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Josh Taylor out to prove he is the real deal against Viktor Postol

Josh Taylor

Undefeated Scottish hotshot Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor 12-0 (11) might have bitten off more than he can chew this weekend when he defenmds his WBC Silver junior welterweight title against once-beaten Ukrainian Viktor “The Iceman” Postol 29-1 (12) at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday night.

But that’s all part of the plan, according to his promoter Barry McGuigan of Cyclone Promotions.

“In order to get attention you have to perform, but you also have to perform against the right guy,” McGuigan told the Edinburgh Evening News. “That’s why we took this risk. “Postol is the number one contender in the world, Josh is number two. We didn’t have to fight this guy but we decided we would do it because we want to fight for the title and we want to fight for it as expeditiously as possible.

“That can only happen if you take risks and fight the best and that’s exactly what we’re doing. “There’s no b******t, no messing around, no frills. Taylor is all about substance. There is so much hype and spin in this business but Taylor is pure talent, the genuine article but he’s up against someone in Victor Postol who is also a genuine article.”

The 34-year-old Postol’s lone loss came to top three pound-for-pound level boxer Terence Crawford in 2016. Although he was outclassed, he did go the distance an even won a couple of rounds. His best win was his knockout victory over Lucas Matthysse, Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent, that gave him the WBC world title he would subsequently surrender to Crawford.

Taylor meanwhile had his breakthrough win last July when dominated and stopped highly-touted Ohara Davies in seven rounds to successfully defend his Commonwealth crown and annex the WBC Silver title.

“We never consider any defeats our opponents have because Josh is going to beat them all anyway,” said McGuigan. “I promise you, he’ll beat them all. However, this will be a severe test for him in every sense as this guy has a good chin, no-one has stopped him and only one man has beaten him and he’s up there as one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world right now.

“So we have a job on our hands on Saturday night – but Taylor will win. He has never failed to perform when the pressure is on. He is a lad who responds to a pressure-cooker scenario.

“This is the last obstacle he has to overcome to get a shot at a world title. Josh wants to win a world title, defend it multiple times and really make a name for himself but we need to get over this guy first.

“He’s no Ohara Davies. This guy is the real McCoy. We know it’s going to be 12 hard rounds, flat-out, but I believe Josh has the power to take this guy out.”

Sometimes you have to bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell.