BOXING legend Barry McGuigan has warned Josh Taylor that his next fight will be the hardest of his career “by a mile” – but still expects the Scot to come out on top to lift his first world title belt.
Taylor stopped American Ryan Martin in seven rounds on Saturday night in Glasgow in their World Boxing Super Series quarter-final to set up a semi-final meeting with Ivan Baranchyk where the Belarussian’s IBF title will be on the line. The date and venue for that are expected to be set in the coming weeks.
McGuigan, the former featherweight world champion who is now Taylor’s manager, feels the stocky undefeated Baranchyk (19-0) will be the toughest opponent Taylor will have faced in 15 professional fights, but is still confident the 27 year-old will progress to the final and eventually unify the division to become the undisputed super-lightweight world champion.
McGuigan said: “Baranchyk can hit tremendously hard and he's shorter [than Martin] and he's aggressive. Will it be Josh’s hardest fight? By a mile. Baranchyk's strong and he can punch. Each one of these fights are going to be tough for Josh.
“But Baranchyk doesn't have the finesse of this fella. The difference is that Taylor can bang and box. He can switch from southpaw, fight on the inside, the outside, move his feet, run around the ring, stay in the pocket - I think he's a much more accomplished fighter. He can do more things.
“Josh is going to win this tournament. It's not going to be easy but he's going to win the tournament. He's the best 140-pounder in the world and I've always said that. Baranchyk hasn't fought anyone like Josh Taylor.”
McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions also had Carl Frampton on the books until they parted ways last year but McGuigan believes Taylor is already an even better fighter than the two-weight world champion.
“In comparison to all the fighters I've had, none of them are as talented as this kid,” he added. “That's not a slight on Frampton or anything like that. I’m not being childish. Obviously Frampton's got a good chin and he's strong, but this kid can do so much. He can go in there with a different game plan each time. That's such an advantage to have.”
That Taylor is now fighting for a world title after only 14 professional bouts may come as a surprise to some but not to McGuigan who has set the man from Prestonpans on this path from the very beginning.
The Northern Irishman added: “I said way back we were going to be aggressive with him. We were going to put him in to title fights. The options in this competition were much better than the options in going for the WBC title. It was a no brainer. It's an amazing tournament with amazing exposure. We're going all over the world.”
The only disappointment in McGuigan’s eyes was that Saturday’s fight was only streamed online and not available on television.
"We might not have used a terrestrial television channel this time but they were adamant that they wanted to get people watching on a laptop - you can watch it on a big screen or whatever. I'm old-fashioned and would rather see it on terrestrial television but that's not the way the world is. Us old fogies don't know how to deal with social media!”
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