Kell Brook's sparring partner holds no fears for gallant Dronfield fighter Lewis Taylor
The classy Dronfield super middleweight tackles Swindon's highly-regarded, Jamie Cox, for the WBA Intercontinental title, on the undercard of Brook v Errol Spence Jr on Saturday at Bramall Lane.
Cox is one of three sparring partners who have been trading leather with Brook at a hot-weather camp in the Canary Islands.
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Hide AdHe's performed well...but Taylor isn't fazed by taking on the unbeaten 21-fight southpaw, who has recently been signed by Matchroom and is tipped for a big future.
Taylor's manager Dave Coldwell insists Taylor can upset the odds.
"It's a fight Lewis wants and it's one he's prepared really well for" said Coldwell.
"An awful lot has been made about Cox signing with Matchroom and it seems they've got high hopes for him so this is a chance that Lewis can really grab by beating him and making people aware exactly who he is.
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Hide Ad"There's so much talk about what Cox is going to go on and do but he's got a determined guy in front of him on Saturday and if Lewis turns up and sticks to the plan then some of those plans for Cox might have to be put on hold."
Coldwell added: "I've got no doubt that Lewis is the underdog here but he brings experience and he knows how to look after himself and he's gone the distance in title fights before and that can be the difference in a fight like this.
"Jamie is a brilliant fighter on his day but he doesn't always turn up and there's been the odd occasion where he's been very fortunate to get the verdict in these fights but when he turns up in the mood to perform then you're dealing with a good fighter.
"There's a lot of doors that can be opened if Lewis performs well and gets the win and I'm hoping that him and his team can exploit some of Cox's weaknesses and cause quite the shock."
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Hide AdTaylor, 27, wants to start a sequence of wins after losing two out of his last three outings against decent opposition, in Luke Keeler and Tommy Langford.
Matchroom's promotion of Cox - who won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games - means Taylor is assured of high visibility on the Bramall Lane show which is being screened around the world.
Brook won't see much of it - but the welterweight champion predicted: "Cox and Taylor will be a fantastic fight - one of several good battles on the undercard."
*Factfile: Taylor has been battling away in the professional boxing ring for six years, while holding down a full-time job at the same time. He has won 19 of 22
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Hide Adfights, and never been stopped. He has won the English middleweight title but fell short in his attempts to land the Commonwealth middleweight title. One of his three KOs came over rugged Crosspool slugger Jez Wilson in 2015.