STEVE BUNCE, the respected boxing commentator and author, believes that Josh Taylor remains underrated despite the impressive start the 26 year-old has made to his pro career.
Bunce followed Taylor as an amateur, during which he won Commonwealth Games silver in 2010 followed by gold in 2014 as well as becoming an Olympian and the BBC man has been admirer since the early days. “At London 2012, I thought Josh had a chance of sneaking something because he was that good,” he said. “And he was very impressive at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 because he was under a lot of pressure in Glasgow.”
Taylor has been equally impressive in the professional ranks and goes into Saturday’s fight against Miguel Vazquez in Edinburgh looking to extend his unbeaten run to ten victories, something that Bunce is confident the Prestonpans fighter will do. “Josh will win”, Bunce told Herald Sport. “Vazquez has a few years on him and he’s a big old name but I think Josh will get to him round about round 8 or 9.”
Despite Taylor’s success since joining the professional ranks in 2015, Bunce believes that the Scot’s profile is still not as high as it deserves to be, in part down to the fact that Taylor is reluctant to get involved with much of the trash-talking that can, so often, mar the build-up to big fights.
Ohara Davis, Taylor’s last opponent in particular, was quick to shout his mouth off at every opportunity but then was unable to back it up in the ring. Davis may have gained a load of Twitter followers as a result of his exploits but the fact that Taylor holds back from such activities is not necessarily a negative, believes Bunce.
“I think Josh is underrated and still perhaps slightly unknown – he’s not a household name and he should be better known than he is,” he said. “It’s not that he’s a shy kid, but I don’t think he’s taken very well to the garbage that goes on.
“Rightly so, I don’t think getting involved in all of that is something that Barry and Shane McGuigan actively encourage and I think it’s a good thing to be honest and I’m glad that McGuigan doesn’t let his fighters go mad on Twitter.”
If Taylor wins again on Friday, whispers about the potential of a world title fight will get louder, something that Bunce does not believe is an unrealistic prospect for the Scot. “To me, Josh is still learning but I think that within the next two or three fights, in a year or 18 months, he could well be in the mix,” he said.
“Far worse fighters than Josh have fought for world titles. I think he will know from his sparring sessions and from speaking to people like Carl Frampton who he used to train with that there’s no rush, he’s not going to miss the boat.
“So if he had a few more fights in Britain or in Europe, the world champions at his weight will still be around and there for him to take on.”
Meanwhile, Fraser Walker, the COO of Boxing Scotland, is not the slightest bit surprised at Taylor’s progress as a professional. The governing body supported the Scot throughout his amateur career and Walker believes that his impressive transition into the professional ranks is down, in large part, to the experience he gained as an amateur boxer which has stood him in good stead over the past two years. “Sometimes it can be better to get two cycles out of the Commonwealth Games like Josh did as opposed to only having one and thinking that everything will be solved by turning pro.
“We always try to encourage the boxers to stay with us for as long as possible because they are getting the best level of competition across the world.
“As amateurs, they continue to work with their club coaches but we then give them that addition support in the shape of a performance programme so it works very effectively to give them the experience on the international stage.”
Walker is also heartened to see that Scottish boxers can come out of the amateur system in this country to become potential stars in the pro game.
“It’s been great to see Josh do so well,”Walker said. “We still keep in touch with him and I’ve been at a lot of his pro fights. And there’s nothing to suggest he won’t keep improving.”
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