Softly spoken 23-year-old Emanuel Taylor, 18-2 (12) says he will defeat Adrien Broner next month and then achieve his goal of winning a world title at light-welterweight. Coming off a good July points win over Karim Mayfield, โTranzformer,โ as Taylor is known, feels the controversial and outspoken Broner has made a big mistake in agreeing to fight him.
Q: First of all, which of Adrien Bronerโs fights have you seen and what do you think of him in general?
Emanuel Taylor: โIโve seen the Marcos Maidana fight and the fight with Paulie [Malignaggi]. All I care about is doing what I have to do on the night to get the W. I think heโs a great fighter. Heโs good at what he does. He talks a lot but from what Iโve seen heโs a great fighter.โ
You donโt think Broner is more of a hype job?
โI wouldnโt say that. Heโs probably the biggest name Iโll have fought so far. But heโs used to fighting smaller guys; who he could push around and back up. He wonโt be able to do that with me. I expect a lot of movement, lateral movement, from Broner. Iโm training too hard for this fight, man! A win over Broner would be amazing. Iโm right on schedule with my training. Camp has been a whole lot of hard work.โ
For those that have yet to see you box, how would you describe your style?
โIโm a boxer-puncher. I can box when I have to, I can fight when I have to. It depends on the particular fight [which tactics I use]. I bring a lot to the table.โ
And what was your amateur record and how did you first get into boxing?
โMy amateur record, I had 186 fights with 20 losses. Most of my losses came at the start of my career when I was young. I won the national Golden Gloves five times in a row and I won the national PAL title three times in a row. I was too young to go to the Olympics so I turned pro (in March of 2009, aged 18). My dad got me into boxing, to keep me out of trouble; me and my brother. I went to the gym to watch my brother train and my dad pretty much forced me into it, to keep me out of trouble.โ
As a pro you have two close decision losses, to Prenice Brewer in 2011 and to Chris Algieri in February of this year. Do you consider both defeats as fair verdicts?
โThe loss to Brewer was a robbery. I won at least five-rounds (ofย anย eight-rounder). Everyone said to me that Iโd won the fight. The loss to Algieri, yeah, I lost that fight. I was rusty, I had been off for ten months. Not making any excuses, but my timing was off and not on point.โ
And what would you say was your best win thus far?
โLast time out, I beat Karim Mayfield, Iโd say that was my best win as far as when Iโve had to go the distance with someone. But my (eighth-round) TKO over [Victor Manuel] Cayo is probably my best win. That was a good win for me.โ
And what would a win over Broner mean for you?
โIt would be amazing. I plan on staying at 140 for a couple more years, until I win a title there. Then Iโll look at maybe moving up to welterweight. But first things first and Iโm focusing on Broner.ย I will beat Broner; he has made a major mistake in taking this fight!โ
Who is the best fighter in the world at light-welterweight right now in your opinion?
โIโd say Danny Garcia is the best right now. Heโs the man right now. But I sparred Danny, back when he was getting ready for the [Lucas] Matthysse fight (Sept. 2013). They kicked me out of camp, because I was giving him too much work. We did four rounds [of sparring] every other day until they kicked me out. I also like Mauricio Herrera and Lamont Peterson. I guess Herrera really won the fight with Garcia. My goal is to win a world title at light-welterweight. First Iโve gotta beat Broner. He talks a lot but at the end of the day, no matter what he does or says, weโve still got to throw hands; weโve still got to fight. His talking wonโt win him the fight.โ
You plan on putting a lot of pressure on him, bullying him?
“Well, I ainโt gonna give up my game plan (Emanuel also preferred not to say who he has been sparring with for the Broner fight), but I do expect a lot of lateral movement from him. Iโm just gonna do my job, whatever it takes to get that W.โ
Picture courtesy of Tom Casino/Showtime