Taylor made for Australian welterweight showdown

July 25, 2001 - By Paul Upham: Australia's two finest welterweights, WBC No.8 Shannan Taylor and WBA No.11 Julian Holland will finally meet on Friday August 17 at the Octagon, Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, headlining Kieran O'Connor's next promotion. "My mind is back. I haven't felt like this in many years," said Taylor, 29-1-1 (21), who is back on track after his March 10 loss to Sugar Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.

Taylor won his first return bout on July 13 with a first round knockout of the No.1 rated Filipino welterweight Narberto Bado.

"Julian Holland is a good little fighter and I want the fight more than anything because he has called me out for the fight many times and I have accepted it four different times. Julian Holland is going to go the same way as Bado, I promise you. He is in the way of me facing Jan Bergman in September and then I want IBF champion Vernon Forrest," said Taylor.

"I'm telling you that Julian Holland is going to be a tough fight. Don't think that I am going to be underestimating him. I'm going to be training very hard for this fight because I have got something to prove. I know I can destroy Julian Holland. I have to make sure my body is in perfect condition so I can do the right job on him."

Taylor has been sparring with fighters bigger than himself over the last two months and has tremendous strength for a welterweight. "I am hungrier than ever. I want to win the Australian welterweight and Commonwealth titles and then the world title," said Taylor.

Trainer Jeff Fenech was impressed with Taylor's preparation and performance for his return fight and feels that Julian Holland, 26-2-1 (16), has made a big mistake taking a fight with the "Bulli Blaster". "Shannan is by far the classiest Australian boxer we have at the moment,” he said.

“Obviously, Kostya Tszyu is leading the way on the international scene, but here in Australia, Shannan Taylor is a class above anyone else in his weight division. I am a great fan of Julian Holland and a friend of his, but I think he has made a big mistake taking a fight with Shannan Taylor," said Fenech.

Tickets are selling fast for this card and can be purchased through the Spectacular Group on (61 2) 9212 6639.

After his win over Bado, Taylor gave the shorts that he wore in his fight with Mosley to new promoter Kieran O'Connor, who is trying to bring boxing to back into main stream sport in Australia by scheduling monthly shows and featuring the best fighters in Australia. "What he is doing for Australian boxing along with Jeff Fenech is just tremendous," said Taylor.