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Swedish fighter Anthony Yigit, a 2012 Olympian and former European champion at 140 in the pros, has been in the ring with both Josh Taylor and Ivan Baranchyk, and he went on Reddit and shared his thoughts on the fight between the two coming on Saturday in Glasgow.
Yigit (23-1-1, 8 KO) fought Taylor in the amateurs in 2011, and also sparred with him in 2015. He fought Baranchyk last October, losing after seven rounds in the World Boxing Super Series opening round.
Yigit on the matchup:
“One thing I noticed with Taylor from sparring him, fighting him, and watching his fights as a pro is that he can still square up when pressured to the ropes. He’ll be standing there, waiting for the punches you throw at him to stop before he continues to box. He’s improved in this aspect but I can still see it happening sometimes and it’s a dangerous habit against someone like Baranchyk. It’s dangerous to give Baranchyk space to swing and lunge forward as he is a very hard hitter and Taylor have a tendency to lean back on the ropes.
“Baranchyk on the other hand wastes stamina quite recklessly and isn’t really protecting his body. I noticed he felt a couple of body punches I have him in the 6th round before the doctor stopped our fight but watch that fight and look at Baranchyk and how heavy he breathes after the fight is over. It’s still supposed to be half the fight left. We’ve seen Taylor do tremendous work to the body so him getting a KO to the body wouldn’t surprise me.”
A reply to a question in the comments about their power:
“They both hit hard in different ways. Baranchyk’s punches feel like someone throws a cannonball at you, while Taylor’s punches are more crisp and sharp. It feels like you’re getting stabbed by a spear.”
Yigit says he has it 65-35 for Taylor (14-0, 12 KO) to beat Baranchyk (19-0, 12 KO) on Saturday, take the IBF title, and move on to face Regis Prograis in the tournament final.