God bless the World Boxing Super Series. In a crowded marketplace, where rival broadcasters in the United States are happy to throw huge money at less than stellar fights, tonight the two best super-lightweights in the world clash at the O2 arena in London.
Without the WBSS it is difficult to imagine that Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor would be facing each other in what is for both the first defence of their respective world titles. Both are unbeaten, both have shown few flaws, so much so that most will struggle to pick a winner with any great conviction.
To listen to both Prograis and Taylor embrace the concept this week has been a delight to behold.
Taylor, 28, admits he is a terrible loser, “even if I lose at a boardgame”, which is just as well as he hasn’t lost in the ring since the European Amateur Championships in Minsk in 2013.
He turned professional, with Shane McGuigan and his father Barry, after winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, making his debut in Texas, one of several of his early fights that took place on the undercards of his former training partner Carl Frampton.
“In my first year and a half I boxed on three world-title undercards,” Taylor said. “Being in the dressing room and being around Carl at that time was just excellent. I was just like a sponge, seeing how he coped with those occasions, the big events. Being around David Haye and George Groves (who were also trained by McGuigan), I was learning off these guys.
“I’d say 90 percent of my career has been under the radar. I went all over the place and won medals as an amateur, I won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi (in 2010) after only three years of boxing. I wasn’t getting any recognition. So suddenly getting a lot of recognition feels weird.
“I seem to have been in the underdog in all of my fights but I just keep shutting everybody up and proving them wrong.”
One of the problems with pick 'em fights is that they often develop into cagey affairs, with both boxers more obsessed with avoiding mistakes than taking the initiative. Not that either boxer has been contemplating an edgy affair.
“It’s supposed to be my toughest fight, but you never know how it is going to pan out,” Prograis said.
“I’ve always had 50-50 fights, but then I have been blowing them out. (Joel) Diaz, (Julius) Indongo, were supposed to be 50-50 fights. The same could be with him, I don’t think this is a 50-50 fight. I feel I am just going to blow him out.”
While Taylor has had fewer professional bouts, his have probably been tougher. Taylor dismissed Prograis as a boxer with a padded record “full of binmen” this week. But Prograis is not concerned about what he has in front of him.
“I feel like I have seen it all, if not in a fight, than in the gym,” Prograis said. “I boxed Errol Spence (twice as an amateur), I sparred with the Charlo twins a lot, probably 100 rounds each, I sparred with Austin Trout. I have been seeing that level for a long time, so that style is not going to trouble me at all.”
Prograis denied that he had trouble making weight, despite having to strip naked to make 140lb. Ten days ago, he admitted that his weight was around 157lb, taking that amount off in such a short time is a lot, however you look at it.
But for both, the journey doesn’t end here. Both are talking about a fight with Jose Ramirez, the WBC and WBO champion, if they win. People tend to sneer at belts these days, but boxers still tend to want them.
“My goal has always been to be undisputed,” Prograis said. “This is unification, so Jose Ramirez has the other two belts. My goal is to get all the belts in maybe two fights. But I am not going to go chasing them. If I can’t get them in two fights, maybe three, I will go up to 147.”
For Taylor, there is no talk about moving up, but plenty of thoughts about Ramirez.
“After Saturday I want to chase the Ramirez fight and really prove that I am No 1 in the division,” Taylor said. “That is definitely a goal after this fight.
“Ramirez was in the same draw as me at the Olympics (in 2012), in the same division as me at the World Championships (in 2011), so I have known about him for a long time, spoke to him a couple of times back when we were amateurs. He is a good fighter, he punches hard and has good timing, but I believe I can beat him.
“Regis is probably better, he has got a bit more variety about him, he moves his head more, moves his angles better, he has a bit more to his game.”
Ramirez is for another day, though. Prograis is a narrow favourite with the bookmakers and believes victory will propel him to superstardom.
“This is my launch pad,” Prograis said. “With all these belts on the table there is a sh*tload of money out there, but right now I just want to focus on Josh Taylor. You never want to get too far ahead of yourself.”
