Josh Taylor stops Ryan Martin to advance WBSS Jr. Welterweight Tournament Semifinals
In the last quarterfinal of the WBSS Jr. Welterweight tournament, Josh Taylor made easy work of Ryan Martin. He stopped Martin in the 7th round to retain his WBC Silver Super-Lightweight title.
Taylor (14-0, 12 KOs) set the pace from opening bell and never let up. Using his faster feet and hands to set the tone, Taylor out-boxed Martin with ease through the first four rounds. Martin (22-1, 12 KOs) looked overawed by the moment, fighting as if he was stuck in mud. In previous fights Martin displayed excellent speed and work rate. Here, however, Martin would not let the punches go; frustrating his trainer, Abel Sanchez, who was imploring his fighter to become more active.
In the fifth, Taylor started to add a body attack to go along with his boxing. The sixth round saw the champion step forward, sit down on his punches and fight with Martin inside (who developed a cut over his left eye). He was not only having his way with Martin from the outside, he was doing the better work on the inside as well.
The pattern continued into the seventh round. With 45 seconds to go in the round, Martin suffered a counter left-hand behind the ear and went down from the punch. Martin complained about the shot landing behind the head, but referee Victor Loughlin stepped in and called a halt to the contest.
Personal Perspective
One could make an argument regarding the punch behind the head. However, Taylor was having his way because Martin was so passive throughout the fight. Because of that, I didn’t see Martin getting back into this fight outside of Taylor making a major mistake and Martin connecting with a lucky punch. Ryan Martin was being outclassed and shutout.
With the win, Taylor moves on to the WBSS semifinals to face IBF Jr. Welterweight champion Ivan Baranchyk. Baranchyk will for sure put up more of a spirited effort than what we saw from Ryan Martin.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
