CHARLIE Flynn beat Josh Taylor to Commonwealth Games boxing gold by all of 40 minutes in 2014. But since joining the professional ranks it is the self-styled Pride of Prestonpans who has stolen the march on his old Scotland team-mate.

Taylor now has seven fights to his name. all won by way of knockout, and a Commonwealth belt, which was collected with his friend Flynn watching on at the Meadowbank Arena in Edinburgh in September when he stopped Sheffield's Dave Ryan in the fifth round. Next up for Taylor is an outing against Alfonso Olvera of Mexico on Saturday, on the undercard of the Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz re-match at the historic MGM Grand. It will be his third opportunity to fight in the States, and the first where events will be screened live, on Showtime Extreme.

Flynn, three years the younger man at 23, actually has one more fight to his name. But only one of them hasn't gone the distance, and in recent times he has spent more time counting the injury setbacks which have afflicted him, a 2016 tally which he puts at "five injuries and a hand operation". Scheduled to fight for the WBA Intercontinental title against Kofi Yates at the Hydro in September he suffered an untimely rib injury while the most recent indignity was a split lip in sparring. By the time he returns to the ring, in a proposed title bout over 10 rounds, on the undercard of the Ricky Burns-Julius Indongo show at the SSE Hydro on April 15, 11 months will have passed since his last outing.

As much as Flynn betrays frustration about this turn of events and craves a return to the ring - he has already embarked on a 12-week training camp to ensure he is fitter than ever before come April - the lightweight is delighted to see how smoothly Taylor appears to have transitioned to the pro ranks.

"Josh is doing really well," Flynn said. "He has a good team behind him [Barry and Shane McGuigan's Cyclone Promotions] and they are building him up well. It is great for him to be fighting abroad like that.

"We knew each other before the Commonwealth Games because we had been on the Scotland team for a while before that. But it is good to see - it looks like he gets on really well with the McGuigans and his team all get on very well.

"I was there in Edinburgh for the Dave Ryan fight. But I didn't go through and see him. I spoke to his family but I didn't want to bother him so I just left him to it. I had a wee bet on him to stop him in the fourth, so I was out by a round!

"He is doing well but he is a couple of years older than me and I have been injured so much. By the time I fight in April I will have been out of the ring for pretty much a full year. That is five injuries in a row - probably the worst time for me ever. That is why I am so excited to be back fighting. I've not got an opponent or anything confirmed yet, they just said they want me fighting for a title over 10 rounds, and that is good because that is what I want too. It is just going to be one fight after the next this year - because I had so many setbacks last year it was ridiculous."

Taylor, holed up in his own training camp in Vegas alongside Frampton and George Groves, is thrilled to get the chance to fight at a historic venue which has previously hosted showdowns between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio and Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Olvera, a late developer who came from the sport from football, is a 27-year-old who has two defeats and a draw from his 11 fights but the Scot hopes to put on a show for the Stateside audience.

"They want to put me on Showtime for this fight so I do think a bit of interest is building in me out there," said Taylor. "That is another bonus for me - to get the chance to build a little bit of an American platform so early in my career. There is a huge Scottish community out in America as well so that helps.

"I am a massive fan of Carl Frampton anyway but to kind of be inside of a fight like this, and know what is going on, is brilliant. I am in such a good position. Sometimes I feel like I have to pinch myself."