The value of a standout amateur career in the professional code has long been questioned. With several highly rated amateur stars recently coming unstuck, the debate resurfaced. Former GB boxer Taylor Bevan is determined not to become another amateur star who fails to fulfil their promise in the paid ranks.
At just 24 years old, the super middleweight is unbeaten, relentlessly active and already looking at title fights.
Since making his professional debut on 30 November 2024, he has raced to 7–0 inside just 13 months, stopping every opponent along the way. No young prospect in the UK has been busier.
“It’s been pretty frantic. Seven fights in less than 13 months. I’ve basically been in camp all year, but it’s been amazing. My promoters couldn’t have been better to me and I’m over the moon with how it’s going.”
On the subject of amateur stars stalling in the pros, Bevan believes the professional format plays to his strengths.
“I’ve always had power, not one-punch knockout power, but enough that it carries through.
“I’m durable, I’ve got a good engine, and I tend to be in exciting fights. That’s not always the best attribute to have, but it sells tickets!”
Excitement followed him through the amateurs, where he won Fight of the Year twice during three years on the GB programme. Now, he’s learning how to channel that intensity with control.
“The first five opponents I just blasted out. But the last two I’ve gone up levels and that’s where I’ve really started to feel like a professional boxer.”
The turning point came in his sixth fight.
“That one showed me a lot and I actually had some footage to look at. I got hit too much. I was too front-footed, not moving my head, my defence wasn’t there. It gave me things to work on.
“I made a list of things I wanted to improve and I did them all. The biggest one was composure. I feel like it’s taken seven fights to really settle into the pros. Early on I was frantic, rushing, loading up, but now I’m more composed.”
That evolution has been shaped under the guidance of former world title challenger Colin Jones in Cardiff.
“I train the same way he did. We drive 45 minutes up the road to do the same runs he used to do around Merthyr Tydfil. Knowing what he’s been through, the level he reached, it gives you belief.”
Belief is something Bevan has grown up around. His brother Owen Bevan is a full-time professional footballer at Bournemouth and has made an appearance in the Premier League. On the day of the interview, Taylor was heading straight off to watch Owen return from injury with the club’s U23s.
“That competitive environment has always been there. We push each other, which is great.”
Looking ahead, he’s realistic but ambitious.
“Domestically, I’d take anyone in the top 10, even the top 20. The people I’ve boxed so far haven’t been at that level. There were a few lads in a recent GBM tournament who would make good fights.”
The British, Commonwealth and European titles recently changed hands at super middleweight, and Bevan understandably had a close eye on proceedings.
“I sparred Callum Simpson and was really impressed with him. I do wonder if he struggles at the weight, though.”
For now, the plan is simple. Stay active, keep learning and keep progressing.
“Next year I’d like to box five or six times if possible. The fights will probably be spaced out more as the rounds go up, but I don’t think I’m far off from fighting for some kind of title.
“It’s a cliché, but you need those learning fights; the professional ranks is a different world.”
It certainly is, but hopefully Bevan will show that amateur pedigree still counts for something at the highest level.
