that legacy with an absolute classic.
‘He’s been with me since he was an amateur; Terry McCormack did a fantastic job with him as an amateur before he came to me.
‘It says everything about him that he was willing to move down to London, leave his family behind, live in a house with other boxers and dedicate himself to achieving what he has.
‘We’ve since moved out to Canterbury and he loves it out there; he’s a country boy who likes nothing better than walking the dogs or going for runs.
‘And the dedication he’s shown proves to me that he’s the best fighter in the world — pound-forpound, however you want to measure it. We initially wanted to fight Ramirez but gave that up to fight in the World Boxing Super Series. That was the right decision — because he now has two world titles.
‘And I think he beats Ramirez. I’m going to say that, of course. But I think Josh is that good, that special. We knew it from day one.’
Having won over plenty of American judges with his victory over Prograis at London’s O2 arena, Taylor shouldn’t find it hard to generate interest if and when the Ramirez fight takes place — whenever or wherever that might be.
There are obstacles both champions must overcome before they can put on that moneyspinning clash, whether it be on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, the most famous fight-night venue in New York… or the multi-purpose arena at some gaudy monstrosity of a hotel in Las Vegas. Ramirez takes on Viktor Postol next month, while Taylor himself has a mandatory defence of his IBF title against little-known Thai fighter Apinun Khongsong to arrange.
The 23-year-old challenger has an identical pro record to Taylor, 16 wins and zero losses — but that’s where the similarities end.
Khongsong has never fought outside of his homeland and should — should — provide no more than a testing workout for the champ.
Even before that fight takes place, Barry McGuigan — the Clones Cyclone himself (right, with Taylor) — will have been finalising details with the Ramirez camp about a potential summer meeting.
Manager McGuigan has made all the right decisions for Taylor so far, fast-tracking him through the ranks and trusting in his fighter’s ability to compete at higher and higher levels.
It was a bold move, signing up for the World Boxing Super Series; a number of promoters have admitted they would have pitted the Commonwealth Games gold medallist against a few more journeymen before even considering putting him in the ring against world champions like Ivan Baranchyk and the elusive Prograis.
That’s the genuinely jawdropping element of what Taylor has already achieved.
Nobody does what he’s just done — fighting for world titles in back-to-back bouts, part of a four-fight sequence against opponents boasting a combined record of 94 wins and a single loss between them.
No one can realistically expect the Scot to maintain that kind of routine forever. Already, Taylor is joking about following up the Ramirez fight with a voluntary defence against ‘a bin man’ from just inside the top 50.
But he knows that his best-vbest schedule over the past year is what has made him stand out.
It has become his trademark, his way of making himself something more than just another one-belt bully among a field of alphabetsoup ‘champs’, knocking over stiffs and journeymen while fleecing the paying public.
The very thing that makes his rise through the ranks so
remarkable, the risk he takes in every single bout, has raised expectations among punters.
And so, however weary he may get, Taylor will certainly be pushing to face Ramirez before the summer is out.
After all, how often do these opportunities, these one-off shots at sporting immortality, come around?
Victory over Ramirez would certainly put the Tartan Tornado in a different class to virtually every homegrown rival who ever laced up gloves.
Only Ken Buchanan, who unified the lightweight division by adding the WBC title to his WBA belt in a simpler age boasting just two governing bodies, stands ahead of him at the moment.
And you have to understand the affection that Scottish fight fans — not least Taylor himself — feel for Kenny; it isn’t easy for anyone to compete with the legendary King of Madison Square Garden. Having become the first Scot to even partially unify a weight division since Buchanan back in February of ’71, however, the 28-year-old has already shown that rare blend of boxing pedigree and thrawn determination possessed by all great champions.
Those of us who interviewed a teenage Taylor in the corridor of a sports hall in Delhi back in 2008, offering some comfort to a kid in tears after he’d lost his Commonwealth Games semi-final, can hardly be blamed for not spotting the future world champ there and then. The same goes for anyone who saw him claim gold at Glasgow 2014; beating the best amateurs in the Commonwealth is no guarantee of future success in the pro ranks.
By Taylor’s own admission, he took a while to develop the power needed to start hurting hardened professionals.
There have been times when he wondered if things were moving too quickly. If maybe he wouldn’t be better with a few more ‘educational’ bouts against moving targets.
Never in his wildest childhood dreams did he imagine that he’d hold two world titles before even getting within spying distance of 20 professional fights. Yet here he stands, feet firmly planted on conquered territory — gazing towards the horizon, where the next challenge lies. Time for a bit of resting on laurels, taking stock and padding the bank balance in exchange for minimal effort? Not Taylor’s style. Not his philosophy. Not this year, anyway.