Josh Taylor versus Ramirez, Prograis II, Lopez.

I’ll say one thing about Taylor that his absolutely criticial in his upcoming fight against Ramirez: he needs to be the matador and box, and continually keep it long, to dominate Ramirez and have an easy-ish night. I’m the only guy I’ve seen who is critical of Taylor for pressing in and engaging way too much. He’s 5ft 10”, has good movement/mobility, and can box when wants to, but sacrifices his height and reach and operates like a guy who fights inside because he must.

Going into the Prograis fight, I laughed when I read the opinions of those who said that he should keep it long. Never in a million years could Taylor have won that fight if he’d kept it long in and out-and-out boxing match, for one basic fundamental reason: he isn’t consistent enough behind his jab at long-range (he paws with it as a range-finder too much to get inside). Prograis’ jab is busier, and has more behind it, even though he doesn’t have Taylor’s mobility. But, because Taylor was the taller guy, this fooled into thinking he was the boxer going into the fight. Not even a maybe. Sure, during the fight he had spots when he did fine at long-range, but when he shrunk the distance and upped the tempo as he pressed in on Prograis, his compact punches on the inside were more telling, and this was what he needed to nullify Prograis and land on him with authority. At long-range, Prograis was harder to time with his constant upper body and head movement because he could see everything coming from far out. It was a pipe dream that Taylor was going to outbox Prograis.

Anyway, back to the Ramirez fight. I’ll predict something that might surprise a few. And before I get to that prediction, consider this: Taylor is more athletic than Postol, has quicker feet and faster hands. And on top of that, is more offensively dynamic, especially with his combinations. Now, Ramirez isn’t exactly quick at closing the distance on his opponents; hence why he had so much trouble with Postol in his last night, and Zepeda before that. Cutting the ring off was a problem much of the time. He’s what I’d call a steady pressure fighter. The more stationary his opponent is, the easier it is for him to be effective. If Taylor has his boxing head on, and can limit himself to going inside for only raiding tactics (drop inside, win the exchange, then get out), with a little bit of improvement on his jab, I think he can beat Ramirez conclusively, to the point of almost shutting him out on the cards.

 

“In theory if Taylor can hold off Baranchyk in trying to close and pressure, Ramirez should be easier.”

But he never; hence why it was a 7-5 kinda fight. Taylor held his ground too often and took too many punches. Never operated a hit and not get hit approach enough of the time. He held Baranchyk off at times, but threw a lot of his defense away to achieve it. Harder fight than it should’ve been.

“I still believe Taylor has to stay true to himself and wage a smart war on Ramirez by using movement to break Ramirez rhythm and frustrate him, while still fighting his fight as I have no doubt Taylor can beat Ramirez inside. Taylor lacks the versatility in his jab, and IMHO a good straight left hand to pull of the role of the boxer. I've always felt Taylor looks more comfortable pressuring his opponent, closing distance and working close.”

Not even a maybe. Taylor pressing in far too much and being comfortable at close quarters is a habitual problem more than anything else. I’m not saying he can’t beat Ramirez in a inside war, but he just taxes himself physically and makes things tenfold more difficult if he goes down that route. And regards to his jab, he can improve on it a bit. Agreed. He looks more comfortable pressuring his opponent because that’s the way he elects to fight. It’s in his DNA, as he likes a tear-up. But it can be taken out of him. He has the ability to box and move like a demon. And his tactics should centred around catching Ramirez on the way in before getting away again. With his quicker feet and faster hands, he can be a step ahead of Ramirez all night long. Let Ramirez be the aggressor and walk him into his punches while he’s decreasing distance. I’d have him fighting inside, but only for raiding tactics. The longer he holds his feet with Ramirez, the harder he makes it for himself.

Yep, Postol has a better jab, and maybe a better back hand. But he’s more of a one-two guy. More basic.

 

Postol has a better jab, is more consistent at long-range, and probably has a better back hand. But he doesn’t have Taylor’s foot speed, body punching, combinations, and he’s way more one-paced. Also, he’s more straight up and down.