Everything went to script in Scotland’s main event.
Unlike the co-main event, that was what was supposed to happen.
Josh Taylor (13-0, 12 KOs) opened the fight by moving well and working the body. He did the same thing in the second, and then in the third. Each round was a little more dominant than the one before it too. Ryan Martin (22-1, 12 KOs) seemed bothered a bit to the body in round three. The fourth was a little better for him, but not by much. A few times the American landed shots in round four, including a nice right hand to close the three minutes. He just got beat up through the rest of it though. The body work continued to be intense from Josh Taylor.
In between rounds Abel Sanchez’s suggestion to Ryan Martin that he could stop the fight now if Martin wanted basically told the story of the fight. Martin wasn’t being hurt in there in the sense that he was taking too much damage, but he was getting hit repeatedly without doing a whole lot with his own hands in return. The speech didn’t help. Maybe Ryan did throw more punches in round five, but it didn’t make the fight any more one sided. By the end of the sixth Taylor had drawn literally blood too.
The finish came abruptly in round seven. To be honest, there is an easy argument that it should be a controversial finish. Ryan Martin will certainly argue that is the case. I don’t think many will be up in arms though. After continuing to dominate and turning up the intensity even further, Josh Taylor followed a nice body combination with a left hand that cuffed his American opponent behind the head. It wasn’t an intentional shot and the blow landed quite naturally in the flow of the fight, but it was still a shot that should have been ruled illegal. Martin wobbled back, grabbed the spot where the shot landed, and fell to the canvas. He was obviously in bad shape and the fight was called there.
Sure, the finishing shot was technically a foul. The fight was so one sided, however, that the outcome of the local hero winning was inevitable anyway. There isn’t going to be an outcry over the finish. If we take a realistic perspective, maybe the shot behind the head was the best outcome anyway. Josh Taylor got his win that he was obviously on course for to advance in the tournament while Ryan Martin ended up with an excuse for the loss. He also took less punishment than he would have over the full twelve rounds.
With the quarterfinal win, Scottish emerging star Josh Taylor moves on to meet Ivan Baranchyk in the semifinals. That could be a fun one.
