By Ian S Palmer
Canadian cruiserweight Denton Daley will be defending his North American Boxing Association (NABA) crown at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario against American Andres Taylor on Saturday, February 15. The 31-year-old Daley, who hails from the nearby city of Brampton, is currently ranked number seven in the world by the WBA (World Boxing Association) and is hoping to land a world title shot before the year is over.
Daley is unbeaten in his pro career so far with an 11-0 record along with six Kos. The 34-year-old Taylor from Johnstown, Pennsylvania and will enter the ring with a record of 21-5-2 with eight Kos to his name. Taylor is the more experienced of the two and the challenger had quite an extensive amateur career which he capped off with a Golden Gloves title in 2006. The challenger’s been struggling lately though as he’s lost four of his last five contests including the last three in a row.
Don MacDonald of United Boxing Promotions said this will be a step up in class for Daley as Taylor’s a legitimate contender for his title. He believes a win for Daley should vault him into the WBA’s top five. The promoter added that he’s not interested in sending Daley into the ring with inferior opponents just to pad his unbeaten record. Taylor fought for the vacant NABF crown and the USBA Cruiserweight Championship in 2012, but was stopped in the 12th and final round by champion Garrett Wilson.
Denis Lebedev of Russia is the current WBA Cruiserweight Champion and it’s believed if Daley gets by Taylor then he could meet third-ranked Grigory Drozod of Russia in a title eliminator. The 34-year-old Drozod currently has a mark of 37-1 with 26 Kos and is the European champion. The bout against Taylor will be Daley’s second title defense. He won the belt in June at the Hershey Centre when 29-year-old Faisal Ibnel Arrami of France couldn’t continue after the fourth round because of a shoulder injury.
Daley defended the crown for the first time last November at Casino Rama in Ontario by a unanimous 10-round decision against 32-year-old Jean Marc Monrose, the current French cruiserweight champion. The Canadian also won the NABF Cruiserweight Title last March with a unanimous decision over American Richard Hall, but gave it up to concentrate on the NABA belt. Daley turned pro back in 2010 and has fought all of his bouts in his home province of Ontario.
The champion didn’t start boxing until 2007 and won 19 of his 22 amateur bouts along with a silver medal at the Canadian Nationals. Taylor turned pro in 2008 and has been stopped just once in his five losses. He’s got a decent chin and that’s going to be a big factor against Daley, who has quite a bit more power than Taylor. The age and size advantages also go to Daley as he stands 6-feet2 while Taylor is 6-feet even.
Daley has the hometown fans on his side here and he’s also got slight advantages in most other departments. Taylor’s got some good boxing skills, but not much in the way of power. He may also be lacking in confidence due to his current losing skid. Look for Daley to apply the pressure from the opening bell and to try to finish Taylor off if he gets him in trouble. Since Taylor’s got a pretty good chin he could go the 12-round distance, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Daley stopped him late in the fight. Either way, Daley should retain his title here.
