Josh Taylor beats Viktor Postol on points to set up world title fight

The Prestonpans ace, 27, won on points after a relentless display against the experienced 34-year-old Ukrainian. 

Although Postol was able to keep Taylor at bay for much of the earlier part of the fight, the WBC Silver super lightweight title holder finished strongly, flooring his opponent in the 10th and bossing the latter rounds to ultimately win by unanimous decision.

The fight was a final eliminator for the world title, meaning Taylor is now set to fight the winner of the bout between current champion American Jose Ramirez and Danny Connor, who meet on July 7 for the right to be called the champion of the world.

Postol came out aggressively in the first round but Taylor landed with a good left hand. A strong body shot from the composed Postol saw him in front at the bell.

Taylor came out firing in the second round with some good early shots, including a thumping right hook. A great round for the Scotsman ended with Taylor opening a cut over Postol’s eye.

Postol looked to respond aggressively in the third round before a powerful exchange of shots between the two fighters. Late in the round Taylor went on the aggressive, landing a big left hook on Postol just before the bell.

The fourth round began with a slip from Postol and Taylor getting the jab into play. The latter part of the round saw both continue to trade big shots but it was the Ukrainian who finished the round the stronger.

A hefty body shot from Taylor was a good start to round five for him but Postol continued to largely keep the Prestonpans man at range in a scrappy round.

Both fighters looked to get the body shots in early in the sixth round. Later in the round, however, Taylor managed to rattle his opponent with some powerful punches as he picked up the tempo.

Taylor looked to continue his momentum at the start of round seven, driving Postol back with some aggressive flurries. However, Postol came back aggressively in the latter part of the round and appeared to hurt Taylor with a couple of shots, opening up a cut above his right eye late on.

In contrast to the manic seventh round, round eight began cagily before Taylor finally managed to get Postol against the ropes and land a decent body shot. Postol, though, was able to connect with some strong body shots himself in a tight contest.

Taylor flew out of the corner in the ninth round as he tried to re-establish dominance, successfully connecting with some punishing blows, before Postol appeared to injure his back. Almost immediately afterwards Taylor landed a massive right in Postol’s face to rock the Ukrainian. Right at the bell, however, Postol connected with a huge counterpunch.

Taylor was again the more aggressive at the start of the 10th round, a strong body shot the highlight. The Prestonpans man continued to control the round, re-opening the cut above Postol’s eye. Then a huge left finally dropped Postol, who was given an eight count by the referee.

Sensing victory, Taylor was quickly in again as round 11 got under way, connecting with an uppercut as Postol tried to hold the home favourite to buy time to recover. A meaty left hook rattled the Ukrainian midway through the round, after which Postol went on the attack to try to turn the tide.

Both men were holding as the final round got under way before Taylor aggressively backed Postol into the corner with a flurry of shots as he seemed fresher than the 34-year-old veteran. A big clash of heads seemed to see Postol come off the worse as Taylor was relentless in his attacks. As the seconds ticked down, the pair continued to trade big shots.

As the final bell went, Taylor raised his first and was then lifted aloft by trainer Shane McGuigan, clearly confident he had won the fight.

That confidence was well-placed, as in the end he was comfortably ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

As the result was announced, Taylor showed great respect for his dogged opponent, going straight up to Postol and raising the Ukrainian’s arm to cheers from the crowd.

“It wasn’t easy at all, he was very awkward,” said Taylor afterwards. “It took me five or six rounds to really get going.

“Once I relaxed I started getting my shots off a bit better.

“I’m happy with my performance but I can perform a lot better.”