Josh Taylor claimed to be “sick of the sight” of opponent Regis Prograis as the Scotsman steps up for the test of his career and the opportunity to rubber-stamp his standing as the bona fide No 1 fighter in the light-welterweight division on Saturday night in a potentially thrilling contest against his equally strident opponent from the USA.
The fight will be won on the margins. Taylor, 28, is the taller, longer man, but this is a genuine 50/50 contest between two unbeaten world champions approaching the prime of their careers, both boxers having mastered every challenge presented them thus far in their careers.
Prograis, 30, arguably, has the greater equalising power, yet Taylor has shown a pair of whiskers and an ability to counter attack with spite against every opponent.
There are huge spoils for the victor, notably the No 1 position in the 140lb division, the Ring Magazine belt, and moreover, the Muhammad Ali Trophy, as the winner of the World Boxing Super Series, which pulled the eight fighters together for this tournament.
That has been one of the mouth-watering prospects as the tournament played out, with both men expected to face each other in this final. Prograis – record 24-0 with twenty knockouts – from New Orleans, complete with his harrowing tale of escaping Hurricane Katrina as a teenager and Taylor – with an unblemished 15-0 career with twelve knockouts – have been in confrontational mode throughout the build-up before their clash at The O2 in London.
“Josh is the best in the world – apart from me,” said Prograis, the WBA ‘Super’ World Champion and WBC ‘Diamond’ Champion. “He’s taller, he’s longer. Does he hit harder? Maybe, maybe not. Is he faster? Maybe, maybe not. Better chin? Maybe, maybe not. The tale of the tape never matters. What matters is heart and boxing IQ, and mine is so high. That will be the difference. We are here for the belts, the trophy, the money. But the main thing for me is to prove I’m the best.”
Prograis – known as ‘Rougarou’, meaning ‘Bogeyman’ – says he has seen cracks in the armour of ’The Tartan Tornado’. “He gets hit. Josh has been hurt against Ivan Baranchyk and Viktor Postol who aren’t punchers like me. They’re not sharp, crisp like me, they don’t have the timing that I do. I can potentially stop him. I know he gets hit a lot. Baranchyk hit him with a lot of clean punches. I’m more accurate and I have more power. I feel I can definitely catch him and I can stop him then. I feel I can beat him either way.”
Taylor, the IBF world champion and WBC ‘Silver’ champion, is equally confident in his abilities. “I don’t think he does anything better than me. I just want to get there and get it done now. I 100 per cent believe I can knock him out. He is a good fighter, but his 24 wins have come against nobodies, none of them have been in there to hurt him or rip the belt away from him. I am. I’m in fight mode, and I’m sick of the sight of him.”
Kalle Sauerland, Chief Boxing Officer of the World Boxing Super Series, which developed winners Oleksandr Usyk, at cruiserweight, and Callum Smith, at super middleweight last year, revealed on Friday that Liverpudlian Smith will present the trophy. “This is the caviar of boxing,” explained Sauerland. “Both finalists fought the best to be in this final.”
On the undercard, Dereck Chisora meets late replacement David Price in an enticing heavyweight clash, former world champions Ricky Burns and Lee Selby are matched in an intriguing lightweight contest, and undefeated Lawrence Okolie looks to rubber stamp the ‘Triple Crown’ by adding the European cruiserweight title to the British and Commonwealth belts he has already won against unbeaten Belgian Yves Ngabu.