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Ezra Taylor remains undefeated in first fight with Deontay Wilder trainer
NOTTINGHAM, England - Ezra Taylor remains undefeated after beating Troy Jones in his home city of Nottingham.
In his first fight under Malik Scott, the trainer of former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, Taylor was looking to put on a show and the crowd were ready for one as they roared him to the ring at the Motorpoint Arena.
But now it was a question as to whether Taylor could keep the emotions of fighting in front of his large fanbase in check.
Taylor threw a right to the head in the opening stages of the first as he looked to establish his punching power early. Jones looked to negate the opportunities Taylor had to throw shots and smothered him in the ropes with just over a minute remaining. Taylor got through with a left uppercut in the final 20 seconds, but Jones kept on coming.
Jones targeted the body in the second with a left to Taylor’s body finding its target. While Taylor ducked and weaved to find an opening, one did not present itself and instead the two gave menacing glares at the round’s end.
The third saw Taylor thump Jones with a right hook, and while it did not put the latter on shaky legs, shots like that from the Nottingham fighter would bring this contest to an early end.
A straight left from Jones in round four gave his supporters, despite there being only a few, some encouragement. Taylor meanwhile looked to walk his opponent down. Taylor started to let his hands go in the final 10 seconds which would have provided some confidence to trade down the line.
Taylor’s left hand connected clean with Taylor’s right jaw during the first minute of the fifth and then a Taylor left hook landed. With the hometown fighter in the ascendancy, it was up to Jones to reply with his punches of his own, but every time he opened up, a Taylor left hook would greet him.
With 30 seconds remaining in round six, Jones had Taylor on the ropes. Following an intervention from the referee, the two traded once again with Taylor finishing the exchange with his favoured left hook.
The signs of battle were appearing on Jones’ face as Taylor continued to club him with left hooks in the seventh. Taylor’s speed and power was in full effect, the punches which he was throwing were lightening quick. Jones on the other hand decided to back Taylor into the corner in the final minute of the session with his assault prompting cries of support from the Nottingham crowd for Taylor who withstood the assault.
Taylor went on the offensive in round eight. A jab, right uppercut then left hook shook Jones, the stoppage never came as he managed to stay in the fight. However, with the crowd making plenty of noise, this contest was in for an exciting finish.
A quiet ninth sprung into life with a few seconds to go. A Taylor right hand stunned Jones, but he was quick to reply, and the bell unfortunately stopped a brief exchange which was set to catch alight.
A Taylor right hand in the tenth bounced off Jones’ head at the minute as he looked to get his shots flowing. With blood dripping down his face, Jones needed to come forward and unsettle Taylor. However, his power made Jones tentative, and this allowed Taylor to step on the gas. Left-right hands aplenty, Taylor hunted for the stoppage before the final bell signalled the end of this enjoyable domestic matchup.
The judges scored the fight 97-94, 100-90 and 99-91 in Taylor's favour, and the signs are there of a fighter confident with his own punching power.
This relationship with between Taylor and Scott could be an exciting one, and if the 30-year-old can produce a viral knockout moment in the not too distant future, he will fast become a major British boxing star.
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