Team Taylor ready for Williams

By Paul Upham: Roy Alexander, the new trainer of Australia’s Shannan Taylor, is very confident that the UK will see the very best of the “Blaster” on Saturday night when he faces Commonwealth light-middleweight champion Richard “The Secret” Williams, 14-1 (12), at York Hall in Bethnal Green for the IBO junior middleweight title. “He’s been training every day twice a day and he’s excited. He can’t wait to get into the ring. He wishes it was yesterday,” said Roy Alexander, from his hotel room in London. “We have a press conference today and Sky Sports and another newspaper are coming over later for interviews. Shannan is enjoying it.”

Looking through the record of Williams, he is really moving up in class against Taylor and Alexander is not sure that he has the talent to match the Australian. “It is a big step-up for him. Is he ready to take it? Has he really got what they think he’s got over here, which I don’t think he has,” said Alexander.

“Our plan is to move him around and see what he has got early and then after about two rounds Shannan will really start opening up.”

“Shannan asked me if he should knock him out in one round. What’s the point of that? We are here to do 12 rounds. If the opportunity comes to knock him out early, yes, knock him out. But I don’t want Shannan pushing himself trying to knock him out because that’s when he leaves himself open for mistakes and the two times he’s been beaten it’s been from mistakes.”

Coming off two losses this year to WBC welterweight champion Sugar Shane Mosley in March in Las Vegas and then unexpectedly beaten by fellow Australian Julian Holland in August in Sydney in a local grudge match, Taylor, 29-2-1 (19), has moved up to junior middleweight after having to starve himself to make weight in his last few fights.

Taylor, 29, realises the importance of this fight and returned to his old training ways in the gym in preparation for Williams. Another loss would be disastrous for Taylor and Alexander says that his boxer realises the importance of the fight.

“He knows that if he loses this he’s finished. What’s left for him?” asked Alexander.

“This fight is to get him back in the WBC ratings and the other world bodies at junior middleweight. I’ve got plans for him after this fight to go to the USA and at the end of that rainbow we would face De Le Hoya. That is the goal.

“He knows how important this fight is. I don’t want to put any more pressure on him, but he knows deep down. We’ve got three or four plans for this fight and we are very confident.”


Paul Upham
Contributing Editor