Who is Anthony Taylor?
Facts you need to know about Tommy Fury’s next opponent Anthony Taylor
Rising star Tommy 'TNT' Fury (6-0, 4KOs) makes his US debut against American Anthony 'Pretty Boy' Taylor (0-1) in his seventh pro fight on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley event on August 29 in Cleveland.
As it’s his first fight in the States, BBN decided to find out some little-known facts about Fury's opposite, right here:
Early Life
32-year-old Anthony Paul Taylor was born on June 23rd, 1989, in Berkeley, California, but now lives in nearby Alameda, which is located in the San Francisco Bay area.
He attended Alameda College.
MMA
The former Bellator and BAMMA fighter is a URCC (Universal Reality Combat Championship) lightweight champion, currently with a pro record of 7-5 (between December 2015-January 2020). His seven wins were: 1 by KO, 1 by Submission, 5 by Decision. His five losses were: 1 by KO, 5 by Submission. Despite his patchy record, Taylor went on a five-fight winning streak in his last two years in MMA (May 2018-January 2020), which was kick-started by a surprise win over highly-rated kickboxer Dean Barry in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland in April 2018. Taylor was brough in as a last-minute replacement for Bary, who was widely expected to follow in the footsteps of Conor McGregor. He then defeated 5-0 prospect Mike Hales in London in another huge upset.
As an MMA amateur, debuting in 2013, he won just one from seven contests, then turned pro in 2015.
Early in his career, he was something of a journeyman, taking tough fights at short notice with top prospects like James Gallagher and Adam Borics in their home countries of Ireland and Hungary.
Team Pretty Boy
Anthony is trained by Antonio Mckee and is part of Team BodyShop.
Pro Bow
On his professional debut in June 2017, Taylor lost a four three-minute rounds middleweight contest to fellow debutant Donte Stubbs (now 6-2, 2KOs), with scores of 37-39, 37-39, 36-40 against.
The fight was held at The Hangar in California and promoted by Roy Englebrecht, who has promoted over 230 boxing events in The Golden State over the past 26 years.
It later emerged that Taylor has accepted the fight at three days notice.
Dark Days
It was shortly after his pro boxing debut that Taylor endured some difficult times, even being homeless at one point, and in February 2018 he threatened to commit suicide in a post, which is when his top MMA coach Antonio Mckee stepped in to start moving him in the right direction.
Taylor looked back, "Antonio sat me down. He asked me 'Do you really take your life serious? Because the way you're going, you're going to end up dead.' Having that talk with him really tweaked something in my brain, I said 'Get your life together man', and that's what I did. Antonio is like a father to me and I don't think I would be alive if it wasn't for him."
Alias
Taylor's boxing nickname is 'Pretty Boy', which was made famous by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many others have adopted the same moniker over the years, such as British boxer Josh Kelly.
Sparring Stories
In April this year, the 'Pretty Boy' met the 'Problem Child' in Miami for a sparring session organised by world title contender BJ Flores. Taylor said afterwards, "Me and Jake Paul got some really good sparring in! He earns the pretty boy respect!!! He’s young and still learning!! The young cub will grow into a lion soon."
Tayor has also sparred with Karim Mayfield (21-5-1, 11KOs), who is a former WBO NABO super-light titlist, who almost landed a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015.
Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley
Taylor is obviously impressed with Jake Paul and his dedication to professional boxing, even picking the YouTuber to beat the former UFC welterweight champion, "I can't see Tyron getting knocked out, I don't know. I don't know where he's at because we never saw Tyron get knocked out since Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce, and we are talking MMA gloves you know. But I do see Tyron losing by unanimous, all eight rounds. I definitely see that coming on."
Heavy in the Game
Fury and Taylor will clash over six three-minute rounds at cruiserweight.
Stats
Height: 5' 7"
Reach 66.5"
What the fighters are saying about each other:
ANTHONY TAYLOR: “I know he’s overlooking me. Tommy is here just to face off with Jake Paul. But I’m here to fight. Don’t look down on me. Just because he beat up six bums, doesn’t mean he’s going to beat me up. He’s not going to stop me. He’s fought nobody. I’m not that guy you’re just going to run through. We’re not cut from the same cloth, and he’s not the same as his brother. He’s not ready for me.”
TOMMY FURY: “I’m very happy to be in Cleveland. Everyone is very familiar with Tyson, and they’re about to learn all about what I bring. I’m coming with my own package and my own game and you’re going to see that on Sunday night. If Taylor thinks I’ve overlooked him, he’s dead wrong. I’ve been grueling for eight weeks like I’m fighting for the world titles. Sunday night, I’ll get the job done, and then I can think about what could be next for me. Anthony Taylor can’t get off his phone and stop doing autographs. I haven’t been on my phone in five weeks. I’ve been living and training like a demon.”
Socials
You can follow the Pretty Boy on Twitter: @anthony_foreal
and Instagram: @anthony_prettyboy
Watch Anthony Taylor in BAMMA 35:
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