Josh is revved up like Rossi
BOXING
By TOM HOPKINSON JOSH TAYLOR reckons the character and performance traits he shares with sporting idol Valentino Rossi will see him to victory over Jack Catterall on Saturday.
The undisputed lightwelterweight world champion finally faces fellow Brit Catterall, the WBO’s mandatory challenger, on Top Rank’s Glasgow bill, after a knee injury to Taylor saw the fight pushed back from its December date.
Taylor (above) will be channelling the Italian MotoGP legend Rossi (right) when he bids to retain his WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC belts, in what is his first defence of the full set.
The Tartan Tornado said: “Rossi was fast and furious but he was always in control – that 100 percent sounds like me.
“I’m fast and furious but in control of what I’m doing and my emotions. It might look like I’m ferocious and being nasty and vicious but I’m very much in control of it.
“The other big similarity between me and Rossi would be the will to do what it takes to get the right result.
“He put in the work and dedicated himself to his sport.”
Taylor added: “I’ve been into motorbikes all my life, I’ve been on them since I was a little boy of about four or five, messing around.
“Motorbikes are my passion and first love – I grew up watching the World Superbikes and the MotoGP, and Rossi was bursting on to the scene.
“I loved his charisma, his character – he’s fan-friendly and exciting.
“He retired last year with not a great bunch of results but he was still in the premium class in the world at 41, 42 – that showed the mindset he has got.”
Last May, Taylor, 31, became the first British fighter of the four-belt era to be an undisputed world champion – with only Oleksandr Usyk, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor and Terence Crawford achieving the feat before him.
Since then, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has joined the exclusive club.
Taylor added: “It will mean the world to me to prolong my time with all these belts.
“I don’t want to get beaten, I have a fear of losing, I’m a born winner.
“Everything I do is geared towards winning.
“And I’m here to win every time I step into the ring.
“Jack is a very good opponent, he does things well and is very well rounded. I rate him highly.
“But I’m here to be on top for as long as I can in the sport.”