IT wasn’t until he hit his teenage years that motor bike -loving Josh Taylor underwent his crash course in the classics of boxing. Fast forward a decade or so and the Scot knows the eyes of the boxing world will be trained on the SSE Hydro this Saturday for what could be an instant one – his WBC world title eliminator against Viktor Postol of Ukraine.

“This fight, in the boxing world, is a massive fight,” said Taylor, at yesterday’s final press conference at the Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow. “It’s getting talked about a lot. I’m even getting a lot of messages from America. One of my old amateur opponents, Jamal Herring, who I boxed with and beat at the Olympic test event, messaged me the other day saying I had a lot of support on that side of the pond, and that he would be rooting for me. It’s nice to hear that it’s creating a buzz. And I think America will sit up and take notice when I win on Saturday.”

Taylor was too busy getting on with taekwondo, football and motor sports to get immersed in boxing from an early age. So he did the next best thing: caught up on YouTube. Granted privileged access to watch Alex Arthur train at Meadowbank Leisure Centre – where his mum worked – the teenage Taylor would go back home at night and pore over super fights involving the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Calzaghe and Manny Pacquaio. Even now, when sitting bored at camp in London, perhaps resting his body after another punishing three-session day, Taylor sometimes asks his Twitter followers for suggestions of what fights he should check out.

This is all somewhat ironic, because Taylor no longer needs to go on YouTube to see the greats of world boxing. These days he shares a ring with them.

“I didn’t really get into boxing until I was about 15,” recalls Taylor. “Then, it was Alex Arthur who was the big name. He trained at Meadowbank, my mum worked there, so I used to get in and watch him train. I wanted to be like Alex, when I was a kid.

“Then I discovered guys like Joe Calzaghe and all the other greats. Manny Pacquaio, Sugar Ray Leonard – and of course I knew who Muhammad Ali was. I started watching tapes of all their great fights and wanted to be like them. They were my inspiration. I would watch the big fights from Vegas and everywhere.

“What are my favourites? I love watching the fights between Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns. Both of those fights. I actually think the second one was better, because they were slightly older, even a wee bit past it! But they were still going for it and it was a better fight to watch, some big bombs being thrown.

“I just get on YouTube and watch that fight. Sometimes I get lost about what fight to watch, so I go on Twitter and get loads of suggestions for great fights. I loved Sugar Ray. He was brilliant, amazing. And I’ve named my dog Manny after Pacquaio. I used to train like him, try to throw a hundred punches a round like him. I want to be like these guys, be on that level and be successful. And now I could be in that world. I’m enjoying the ride. I’m doing something that I love for a living.”

In his 29 previous fights, Postol has been beaten just once, and that was on points to Terence Crawford, the phenomenon who unified the super lightweight division before triumphantly moving up a weight category. A former holder of this belt, the 34-year-old Ukrainian – nicknamed the ‘iceman’ – clearly wants it back. But Taylor, with 12 wins from his 12 fights to date on his resume, all but one of which by way of knockout, recognises a vacancy for the next great champion in this division. Saturday night could prove he is the man to fill it.

It guarantees a money-spinning shot at WBC champion Jose Ramirez of the USA – a former alumnus of the London 2012 Olympics – but the bullish Taylor doesn’t see much to fear either when he looks at the other world champions in this category, WBA champion Kiryl Relikh, WBO champion Maurice Hooker and lineal champion Mikey Garcia.

“The division is wide open,” says Taylor. “People are waiting for the next great champion. The guys who have the belts right now, I believe I can beat every single one of them. That is a goal of mine, to become undisputed world champion at this weight – and then hopefully move up, in the longer term, and win a world title at a second weight. I win this one on Saturday and I’m in the mix with these guys, which is exciting. I feel like I’m standing at the gates.”

Such confidence and sense of purpose from the Scot is admirable but it should not be confused with any complacency against an opponent in Postol who demands his undivided attention. The unflappable Ukrainian said yesterday that he feels in the best shape of his life, and he won’t be fazed by what is sure to be a raucous crowd at the same Finnieston arena where Taylor was crowned Commonwealth champion back in 2014. If it is hard to discern too many chinks in his armour, Taylor thinks he found at least some from that loss to Crawford, even if the American’s sparkling display that night will take some matching. In the opening stages, at least, this could be a technical fight with Postol using his jab and defence to keep the Scot at arms’ length.

“I’ve been patient. I learned from the [Miguel] Vazquez fight about rushing in and trying to land big shots right away,” said Taylor. “I’ll see how he wants to fight, go out in the first round and see if he wants to play ball, as we say.

“I think I can be the first guy to stop him,” the Scot added. “I won’t be going looking for it but the way I’m performing now, I feel I can catch him and hurt him. And, when I hurt him, I’m going to jump on him. I think I can get him out of there. That would be a huge message to send out.

“I watched his loss to Terence Crawford last night, that’s the first time I’ve watched it all the way through. And it gave me a lot of confidence. I’ve watched the first five rounds of his most recent fight, as well, and I see a lot of things I can catch him out with. Has Crawford given me a blueprint? Aye and no. You have to remember that Crawford is an awesome fighter, so you can’t read too much into it. But there were things I saw that will work for me. His footwork and things like that, there are areas I can exploit – and I will. I need to be as focused as I can be, the sharpest I’ve ever been. But I can’t wait. I just want to fight now.”