JOSH Taylor now has a Commonwealth belt to put alongside his 2014 Commonwealth gold medal and the manner in which he earned it could hardly have been more emphatic. Only two minutes and 45 seconds of the fifth round of this super lightweight contest had elapsed when the referee Michael Alexander decided his veteran English opponent Dave Ryan was in no state to continue. Promoter Barry McGuigan had said the 25-year-old, the self-styled Pride of Prestonpans, could follow in the hallowed footsteps of Scottish boxing royalty in the form of Ken Buchanan. So impressive was this showing that such a claim seemed like no idle boast.
In what was only his seventh fight as a professional, a left hook in the third round and thudding body shot in the fifth round twice had his opponent on the canvas. While the game Ryan twice survived eight counts, he was on the ropes with Taylor's throwing lightning-quick combinations when the end came.
Meadowbank Arena was in a ferment just after 10pm when Taylor strode into the ring to the sounds of 90s dance anthem 'Ride on Time' by Black Box. Stablemates Carl Frampton and George Groves watched on, as did Taylor's Glasgow 2014 Team Scotland pals Charlie Flynn and Joe Ham. In six pro fights before last night, Taylor had boxed just nine rounds compared to Ryan's 181 but you would hardly have guessed it from the manner in which the self-styled 'Pride of Prestonpans' schooled the older man here.
For a while, it seemed more likely that the pair's respective promoters, Clifton Mitchell and Barry McGuigan, would be entering the ring themselves - as animosity simmered away for a couple of weeks. While Ryan, a 33-year-old from Derby who was the former holder of this belt, had conducted himself with respect, the same couldn't be said for larger-than-life promoter Mitchell, who had dominated a news conference in the lead-up to the fight with the words "we have come into your house and we'll pull your pants down and spank you". Taylor's promoter, Barry McGuigan, unsurprisingly took umbrage at that, and said he would insist upon an apology once the fight was out the way. As it was, Taylor's actions spoke louder than words. While Mitchell climbed into the ring when the referee stopped the fight, before long he was embracing the new Scottish champion.
Taylor and Ricky Burns are the big Scottish hitters in this division but if two is company last night saw Jason Easton attempt to make three into a crowd. The Edinburgh boxer was aged 24 and had 103 amateur fights under his belt when he turned professional last August but he is making up for lost time. Now 25, in just his eighth professional bout, an impressive second round knock-out against Rhys Saunders of Wales saw him claim the vacant Celtic Super Lightweight title.
A barrage of devastating body shots, a weapon demostrated to him as a young fighter when Alex Arthur visited his boxing club in the capital, saw the game Saunders subjected to two eight counts, and when a third arrived the referee had seen enough to stop the contest. It was an impressive showing, on a televised platform, even if Saunders was a late stand-in for his fellow countryman Mitch Buckland.
"I didn't expect to stop him so early but we knew he was weak to the body," said Easton, who is trained by Ricky Burns' old corner man Billy Nelson. "During my last year as an amateur I started working the body a lot and it started hurting a lot of guys," he added. "So it is definitely one of my favourite shots. Alex used to come into my boxing gym and he used to show me that shot at times, the touch and then through to the body. I guess you could say that I save my best for the telly. Hopefully this is just the first title of many." Connor Law, a middlweight from Fife who might have appeared at Glasgow 2014 were it not for being victim of a road traffic accident shortly before his play-off bout, A was roared to a points win against Jose Lopez Clavero of Spain by a vociferous Fife crowd, while other Scottish winners on the night were Glasgow's Craig McIntyre and Edinburgh's John McCallum.
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