Josh Taylor hammers Ryan Martin to defeat

JOSH TAYLOR was simply too good for Ryan Martin as he stopped the American inside seven rounds at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday.

Martin was far too passive. He gave away early rounds, covering up but allowing Taylor to settle at once. That was a dangerous thing to do.

Soon the Scotsman found openings in Martin’s guard. He speared his left cross through.

Ryan may have sucked up the punches, but he was throwing far too little. Taylor’s southpaw right hook slammed into his body. Josh continued to marshal him, finishing each round with a firm flurry to make sure he banked it.

Solid attacks reverberated off Martin’s body. Increasingly Taylor began to punish him, relishing the work. He shrugged off the odd fast jab or countering right. He stood up close, inside the pocket where he was dangerous as well, a nasty left uppercut striking Martin’s stomach.

A cut opened by Ryan’s left eye and Taylor began to zero in with head shots. His left hook struck home, setting up a right hook to blast across. Spinning round one another, Taylor belted him with a left hook. It strayed to the back of Martin’s head and he fled to the ropes. Pinned to the strands, Taylor leapt forward to heave in uppercuts and there referee ended it at 2-21 of the seventh round.

Martin might not have been badly hurt in that moment, but he had suffered enough.

Taylor advances to the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series. There he was challenge new IBF super-lightweight world champion Ivan Baranchyk.