Boxing: Virtuoso Taylor simply too hot for Fryers to handle

When an amateur boxing bout is punctuated for three rounds by wave upon wave of applause from ringside, then you know that you are witnessing a virtuoso performance and that is exactly what happened when Josh Taylor delivered in dazzling fashion to outpoint talented Irish rival James Fryers at Meadowbank.

The Lochend lightweight southpaw and Commonwealth Games silver medallist's win helped secure an 8-6 victory over Northern Ireland, and former world lightweight champion Ken Buchanan was quick to praise him. "Last week against Wales I was critical of aspects of Josh Taylor's ring performance but that was just marvellous! The way he continually put his punches together in clusters . . . a great performance!"

Another former world champion at ringside, ex-superfeatherweight Alex Arthur, agreed. "What makes Taylor's showing so great is that the Irish boxer, Fryers, showed in flashes that he was a top notch boxer too - but it was Fryers' misfortune that he came up against Taylor at his unbeatable best.''

But the man himself was bowled over by the crowd's support. "I was fired up to impress but the continual crowd applause every time I slipped Fryer's left-hand leads and hit him with my counterpunches all the way through the bout made me want to turn on the style," said Taylor. "Now I aim to do likewise against England's James Stalker who stopped me from winning the gold in last year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi as there is a chance we could be matched in the British championships."

Meanwhile, another Midlothian bantamweight Scottie Brown produced the most destructive punches of the 14-bout international show when he blew away Northern Ireland's Gerard Callaghan in just 70 seconds of the first round with ferocious right hands to the Irish boxer's jaw and head.

"I knew I had him when he wobbled after I landed that very first right cross on his chin and my follow up punches were also wobbling him," explained Brown.

In other bouts featuring fighters from the east of Scotland, Lochend featherweight Kevin Skey was edged out 11-10 by Antrim's Enda Kennedy despite a rousing last-round grandstand finish from the Scot.Fauldhouse fighter Lewis Akinlame was up against it when facing Alfredo Meli junior, and the non-stop battering was exhausted some way before the 13-2 decision was announced in favour of the Northern Irishman.

And had tall Fife southpaw Donald Stewart heeded his Kelty club ring cornerman's constant advice to capitilise on his height and reach advantages by throwing uppercuts up the middle of his opponent Padraig Mackle's guard he might well have won the bout by the same 2-1 scoreline by which he lost as the much shorter Irish boxer was wide open for such a move throughout the ring action.

Another Fifer, Denbeath light-flyweight Jack Brunton, held his own for the first two rounds against the bob, weave and jab tactics of Irishman Jason McKay but a final-round surge by the Antrim man saw him win 3-2.