EzraTaylor

"The Cannon"

WBC International & Commonwealth Silver Light-Heavyweight Champion

Taylor, won a string of regional amateur titles but is now chasing bigger belts in the professional ranks, and believes he has the platform to achieve that.

Thanks to sponsors, Taylor is now a full-time fighter and recently left his job as a sales account manager.

Ezra whose boxing heroes are Roy Jones Jr and Andre Ward added: “I was selling a dream to people, now I have bought the dream I have been sold.

“This is fantastic opportunity and I have some great people behind me. I will give it everything that it takes.

Taylor first walked into a boxing gym in his early teens, but never expected to even compete as an amateur let alone earn a professional contract with a Hall of Fame promoter.

He explained: “I started when I was about 14, but I was only going to the boxing gym once a week to keep fit.

“Eventually I had to spar with guys who lived boxing, were in the gym most nights and competing as amateurs. I started getting beat up.

“I just wanted to be fit, fling a skipping rope around and tell my friends I was hitting the bag in the boxing gym.

“I lost interest, but still used a gym and eventually I got a bit of height and muscle. I went back to the boxing gym when I was 19-years-old, again for fitness and the rest is history.

“I was 20-3 as an amateur, my only losses came at elite level and I won five regional belts, but I was stepped up quickly because I was a late starter.

“It was a tough amateur career. Four fights in I was fighting guys who had 20 fights and that’s a lot in experience terms.

“On paper, I was meant to lose but I kept the momentum going and ended up in the elite championships early on.

“I’m grateful it happened because a lot of these kids have about 70 fights and it wasn’t a walk in the park. It made me the boxer I am today.”