DICK McTAGGART, one of Scotland’s greatest ever boxers, believes that victory for Josh Taylor this evening will set him on the path to becoming world champion. Taylor takes on England’s Ohara Davis at Braehead Arena in Glasgow for the Commonwealth super lightweight title in what is the toughest challenge of the 26 year-old’s career but McTaggart is optimistic about the outcome. “Josh is doing very, very well just now – I’ve been really impressed by him,” the 1956 Olympic gold medallist said. “He’s very good in the head. He’s definitely going to go far and I think he can win this fight no bother. I really hope he does. And if he wins the Commonwealth title this weekend, he’s on the way to a world title. If he could win that, it would be fantastic.”
Taylor’s fight this evening will be only his 10th professional bout but his improvement since joining the pro ranks two years ago has been impressive. Much of this progress has been down to his decision to move to London and join the McGuigan stable where he is managed by former world champion Barry McGuigan and trained by the former world champion’s son, Shane. This move was, believes McTaggart, a wise decision by the young Scot and will ensure he gets sensible guidance throughout the course of his career, however long it transpires to be.
“He’s got a good manager and that’s the main thing,” McTaggart said. “Going to McGuigan has been a really good move for Josh because he’ll keep him right. If he’s doing anything wrong, Barry will tell him and he’ll also tell him when to chuck it. Barry will look after his money and he’ll look after him and that’s so important. What I really hope is that Josh doesn’t go on boxing all his life – that’s a danger for any boxer in the professional ranks. It’s such a hard game and it’s not easy money, that’s for sure.”
McTaggart is widely regarded as one of the greats of amateur boxing having won 610 of 634 amateur bouts, picking up Olympic gold and bronze, Commonwealth gold and silver and becoming European amateur champion in a career that spanned well over a decade. However, due to his National Service, McTaggart did not fight in Scotland until 1958, by which time he was Olympic champion. Taylor will have a vociferous Scottish crowd behind him tonight but McTaggart has cautioned his compatriot not to let the support change his game plan.
“Fighting in front of a home crowd makes it a hundred times better,” the Dundonian said. “When you’ve got a big crowd there and all those people behind you, it’s fantastic – there’s nothing like it. It’s very hard not to get carried away when you hear all those people cheering for you, but as soon as the bell goes your mind has to be on the fight, not on the crowd. You can still hear them shouting and that definitely encourages you but you need to be thinking about what you’re doing.”
With Ricky Burns’ career approaching its end, Scotland has been crying out for a successor and Taylor seems to fit the bill. It is, insists McTaggart, vital for boxing in this country that a Scot brings big fight nights to these shores and while McTaggart prefers to keep an eye on things from the comfort of his own living room rather than from ringside these days, the prospect of Taylor fighting for world titles in his home country is, he feels, just what the sport needs.
“I still really like watching all the Scottish boys and any time the fights are on television I always watch and take a real interest in what’s going on,” the 81 year-old said. “It’s great having some big boxing nights back in Scotland. It’s fantastic that Josh is coming through, that someone from the next generation is getting to that level. With Josh doing well, that’s keeping Scotland on the map and the longer he keeps winning, the longer we’ll stay on the map.”
McTaggart may be a huge supporter of Taylor but there is an even bigger supporter of the Prestonpans fighter in the McTaggart household.
“My wife loves Josh – she think he’s absolutely great and she’s a massive supporter of his,” he joked. “I’ll be watching tonight, though. And I really hope he can win a world title – that would be fantastic and it’d put him up there with guys like Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt – the greats of Scottish boxing.”
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