GLASGOW, Scotland -- The World Boxing Super Series has been a big hit for DAZN and a big hit with boxing fans. Tournaments are a welcomed change in boxing where fighters often get to pick and choose who they fight. In a tournament that doesn't happen because fighters are forced to take on whoever advances. On May 18 the IBF junior welterweight champion Ivan Baranchyk will put his belt on the line against Josh Taylor with the winner advancing to the WBSS junior welterweight finals against Regis Prograis.
Baranchyk (19-0, 12 KOs) is the type of fighter who loves his power punches. He has a nice jab but doesn't use it nearly as often as he should. Instead he likes to throw a ton of left hooks, often doubling them up, and right hands. His right hand is probably his best weapon. From the outside Baranchyk will throw that right hand behind the jab and is very accurate with it and on the inside he shortens it up and can do damage. On the inside he likes to work the body but he isn't at his best in the pocket. Baranchyk also tends to be a little wild and often gets out of position after throwing one of his power shots. The 26-year-old has good power though so he takes his chances throwing those power shots since most of the time the reward outweighs the risk.
After turning pro in 2014 Baranchyk has done nothing but win. While he has faced some quality fighters, most of them were very inexperienced when Baranchyk fought them. He has stepped up his level of competition in his two most recent fights though, taking on veteran Petr Petrov and the undefeated Anthony Yigit, stopping them both. Prograis is widely regarded as the best junior welterweight in the division and if Baranchyk wants to test himself against the best and have a unification fight, he will first need to beat the highly touted Taylor.
Like many European fighters Taylor (14-0, 12 KOs) stands very upright. The southpaw likes to stay busy with his jab but doesn't put much on it. He likes to follow that jab with a pretty good right hook and a nice left hand and he's at his best when he can sneak inside to land a few punches and then move back out of danger. Taylor also does a nice job of varying his attack upstairs and to the body. However, often Taylor won't jab his way inside and instead will rely on his reflexes to slip a few punches, get inside to land a few shots, and then move back to the middle distance. So far he hasn't paid the price for relying on his reflexes that much but he might want to consider jabbing his way inside and protecting his chin more as he faces better opposition.
After beginning his combat career by becoming a junior taekwondo champion, Taylor moved on to boxing at age 15. He qualified for the 2012 Olympics but didn't medal. Two years later though he would win gold in the 2014 Commonwealth games. Since turning pro in 2015 Taylor has been perfect. He faced some experienced opponents early in his career and really started stepping things up in 2017. That year Taylor handed Ohara Davies the first loss of his career with a seventh round stoppage and then knocked out the skilled but sleep inducing Miguel Vazquez in the ninth round. In his last two fights Taylor built the skilled Viktor Postol and handed Ryan Martin his first career loss. Now Taylor will take on Baranchyk as he continues trying to prove he's the best of the best in the junior welterweight division.
As a boxing fan who have to love when two undefeated fighters face off with a title belt on the line. You have to love it even more when the winner of that fight will move on to the finals of the WBSS for a unification bout against Prograis. This should be an interesting bout because both men posses good power and like to fight from the middle distance. Baranchyk tends to get wild so look for him to be the one pressing the action and swinging big shots while Taylor should look to box more and catch Baranchyk with sharp counter punches.
PREDICTION: People who don't think Regis Prograis is the best junior welterweight in the division often name Josh Taylor as their pick. If Taylor is to prove those people right he will first need to beat Ivan Baranchyk. Baranchyk is a good fighter but his tendency to get wild will be his downfall against Taylor who will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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| Baranchyk landing a big overhand right on his opponent |
After turning pro in 2014 Baranchyk has done nothing but win. While he has faced some quality fighters, most of them were very inexperienced when Baranchyk fought them. He has stepped up his level of competition in his two most recent fights though, taking on veteran Petr Petrov and the undefeated Anthony Yigit, stopping them both. Prograis is widely regarded as the best junior welterweight in the division and if Baranchyk wants to test himself against the best and have a unification fight, he will first need to beat the highly touted Taylor.
Like many European fighters Taylor (14-0, 12 KOs) stands very upright. The southpaw likes to stay busy with his jab but doesn't put much on it. He likes to follow that jab with a pretty good right hook and a nice left hand and he's at his best when he can sneak inside to land a few punches and then move back out of danger. Taylor also does a nice job of varying his attack upstairs and to the body. However, often Taylor won't jab his way inside and instead will rely on his reflexes to slip a few punches, get inside to land a few shots, and then move back to the middle distance. So far he hasn't paid the price for relying on his reflexes that much but he might want to consider jabbing his way inside and protecting his chin more as he faces better opposition.
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| Taylor celebrating a victory |
As a boxing fan who have to love when two undefeated fighters face off with a title belt on the line. You have to love it even more when the winner of that fight will move on to the finals of the WBSS for a unification bout against Prograis. This should be an interesting bout because both men posses good power and like to fight from the middle distance. Baranchyk tends to get wild so look for him to be the one pressing the action and swinging big shots while Taylor should look to box more and catch Baranchyk with sharp counter punches.
PREDICTION: People who don't think Regis Prograis is the best junior welterweight in the division often name Josh Taylor as their pick. If Taylor is to prove those people right he will first need to beat Ivan Baranchyk. Baranchyk is a good fighter but his tendency to get wild will be his downfall against Taylor who will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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