Josh Taylor impressed Regis Prograis by beating Ivan Baranchyk so convincingly five months ago.
Prograis figured Taylor would beat Baranchyk in the World Boxing Super Series semifinals, just not as soundly as he did. Prograis’ style doesn’t at all resemble Baranchyk’s approach, but the powerful southpaw still gave Taylor credit for how he advanced to their bout by beating a strong, right-handed opponent.
Scotland’s Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs) knocked down Russia’s Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) twice in the sixth round on his way to winning a 12-round unanimous decision May 18 at SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Judge Levi Martinez scored nine of those 12 rounds for Taylor (117-109), whereas judges Jerome Lades and Joerg Milke each scored seven rounds for him (115-111, 115-111).
Taylor’s victory secured his spot in the WBSS 140-pound championship match against Prograis on Saturday night at O2 Arena in London.
“He impressed,” Prograis told BoxingScene.com. “I think he beat Baranchyk at his own game. But Baranchyk, he’s wild. He’s a wild swinger. He’s a real good fighter, and he’s strong, of course. But he’s wild and he doesn’t have much defense. I think Taylor capitalized on that. He caught him a lot. I think he caught him a lot between his shots.
“A lot of the big, wild punches that Baranchyk was throwing, Taylor, he was a little quicker and he caught him in between his shots. That’s actually how Baranchyk got dropped. He just dropped him because Baranchyk was telegraphing his punches and he was showing everything he was doing. And that’s how he dropped him, because he caught him right in between his punches.”
New Orleans’ Prograis won his WBSS seminfinal even more definitively than Taylor. The Houston resident beat up and stopped Belarus’ Kiryl Relikh in the sixth round of their April 27 bout at Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Prograis won the WBA super welterweight title from Relikh (23-3, 19 KOs).
Handicappers have made Prograis a slight favorite over Taylor in a fight DAZN will stream in the United States and Sky Sports Box Office will offer in the United Kingdom.
DAZN’s coverage is set to start Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT. Sky Sports Box Office’s telecast will begin at 7 p.m. BST and costs £19.95 to view in HD.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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