Taylor is not ready to fight me, claims seasoned pro Ryan
JOSH TAYLOR, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, has so far answered every question asked of him since turning professional under the tutelage of Barry McGuigan.
But seasoned pro Dave Ryan believes that the ex-world flyweight champion is guilty of a miscalculation in matching Taylor with him for the vacant Commonwealth super-lightweight title at Meadowbank Sports Centre on Friday evening.
Taylor, 25, from Prestonpans, has been fast-tracked to championship level after just six paid bouts, albeit he has dispensed with his rivals in a total of nine rounds.
But Ryan, the former Commonwealth champion, said: ‘This fight is coming too soon for Taylor. All his fights have been single-figure rounds and it’s too much of a big step up to championship level.
‘There is no substitute for experience and I believe he’s going to buckle towards the end when I’ll take over.’
While 33-year-old Ryan, from Derby, has had four times as many bouts as his much younger rival, Taylor has the advantage of fighting in his own backyard.
But Ryan is adamant that he can handle hostility, no matter what sort of reception he receives.
‘It won’t faze me,’ he said. ‘Why should it? The majority of the time I’m the away fighter and I enjoy that.
‘I feed off the hostility and anti-sentiment to an extent and I’ll have a few of my own lot there. There’s no pressure on me here, it’s all on Josh.’
Ryan has already enjoyed success on the road, having beaten Yorkshireman Tyrone Nurse in Leeds to become Commonwealth champion, a title he held for 11 months before losing to John Wayne Hibbert last year.
He added: ‘That was the finest win of my career because Nurse is the best in our division.’