By Ian S Palmer
The WBC Silver Super Lightweight Title is on the line at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland this Saturday, June 23rd as unbeaten Josh Taylor of Edinburgh defends it against on Ukraine’s Viktor Postol. Taylor last fought in March when he stopped Winston Campos in the third round while Postol’s last bout was in September when he beat Jamshidbek Najmiddinov by a 10-round unanimous decision. Postol has been pretty inactive recently as this is just his sixth fight in five years. Postol’s a former WBC Junior Welterweight Champion.
The 34-year-old Postol has a fine record of 29-1 along with 12 Kos. His only defeat came in a title unification bout with Terence Crawford in July of 2016 when he dropped a unanimous decision. Postol had beaten Lucas Matthysse of Argentina for the vacant WBC title by a 10th-round stoppage in October, 2015. Postol is regarded as a fine boxer who throws his punches in bunches. He’s fought mainly in Ukraine and took a huge step up in class when he beat Matthysse.
Postol originally made a name for himself in the U.S. back in May of 2014 when he beat Selcuk Aydin by outboxing him all night long and then stopping him in the 11th round. It was the first time Aydin never made it the distance in 28 contests. Postol proved that stoppage wasn’t a flash in the pan though with his stoppage of Matthysse, but then ran into one of the best when he met Crawford. Postol’s power could be underrated as his knockout ratio is just 40 per cent, but he has a relatively heavy punch.
Postol stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a reach of 73.5 inches. He enjoyed an excellent amateur career with more than 300 bouts and is as technically sound as they come. He possesses better-than-average defensive qualities and is quite mobile in the ring. Postol has boxed 232 rounds since turning pro back in 2007. he’s also beaten Hank Lundy, DeMarcus Corley and Yvan Mendy, but his relative inactivity won’t do him any favours.
The 27-year-old Taylor is a southpaw who owns a perfect record of 12-0 along with 11 Kos. It’s obvious he has quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 92 per cent. He turned pro back in 2015 and has just 24 rounds under his belt since then. He’s an inch shorter than Postol at 5-foot-10 and has a 69.5-inch reach, which means he gives up four inches to Postol in that department. His biggest wins have been over Campos, Miguel Vazquez and Ohara Davies.
Taylor has fought mainly in the UK with a couple of bouts in America. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 in the lightweight division and went 1-1 at the 2012 Olympics in London. He then won a gold medal at the 2012 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Taylor has adapted well to the pro game and has surprised many opponents with his power.
Prediction……
This is a big test for Taylor as Postol is a polished and experienced boxer who went the distance with Terence Crawford and stopped Lucas Matthysse. It’s a hometown fight for Taylor more or less, but he’ll need to be at his absolute best to pull out a win here.
