EYES ARE ON THE PRIZE
Taylor warns Khongsong he is hungrier than ever... and won’t make mistake of taking this fight lightly
THE money men have big plans for Josh Taylor. Vegas super-fights in front of actual living, breathing, paying spectators. An Edinburgh homecoming for the city’s champion of champions.
Listening to legendary promoter Bob Arum talk about Taylor’s talent, character and easy-on-the eye appeal, anyone could get carried away.
In this year of living cautiously, however, Scotland’s reigning WBA and IBF world super-lightweight champion is relying on no one but himself.
Like every pro fighter who ever sets foot inside a ring, the 29-year-old understands that drive, desire, heart and hunger are vital — every time he laces up the gloves — if he’s to reach that Promised Land.
He also understands that, while it’s okay to be a pleasant, personable and charming sort away from the sport, this is a sport that requires a man to draw on the darker side of his nature.
Little-known mandatory IBF challenger Apinun Khongsong, originally pencilled in for Glasgow back in May, is the only thing standing between the Tartan Tornado and a blockbuster unification bout with WBC and WBO title holder Jose Ramirez.
Taylor won’t pretend that fighting Khongsong in the sterile ‘bubble’ of an empty York Hall represents some ideal scenario.
Almost a year on from his O2 Arena spectacular against Regis Prograis, though, he’s simply desperate to resume a pro career still only 16 fights old. And do it with the same nasty edge that did for the much-fancied American.
‘You’re going to see the same old Josh,’ said Taylor, after both he and Khongsong weighed in at 9st 13lb and 8oz. ‘Still ruthless, still aggressive and hurtful and spiteful. Just a wee bit more finesse and more complete.
‘I think there’s only one winner — and that’s me. Because I’m even hungrier now than I was as an up-and-coming fighter.
‘I want to achieve more in the game, win more belts, win more titles — and keep Scotland on the map. I want these big fights in America, big fights in Scotland. And I’ve got a lot more that I want to achieve.
‘The fire is still firmly lit. Mindset is everything. It’s too hard a game not to be in it 100 per cent, mentally.
‘If your mind’s not right, you’re not going to perform right. You won’t put in the extra effort in the gym, you won’t do everything it takes — not if your mind isn’t right.
‘That is the most important thing about any fight. It’s the most important thing in the game. This is a very dangerous fight. It’s his big chance to really change his life. Not just to become a world champion but a unified world champion.
‘He’s got a crack at the IBF, WBA and Ring Magazine belts. So it’s a massive opportunity for him.
‘And I remember what it was like when I was up-and-coming. If I switch off and think it’s going to be a blow-over fight, that’s dangerous. It only ever takes one punch.
‘I’ve got my eyes firmly on the prize. I’m not thinking about the next fights, whatever happens after this one. Everybody keeps
talking about what happens next. I’m fully concentrated because I can’t afford any slip-ups.
‘This is the final obstacle between me and the kind of super-fights I’ve always dreamed of.’
Arum, who also has Ramirez on his books, makes no excuses for allowing his gaze to wander just over the horizon.
The legendary American promoter, who has worked with everyone from Muhammad Ali and George Foreman to Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Manny Pacquiao, sees dollar signs whenever he looks at the new recruit to the Top Rank stable.
‘Josh is very articulate, he’s charismatic,’ said Arum. ‘As far as his boxing skills go, they’re enormous.
‘He has all the ingredients to be a major star in the world of boxing.
‘And, on top of all that, he’s a good-looking young man! A lot of the success we had with Oscar De La Hoya, for instance, was the great female following he developed.
‘So all the ingredients are there for Josh to be just as popular. Our job is to advance his career and make him the superstar that he can be.
‘In these times, we’re just happy that this fight is going ahead. We know we’ll get a tremendous number of fans watching in the US and UK.
‘Without counting our chickens before they’ve hatched, if Josh is successful as we expect, we want him to face Jose Ramirez in what should be one of the marquee fights of 2021.’
Exactly where that fight will be remains a matter of some uncertainty, with talk of the pair meeting in Scotland early next year obviously contingent upon a lot of changes in Covid restrictions.
Intriguingly, Arum has been working hard on persuading the city of Las Vegas — always open to the right sort of argument — that he can make big-time boxing work there. Without risking lives.
‘When the pandemic hit and we couldn’t do boxing, we worked for two months to develop protocols for fights without fans,’ he revealed.
‘We were the originators of the bubble concept that basketball and other sports in the States followed.
‘Now, we go into the second phase. Assuming that the virus will still be with us, and the vaccination of a massive number of people will not be happening until the end of next year, we’re working on a new protocol.
‘We’re working with the state of Nevada to allow a limited number of fans, with everyone being tested.
‘We hope to have that ready as early as December. And that will then open up the ability, at least in the United States, to have fights in a safe environment — with spectators.
‘You need to understand that, right now, if Josh fought in Las Vegas, maybe it wouldn’t have a big impact.
‘But, if he fights Ramirez in Las Vegas, Jose has a tremendous Hispanic following. A lot of Scots would also travel to Vegas, once the virus is a thing of the past.
‘And it would be a massive fight. A great introduction to the American audience, fighting live in Vegas against Ramirez.
‘Boxing fans saw his fight with Regis Prograis and already put him in the top category of poundfor-pound fighters.
‘Let’s just hope everything goes well on Saturday, so the Ramirez fight happens!’
Taylor insists that, after the initial shock of lockdown, he has actually been able to enjoy being forced to step back from the hardest sport on the planet.
Revealing how he’d been dipping into a popular martial-arts box set, which explains some of the kickboxing videos he’s posted on social media, the Prestonpans pugilist said: ‘Yeah, I’ve watched a bit of
Cobra Kai and I’ve been brushing up on my old karate and taekwondo skills!
‘But, apart from that, it has actually been pretty good. It was probably my first real break from boxing since I turned professional five years ago.
‘It’s just been fight after fight, camp after camp, really just grinding it out and training all the time.
‘I’ve never had the time to just relax and chill out. So, when we came back from Vegas, I got home and took almost a month just relaxing. I switched off from boxing and spent some real good time with my family and loved ones, the people I’ve missed.
‘I took time out from boxing and recharged my batteries.
‘It was a pretty good time to sit and reflect on what I’ve achieved in the sport in such a short time.
‘I take pride in that — and it was the first time I was able to realise what I’d done.’
There are new worlds still to conquer, of course. Plans to be drawn and promises to fulfil.
With victories over Viktor Postol, Ivan Baranchyk and the hugely talented Prograis — three formidable fighters who had lost precisely one fight between them before running into Taylor — already on his record, the Scot should have far too much power and class for Thailand’s Khongsong.
‘I don’t think he’s going to have anything that I’ve not seen before,’ said Taylor. ‘This won’t be like a sparring session. My titles and reputation are on the line.
‘I will still be up and nervous about it. But I’m in this business to beat whoever they put in front of me. I’ll be ready.’