Posted on 03/07/2024
Who can’t get excited about watching a genuine heavyweight prospect? That’s what Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions has in store for the Sony Hall crowd on March 7 as he places Pryce Taylor into a four-round bout against Antonio Torres.
Don’t go to the refrigerator. Come to Sony Hall (address below). But if you can’t, you can watch the fights, either LIVE or on demand, through Boxing Insider’s dynamic streaming platform.
PRYCE TAYLOR (Weight: 266-3/4)
One of the top heavyweight prospects in the NYC metro area for some time is Pryce Taylor (2-0, 2 KO’s), who went beyond the Big Apple to establish himself on a national level in the amateur ranks.
Taylor hasn’t been at it for that long; in fact, he got his start in 2016, when he joined the Cops and Kids program. Prior to that, he had plans to try basketball at the collegiate level and see where it went from there. But he quickly became a very formidable competitor in the ring.
He won a New York Golden Gloves novice title in 2018. Then he won the Open division the next year, continuing on to the National Golden Gloves, where he got to the semi-finals, losing to Malik Titus, who’s now a ranked pro. He lost in the finals of the U.S. Championships in both 2021 and 2022.
When he was an amateur, he was the subject of a 2020 feature story in the New York Times called “How New York City Lost Boxing,” which chronicled some of his boxing journey. Of course, he could wind up being a key figure (along with Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions) in bringing a lot of boxing back to the city.
So far, neither of Taylor’s two opponents have gotten past the first round. Mike Diorio, a beefy 255-pounder, was stopped at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens last December 1, while Taylor made short work of Gabriel Aguilar, who was at a 66-1/2 pound weight disadvantage, on January 27 at Harrah’s in Pennsylvania.
But Taylor’s experience as a “pro” fighter is not limited to that, because he has competed nine times in the Team Combat League, where teams consist of fighters who go into one-round bouts as part of the format. This includes a decision over Hasim Rahman Jr. (Son of the former heavyweight champion) last June. Taylor’s team is called the New York Attitude.
A New York attitude might just take him a long way.
ANTONIO TORRES (Weight: 247)
Antonio Torres (4-1, 4 KO’s), nicknamed “El Bravo,” brings a different wrinkle into his bout with Pryce Taylor, in that he is a southpaw heavyweight, which is rather unusual.
Torres made his pro debut in April 2021 with a first-round TKO of Wesley Melvin. Three of his four wins have come in the first round.
He may have been a bit overmatched last August in Orlando, when Lorenzo Medina, sporting a 7-0 record, stopped him in three rounds. Torres kept things spirited while he was in there, but his skill level really didn’t meet that of Medina. a 19-year-old currently with a 10-0 record who may be on his way to being a contender.
His weight is well down from a high of 265-3/4 for his second pro fight against Tyrese Burton.
Torres hails from Jamestown, a city in western New York state that is – in case you’re the kind of person who is interested in such things – the hometown of Lucille Ball, as well as singers Nick Carter and Natalie Merchant.
Tickets are priced at $150, $200 and $325, and are available at Ticketweb (https://www.ticketweb.com/event/boxing-insider-live-professional-boxing-sony-hall-tickets/13430053). Sony Hall is located at 235 W 46th Street in Manhattan.
For those who can’t experience the event at Sony Hall, the March 7 show will be shown, free of charge, LIVE and on-demand on BoxingInsider’s steaming platform (https://videos.boxinginsider.com).