Tag: barry mcguigan

Josh Taylor on boxing’s new waiting game: ‘It’s really frustrating’

A frustrated Josh Taylor, whose career was soaring, must now wait with his boxing brethren for the opportunity to get back into the ring.

The titles are new. The contract is new. The trainer is new. It’s a brand new life for Josh Taylor, but it’ll have to wait a while. Coronavirus has put the world on hold, including the one that Taylor hopes to unify.

Taylor’s first title defense has fallen into a familiar category. His junior welterweight bout against challenger Apinun Khonsong, scheduled for May 2 in Glasgow, Scotland, has been postponed. But don’t make any plans. There’s no new date and there’s no idea when there might be one. Taylor must feel like he has a winning ticket, yet the lottery offices are closed and nobody knows when they’ll re-open.

“That’s the way it goes,’’ Taylor told his hometown newspaper, the Evening News in Edinburgh. “It’s completely out of my control, so it’s something you’ve just got to accept. Everything happens for a reason. So it might work out for the better when I fight him at a later date.’’

Taylor has been training in Las Vegas for his first fight since he added a second 140-pound belt with a decision over Regis Prograis on Oct. 26 in London. He signed with Top Rank after the dramatic victory. He left promoter Barry McGuigan and trainer Shane McGuigan in a controversial move. Then he hired Ben Davison, Tyson Fury’s former trainer.

It looked as if all the moves had been made. The table was set for an eventual bout against Jose Ramirez for all the pieces to the world’s 140-pound title. But the eventual end of coronavirus is nowhere in sight.

“We’ve never experienced this kind of situation before, so we’ve just got to sit tight and follow the guidelines,’’ Taylor said. “I’d been sitting watching all the boxing shows scheduled for the next month or two being postponed. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when the call finally came through to tell me it was off.’’

Taylor, who got the news Tuesday, is hoping for a new date in July. Then again, so are a lot of other fighters.

“I’ve spent a lot of money on this training camp coming out to Vegas,’’ Taylor said. “… So it’s really frustrating. I’ve been in camp for quite a few weeks now, and although there is no alternative date yet, I would hope the fight could maybe be rescheduled for July or something like that.

“I’ll keep training in the gym and hopefully it’s not too long before I’m back in the ring.”

Only the waiting will get old.

Josh Taylor: ‘I wasn’t happy’ with former handlers

Taylor said that he was simply doing what was best for his career when he decided to leave Cyclone Promotions and his trainer.

Junior welterweight titleholder Josh Taylor wants to move on from his from his former promoter and trainer, let bygones be bygones. But not before slipping in the final word.

The Scotsman recently signed a new pact with American outfit Top Rank, which didn’t go over well with longtime handlers Barry McGuigan of Cyclone Promotions and his son and trainer Shane. The elder McGuigan hinted at a possible lawsuit against his former client, while Taylor insists he was free to leave and that he was transparent. 

Taylor (16-0 12 KOs) said in a recent interview that he regrets any hard feelings and that he was simply doing what was best for his career. With Top Rank, Taylor now has a major promotional force behind him and a clear line toward unifying junior welterweight titles against Jose Ramirez later this year. Also waiting in the wings at welterweight is a shot at Top Rank-promoted titleholder Terence Crawford.

At the same time, Taylor was quick to point out that he “just wasn’t happy” with Team McGuigan.

“There were a lot things behind the scenes that was going on that I wasn’t happy with for a long time,” Taylor told Boxing Social. “So I took it in my hands. I’m going to move management and promoter. … I’ve done that all the right way.”

Shane McGuigan recently expressed his disappointment in Taylor, saying “I’m annoyed that I’ve invested 4½ years of my time and energy in someone who just doesn’t deserve it.”

Taylor responded to his ex-trainer’s comments.

“I’m getting a lot of stick that I dumped Shane and all that,” Taylor continued. “He said he’s put in the time and the effort, and he has, but he’s been paid for that time and paid for that effort. It’s not as if he’s done that out of the goodness of his heart.

“[Shane McGuigan said] ‘You want loyalty? Buy a dog?’ I thought that comment was unfair. The whole time I was with him, I showed nothing but loyalty and commitment to them.”

Taylor added that he was particularly displeased with the way Shane McGuigan would leave him out of the loop when it came to training camps that involved the trainer’s other fighters, such as British lightweight contender Luke Campbell.

“They ran away to Miami before the (Ivan) Baranchyk fight, the whole team,” Taylor said. “They never asked me to go. You know, I’d love to have been over there. … Before the [Regis] Prograis fight, Luke had the fight in Philly and again they all went to Philly and never even asked me. Again, It was maybe 12 weeks out, but I could’ve been there in the background, staying out of everyone else’s way … and never even got to go. And they didn’t even have the decency to get me a gym key to get in — the (McGuigan) gym in London — so I had to go to other gyms to train. I just thought that was unfair.”

Still, Taylor expressed gratitude toward his former team.

“I just want to say thank you to them,” he said. “They got me great matches. Of course, I was thankful to them. I’d be an idiot or a spoiled brat if I wasn’t.”

Taylor is scheduled to face mandatory challenger Apinum Khongsong, in a bout that will be promoted by Khongsong’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. The date and place have yet to be determined.

Follow Sean Nam on Twitter at @seanpasbon

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Josh Taylor says he terminated contract with Cyclone over breaches

Josh Taylor thinking big, sets his sights on Terence Crawford

Sampson Boxing wins right to promote Josh Taylor’s mandatory title defense

Josh Taylor’s ex-trainer: ‘my heart sank’

Shane McGuigan has confirmed that he will no longer be training Josh Taylor, who recently signed with Top Rank.

Hard feelings are left in the wake of Josh Taylor’s jump to Top Rank in a split with promoter Barry McGuigan and his son, trainer Shane McGuigan.

Shane McGuigan says he could never continue to work Taylor’s corner because of the way the junior-welterweight champion left Cyclone Promotions, his father’s company.

“My dad matched him impeccably and built him up and I feel it is not right to do it that way,’’ Shane McGuigan told Boxing Social. “I would not continue to train somebody who has done that to someone so close to me.

“We had such a great thing going, lots of big wins and achievements. So, I felt it was not fair for that person to be cut out so myself and Josh will no longer be working together.”

Taylor, who signed with Top Rank on Jan. 9, has yet to decide on a new trainer. He is expected to make a mandatory title defense against Apinum Khongsong of Thailand within the next three months.

Shane McGuigan said he was stunned by Taylor’s deal with Top Rank, a move that put him closer to a fight for the undisputed 140-pound title against Jose Ramirez.

“It was a pretty big shock,’’ Shane said. “I did not see anything coming, and as soon as I heard it, my heart sank mainly because of the effort and time we had personally put in for Josh. We had managed and trained him impeccably, inside 16 fights he was unified world champion.

“If he had been a year into his career then fine, no problem. And if he had called me and talked to everyone and done it the right way, then that would have been fine. But not that way, after four-and-a-half years and all the achievements.’’

Josh Taylor says he terminated contract with Cyclone over ‘breaches’

Josh Taylor said he was able to sign with Top Rank because he terminated his contract with Cyclone Promotions over ‘breaches.’

In a day full of dueling statements, Josh Taylor got the last word.

Taylor delivered Thursday’s final punctuation point, countering Barry McGuigan, who responded to news of Taylor’s Top Rank deal with a statement that said the Scottish junior welterweight was still under contract to McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions.

Taylor responded on social media with his own statement, saying that he had ended his deal with Cyclone three weeks ago.

“I wanted to stay respectfully silent about my relationship with Cyclone but given they have released a statement, it is only proper that I respond,” Taylor said. “While I acknowledge and appreciate the role that Cyclone has played in my career to date, three weeks ago I terminated my promotional agreement with Cyclone as a result of various breaches of contract including, in particular, breaches relating to a conflict of interest on the part of the promoter.

“That allowed me to search for a new promoter, which I have found in Top Rank. I wanted to part ways amicably and without resorting to court proceedings (and) I thought and hoped the McGuigans would feel the same way given the litigation they are involved in with other fighters.

“I hope all of us can now move on in a positive way concentrating on things which advance us all.”

It wasn’t clear whether McGuigan, a former featherweight champion from Northern Ireland, plans to go to court against Taylor. McGuigan has been in court with former featherweight champion Carl Frampton, who split with Cyclone and is now recovering from hand surgery in the hopes of facing junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring.

The split with Cyclone likely means that Taylor will have to find a new trainer. His trainer since 2014 has been Shane McGuigan, Barry’s son.

Josh Taylor, thinking big, sets his sights on Terence Crawford

Josh Taylor wants to unify the 140-pound titles against Jose Ramirez and then move up to 147 and face Terence Crawford.

First, Jose Ramirez. Then, Terence Crawford.

That’s a bold plan, but Josh Taylor’s move to Top Rank has emboldened the Scottish fighter.

Taylor, who announced a multi-year deal with Top Rank on Thursday, told his hometown newspaper that Crawford has always been somebody he has wanted to fight.

“It’s been an ambition of mine to fight him for a long time,” Taylor told the Evening Edinburgh News

Taylor might be getting a little bit ahead of himself. Crawford, ranked first or second in the various pound-for-pound ratings, is a welterweight. Taylor is at junior welter and is expected to face Ramirez later in the year for all of the significant belts at 140 pounds. First, Ramirez has to beat Viktor Postol Feb. 2 in China on ESPN.

If, as expected, Ramirez beats Postol, then Taylor faces a challenge as daunting as the one he wants against Crawford. Taylor-Ramirez looks to be a pick-em fight. But Taylor is nothing if not confident. His fearlessness is a reason Top Rank signed him. His long-term ambitions also might be welcome news to Crawford, who is looking for a well-known name with proven talent who can silence the critics who dismiss the quality of his opposition

That name might be Taylor. Might be Ramirez.

“We both now operate under the same banner so there’s no reason for boxing politics to get involved,” said Taylor, referring to Crawford. “If I move up to 147 pounds, then that fight with Crawford should be easily made. The only negotiating that would need to happen would be if it is going to be here or in America.‘’

A more immediate task for Taylor is to find a new trainer. In leaving Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions, it’s expected that Taylor will also leave trainer Shane McGuigan, Barry’s son.

Josh Taylor’s new promoter, Bob Arum, wants to make him ‘international star’

Titleholder Josh Taylor of Scotland has signed with Top Rank, but Cyclone Promotions says he’s already under contract.

A 140-pound title-unification fight just became more likely.

Junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor of Scotland has signed a contract with Top Rank, Bob Arum and Taylor said Thursday in a joint announcement.

The multi-year deal is expected to lead to a 140-pound unification fight with Jose Ramirez, also a Top Rank fighter.

“A new year, a new decade with lots of new beginnings, and I’m starting this new decade with a big bang,” said Taylor, who beat Regis Prograis for two of the junior welterweight titles in a Fight of the Year contender Oct. 26 in the U.K. “2019 was a huge year for me, but 2020 looks set to be even bigger and I’m delighted to have signed a deal with Top Rank and ESPN and an advisory contract with MTK Global.’’

Controversy with Taylor’s Top Rank deal looms, however. Promoter Barry McGuigan immediately responded to the announcement, saying in a statement that Taylor is already under contract.

“We are very disappointed to read the news today that Josh Taylor has signed a promotional agreement with another promotional company,” McGuigan said in statement released to the U.K.’s The Mirror.  “Josh Taylor is under an exclusive worldwide promotional contract with Cyclone Promotions.

“We have successfully brought Josh to the pinnacle of the sport from the day that he turned professional, including working alongside other stakeholders in boxing to deliver him the biggest fights.’’

Meanwhile, Arum called Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) a fight fan’s fighter, fearless and willing to take on anybody.

“Whether it’s Jose Ramirez in a fight for the undisputed junior welterweight title or any of the welterweights out there, he’s ready for the biggest challenges,’’ Arum said. “I want to thank Josh’s advisors at MTK Global, who have the same goal as us, which is to make him an international star.”