Saturday 8 July 2017 23:42, UK
Josh Taylor is the new WBC Silver super-lightweight title holder after a seventh-round technical knockout victory over fellow Briton Ohara Davies at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow on Saturday.
The Southpaw Scot also defended his Commonwealth light welterweight title with the win and registered his 10th straight professional career victory, inflicting Davies' first ever loss.
The fight started with a cagey and fairly even opening round as both fighters eased their way into the contest, but Taylor found his range in the second after connecting with two right hooks and did not let up for the rest of the bout.
Taylor aimed sustained attacks to the body of Davies but, in doing so, walked into a couple of shots from the powerful Londoner in an exciting opening.
Davies' unusual and slightly awkward stance made it difficult for Taylor to find his rhythm early on and the fascinating early battle for supremacy extended into the third round as the pair stood and traded, but it was the Tartan Tornado who was sharper with his shots.
Taylor unloaded a flurry of neat punches towards the close of the third, and after punishing Ohara with more body shots, a solid jab from the Scot knocked Two Tanks to the canvas with seconds left of the round.
Davies did well to compose himself and work his way back into the fight over the next couple of rounds and, for all the hurt he suffered, he remained in there fighting.
The fifth round proved Ohara's strongest as Taylor appeared overconfident and as a result, the volume of punches thrown by Davies increased exponentially.
With 50 seconds of the fifth round remaining, momentum swung back in Taylor's favour as he caught Davies with two big uppercuts and left him unsteady on his feet.
In the sixth, with Davies unable to establish his jab at all, more excellent body work by Taylor up close saw him connect with two right hooks and a further right to the body. But Davies responded with a strong uppercut of his own, closing out the round on top as he appeared to hurt the Scot.
As a result, Davies came out re-energised at the start of the seventh after his promising finish to the sixth, taunting and talking to Taylor.
A huge right hook from Taylor knocked Davies down for the second time, however, and Davies turned away as Taylor came in for more before referee Howard Foster stepped in to stop the contest.
