Josh Taylor made an emphatic statement in his first fight as a unified world champion, defending his WBA and IBF junior welterweight world titles with a first-round stoppage over mandatory challenger Apinun Khongsong from BT Studio at York Hall.
The time of the stoppage was 2:41, as Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) brutalized Khongsong (16-1, 13 KOs) with a left hand to the liver. He is now in line to face WBC/WBO world champion Jose Ramirez in early 2021 for the undisputed championship.
Taylor: “One hundred percent, I want Ramirez next. He’s a very good champion, unbeaten like myself, hungry, on top of his game. I thought the {Viktor} Postol fight, it wasn’t a very good performance at all. I do feel he can perform better than that given the circumstances. Again, I wasn’t impressed with what I’ve seen from him. Again, I want that fight now. I believe I’ll whoop his ass all day long.
“I’ve never seen anything from him that I haven’t seen before, so yeah, I want that fight as soon as possible. Obviously, I know the situation with {Ramirez’s WBO} mandatory, but hopefully, we can sort of get that worked out. I would like, for selfish and personal reasons, to get that fight next. I deserve it. I’ve been in big fight after big fight for my last four fights. Not ducked anyone. Never ducked a tournament like someone else. I’m game. I’ll fight the best whenever they want. To be honest, I would rather wait until the fans are back for that fight. It’s a huge fight. It’s one of the biggest fights at the minute for all the belts.”
Taylor said: “I hit him with the left hook and I felt it sink right in his body. I knew it was a good shot. People might think I’m talking nonsense but he’s probably the heaviest puncher I was in with as a professional.
“I felt the weight of his power so that switched me on and I took my time and was patient. I would have liked to show a bit more of what I was working on in the gym and what I have learned, but you don’t get paid overtime and I got him out of there straight away.”
There was also a win for former world champion Charlie Edwards (16-1, 6 KOs) on the card, as he won his bantamweight debut by defeating Kyle Williams (11-3, 3 KOs).
Edwards was in control throughout the majority of the fight, with the referee scoring it 99-91 in his favour after an impressive 10-round showing.
Edwards said: “I’ve not gone 12 rounds for 18 months, as I only had three rounds against Martinez, so I’ve been out of the ring in a long fight for a long time and I needed to shake off the ring rust.
“Flyweight killed me, I’m not a bantamweight just yet, and I’m going to be fighting at super-flyweight at world level. Kyle didn’t stop coming forward during all 10 rounds, and it was nice to get in there and fight a good opponent.”
Elsewhere on the bill, Jordan Flynn defeated Jamie Quinn to extend his unbeaten record to 2-0, but Davey Oliver Joyce came up short as he was stopped in the third round by Ionut Baluta.
In undercard bouts:
Bantamweight: Charlie Edwards (16-1, 6 KOs) PTS 10 Kyle Williams (11-3, 3 KOs). Referee Scorecard: 99-91. Former WBC flyweight world champion Edwards is now a bantamweight contender, as he outboxed noted spoiler Williams in the co-feature. Edwards moved up following his no contest against Julio Cesar Martinez last August, which ended after Martinez struck Edwards while he was on the canvas.
Junior Featherweight: Ionut Baluta (14-2, 3 KOs) TKO 3 Davey Oliver Joyce (12-2, 9 KOs). The year of the upset continues for Baluta, as the Romanian-born boxer-puncher bested former world champion TJ Doheny in March. Baluta knocked down Joyce with a left hook in the third round and unloaded with a follow-up combination, prompting referee Steve Gray to stop the fight.
Junior Middleweight: George Davey (3-0) PTS 4 Jeff Thomas (12-8-3, 1 KO). Referee Scorecard: 40-36.
Junior Welterweight Eithan James (4-0) PTS 4 Kris Pilkington (2-8-1). Referee Scorecard: 40-36.