Taylor destroys Davies in Glasgow

Josh Taylor completely outclassed Ohara Davies, stopping him in the seventh round of their Commonwealth and WBC Silver Super Lightweight Championship contest in Glasgow on Saturday night. For many, including myself, this was billed a 50-50 pick ’em but Taylor proved it was anything but as he dominated Davies in all aspects of the fight. It was believed Taylor had the slight edge in boxing skills but Davies possessed the heavier hands but the Edinburgh man proved from the outset that he was superior in all departments. He chose to meet Davies in the centre of the ring and easily won the trade offs whilst making his foe miss wildly with lunging, uncultured shots. Davies has an awkward style that seemed hard to figure out at first but Taylor solved the puzzle as early as the second round and drilled his opponent with unsettling body shots. Davies was just loading up for one big punch and was made to look foolish at times as Taylor turned on the style. Davies was hurt from body blows in round three and then a straight shot rocked him onto his heels before he took a knee, preventing himself taking any more damage. He rose and beat the count but it had finally dawned on him just how monumental the task in front of him was. Taylor, roared on by his home fans, continued to torture and toy with Davies through rounds four, five and six with blistering combinations to the head and body. I was sat near the Channel 5 commentators and I have to say it was appalling, they were calling shots for Davies that never landed and making out like he was in the fight when he never was, they should be ashamed of their commentary because I was listening to it. Taylor took near enough every right hand from Davies on the gloves and evaded every other attack with ease, he was never once hurt despite the proclamations of the TV "experts". Davies, to his credit, tried to mount an attack in round seven but walked straight onto a right hook which felled him hard, it was a peach of a shot. He rose but Taylor poured it on him and he turned his back, practically signalling he wanted no more and prompting the referee to stop the fight. Taylor was superb, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe this performance and he is ready for the world level now. Can Davies come again? Yes but he has a lot of work to do. His footwork was poor and his punches telegraphed, he needs to ditch the reality TV hangers on as well because they are nothing but parasites and maybe work on the overbearing, brash attitude. For Taylor it could be an all Scottish affair with Ricky Burns or an eliminator for a world title. Either way I was very fortunate to witness this coming out party and I believe we have a new star on our hands.

Jason Easton stopped Stephane Jamoye in the ninth round of a toe to toe, fight of the year contender. The fight began at a frenetic pace, both men went head to head and traded with bad intentions, and it was Jamoye who arguably was in front after the first two stanzas. Easton has a tendency to stand too upright and he ate far too many overhand rights from Jamoye but fortunately for him the Belgian did not carry enough power to force a dent in his opponent. Easton got behind his jab from round three and began to vary attacks from head to body but still stood in the pocket too much and absorbed too much punishment, the kind of which he cannot afford as he steps up in class. Jamoye continued on the front foot, he was not as effective going back, but in the sixth he was stunned by a left hook and looked out on his feet, only to answer back when forced onto the ropes. The defiance and heart of Jamoye, only stopped once before, was on show in round seven as he arguably took the round and rose to the challenge once more, pounding away to Easton’s head with huge right hands and refusing to wilt under the pressure and partisan crowd. The effort of round seven definitely emptied the tank, though, and Easton began to sap the energy of his foe with body blows from round eight. Jamoye deserves so much credit and I implore anyone to watch this fight if you didn’t live, ringside it was electric, but body shots had him sagged back on the ropes at the end of round nine and the referee, Michael Alexander, waved the contest off. Easton is definitely improving and can cause trouble domestically at 140lbs but he needs to work on his defense. Jamoye has campaigned at much lower weights previously and had plenty of success, that is something Easton’s camp will need to look at against better opponents.

Stephen Simmons picked up a comfortable six round disqualification win over Lukasz Rusiewicz. Simmons started well with his jab and footwork but will be disappointed he didn’t dispose of an opponent that was there for the taking. Simmons has aspirations of fighting for the British Cruiseweight belt and beyond but he’ll need to be more convincing in the future if he wishes to make a statement. Rusiewicz was tough and rugged, he was also deducted two points earlier for headbutts, but he didn’t get out of the first stanza with Lawrence Okolie so questions will be asked of Simmons’ power.

Former kickboxing champion Chantelle Cameron continued her undefeated foray into professional boxing with a fourth round stoppage of Bojana Libiszewska . She stunned her foe with a right hand straight from the opening bell and continued to walk her down from there on out. Libiszewska never regained her feet fully for the first two rounds but fought gamely as she tried to stem the onslaught from Cameron. Cameron was guilty of repetitiveness at times and needs to work on mixing up her style, her telegraphed blows allowed her Polish opponent to survive much longer than she should have. The referee or Libiszewska’s corner could and should have waved the fight off sooner than they did, the Pole sustained too much unnecessary damage. Cameron will need better tests than this.

Gary Rae maintained his undefeated record by defeating Luis Espinosa in a four round Super Bantamweight contest. The referee scored it a 40-36 shutout.

Iain Trotter defeated Borislav Zankov over four rounds. Trotter records his fourth straight victory in the professional ranks but didn’t have it all his own way against a tough Bulgarian opponent.

Aston Brown picked up a second career victory with a 40-36 victory over Konstantin Alexandrov. The Glaswegian Middleweight will have much tough fights than this but was good to get the rounds under his belt.

Coatbridge’s Gary Murray went 12-0 with a four round decision over Gergo Vari. The referee scored it a 40-36 shutout for the Super Welterweight prospect.