JOSH Taylor isn’t world champion yet. But the 27-year-old is at least assured of a shot at glory after joining US phenomenon Terence Crawford as the only two men to have defeated Ukraine’s Viktor Postol in a taut WBC Super Lightweight final eliminator at the SSE Hydro last night. In the end, despite having his man on the canvas in the tenth round, couldn’t quite knock the Iceman cold. But then Crawford couldn’t either.

Pitting together the No 1 and No 2 contenders in the rankings, the winner knew he would become mandatory challenger for the belt currently owned by Jose Ramirez of the USA, most likely in one of the most illustrious arenas in world boxing. While the Scot will savour the chance to become the first Scottish world champion since Ricky Burns lost the WBA belt at his weight class in April 2017, Postol was left wondering where he career goes now after falling short in his attempt to win back the belt he formerly wore. While the Ukrainian is a wily veteran of 30 pro fights, this was only Taylor’s 13th outing as a professional. It proved unlucky for the Ukrainian, losing a unanimous decision with scores of 118-110, 117-110, 119-108.

Striding out to One Step Beyond by Madness, Taylor knew victory could see him take a giant leap forward. The early stages were cagey, with the Ukrainian first to take the initiative and the Scot able to dance his way out of trouble. The Scot was more assertive in the second round, drawing a cut above the 34-year-old’s right eye.

Postol, beaten only once in 11 years as a pro, and not even stopped by Crawford, knows how to take a shot and he absorbed a huge Taylor left hand in the third. The fourth and fifth rounds were more even, and the seventh round in particular put Taylor into more difficulty than at any previous point in his pro career, leaving Shane McGuigan in his corner barking out instructions. But the Tartan Tornado weathered the storm and came again in the ninth, landing a big one right at the bell.

Any respite Postol felt was temporary. The bell saved him again in the tenth, but only after being caught by a huge left which saw him hit the canvas and subjected to an eight count. The Ukrainian was on fumes now, hanging on in the last two rounds, as Taylor opened up in search of the stoppage, but Postol's pride at least took it all the way to points.

One man who does have a world title of sorts already, after just four pro fights, is Taylor's countryman Lee McGregor. Goodluck Mrema made the 7,500-mile journey from Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania to fight for the right to be named IBF youth bantamweight champion of the world. It was simply his bad luck to meet a young man from Saughton who appears to have the world at his feet.

McGregor is known as Lightning so it was appropriate he should strike twice in the fourth round to leave his opponent on the canvas, hopelessly unable to continue. Already on his way down when caught by a final clubbing left hand, there then came a fraught few minutes as the Tanzanian had to be given oxygen on his seat before the final formalities could be concluded.

It says something for McGregor’s progress as a professional that even this fourth-round stoppage was his sternest examination to date. Mrema, with two defeats from his 24 fights thus far, was a game wee guy in huge shorts who caught the Scot for the first time as a pro in the second round. But the Scot's class and conditioning told. Roared on by a travelling support from the other side of the M8 which includes his brother Connor McGregor – no, not that one - McGregor savoured the moment of his career to date and outlined the schedule he envisages in his bid to follow the trail which Josh Taylor is blazing. A British title shot by the end of the year, and why not a world title fight by 2020, perhaps at Tynecastle. Or even Easter Road.

“This is the highlight of my boxing career - so far," said McGregor. "I’m convinced I can win a world title in this division. I genuinely wasn’t hit in my first three fights so it’s no bad thing to feel one with the small gloves on."

The heavyweight division is filled with giant personalities but few are bigger than Martin Bakole. The 26-year-old who swapped the Democratic Republic of Congo for the people’s republic of Airdrie claims to be of royal decent back in his homeland and has made it his mission to become the next king of Scotland. Strolling out to defend his IBO continental title against David ‘DL’ Jones in a kilt for the first time, he could probably have remained in full tartan dress for the whole duration without breaking sweat. Jones lasted just 62 seconds.“I promised my coach I would knock him out in the first round and in the first minute so I guess I wasn’t quite quick enough," he said.

Gary 'Razor Rae was a popular winner on points against Johnson Tellez of Nicaragua while another brief encounter on the undercard saw Tommy Philbin take out the frustration of three postponed fights in a row on the hapless Dominik Landgraaf of the Czech Republic. Chantelle Cameron put in a typically efficient performance to get rid of Natalia Aguirre of Argentina in the sixth.