Josh Taylor v Ivan Baranchyk

[Master]

Josh Taylor: Ivan Baranchyk world title fight confirmed for Glasgow in May

Scotland's Josh Taylor will contest his first world title fight in Glasgow in May, when he faces IBF super-lightweight champion Ivan Baranchyk.

The bout is scheduled to take place at the SSE Hydro on 18 May, with the news coming a day after it had been reported Baranchyk had pulled out of the contest and the World Boxing Super Series.

Taylor reached the last four with an seventh-round win over Ryan Martin.

The Edinburgh fighter is now undefeated in 13 outings.

Should he beat Baranchyk to claim his debut world crown, he will fight for the WBA belt in the final.

"It is a childhood dream to become a world champion. I am very confident I will win and do it in a good fashion," he said.



Something does not quite add up here. Less than 24 hours after news broke of Baranchyk withdrawing from the World Boxing Super Series, the tournament organisers announce the date for his Taylor bout.

It is, so far, the only semi-final given a specific date across the three weight divisions the Super Series has in operation this season. Maybe that is a coincidence; maybe it's a show of strength by organisers who have the fighter under contract.

But there are rumblings that the series itself is facing difficulties following an eye-catching and well-received first season. Even before season two began, there were whispers of tighter purse strings and it seems money is the root of complaints from Baranchyk's team.

Fans will hope a smooth outcome follows. The Super Series set about offering an easy-to-follow tournament structure with a straight-forward narrative and it achieved just that in season one. In the often complex boxing world of multiple belts, sanctioning bodies, purse bids and promotional stand-offs, such an approach is refreshing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/47075533

[Freedom]

[powerpuncher]

I thought that Baranchyk bailed on the fight?

[Spicoli]

Is this on or off, can't seem to find a straight answer. Fat Dan said Baranchyk bailed and other fighters were forced to take legal action to get paid? It started as a great format but wbss is shaky. Feels like just a stir up tweet and release to let us know they still have a pulse but they have to do better than a couple of tweets. Regardless Taylor is the force right now, he'll cut Baranchyk to shreds.

[Alpha]

It's a good fight, but I'll wait until they're in the ring. I hope the WBSS can hold it together. They really set a standard that the sport should try to adhere to, with the best (or most of the best) guys in a division facing off.

[powerpuncher]

Rumor has it that WBSS hasn’t paid a lot of their fighters. Prograis is threatening to pull out now. This is looking bad. I really hope they fix it