Taylor team beaten to the punch

JOSH TAYLOR was last night warned he will be kissing goodbye to his WBA and IBF super-lightweight titles after new promoters Top Rank lost out on the right to stage his upcoming clash with Thai Apinun Khongsong. Khongsong’s US-based copromoter Sampson Lewkowicz outbid Top Rank for Taylor’s defence of his unified belts after the IBF put the contest out to purse bids and insists his man will pull off an even bigger shock when the fighters finally meet. Lewkowicz’s promotions company Sampson Boxing bid $1.32million (£1m) for the contest between Taylor and the mandatory challenger for his IBF crown, with Top Rank submitting an offer of $1.26m as the only other bidder. Sampson Boxing will now have to send the contract to Top Rank within ten days, settle on a venue and stage the fight within 90 days, with reports suggesting they will still seek to put it on in the United Kingdom. Providing he goes ahead with the fight and does not vacate his title, Taylor and his team will be entitled to 65 per cent of that £1m purse, with Khongsong taking the rest. Lewkowicz told Taylor’s American broadcast partners ESPN: ‘I am very happy to win this. I will send the contract to Top Rank shortly. I believe that Taylor is a great champion, but I will not be surprised when Khongsong wins. I represent the best fighters on earth.’ It had been expected Top Rank would win the bidding war in an attempt to showcase Taylor to a global audience on ESPN. It now remains unclear who will broadcast the contest.