Professional Debut Nears for Taylor Bevan, Promising Significant Impact

Welsh boxer Taylor Bevan is set to make his professional debut this Saturday in Birmingham, where he will face Greg O’Neill. Bevan, who is scheduled to compete on the undercard of the Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai event, has indicated that his debut will be an exciting one. The 23-year-old, a silver medallist from the Commonwealth Games, will participate in the preliminary fights leading up to the flyweight contest featuring Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai. Bevan departed from the GB Boxing programme during the summer, having failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics. He asserts that his departure was made with ‘”no regrets” and that he has now reached the point he consistently aspired to be. Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Bevan stated, “I’ve always had aspirations about turning pro,” adding, “I can’t say the same about going to the Olympics.“I gave it 100% to try to get there, but it wasn’t to be. After not qualifying I decided it was the right time to turn pro.” Bevan considers his current age appropriate for this phase of his career and views his transition from amateur boxing, possessing an Olympic medal, as an asset. However, he wishes to emphasize his long-term commitment to the sport. He intends to proceed with patience, remain engaged, and gradually, yet steadily, establish his reputation. Bevan acknowledges, “You can generally be fast-tracked a bit more when you’ve got an Olympic medal,” but clarifies his own strategy: “But for me I’m hopefully going to do the traditional route: win the British and Commonwealth [titles] and work my way up that way.” Subsequent to spending two-and-a-half years within the British programme in Sheffield, Bevan secured a contract with Matchroom. After completing a 10-week training camp, he is scheduled to compete against Greg O’Neill in a super middleweight contest at the bp pulse LIVE arena on Saturday night. The main event of the fight card will feature former world champion Sunny Edwards facing Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Galal Yafai, as both athletes contend for the WBC flyweight world title. For Bevan, this event signifies his return to Birmingham, the location where he achieved the pinnacle of his amateur career: securing a silver medal for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. His affiliation with the Welsh programme, particularly with head coach Colin Jones, influenced his decision to return to the Welsh capital for training, notwithstanding other training opportunities. Colin Jones, a former British, Commonwealth, and European champion, remarked, “He’s been a tremendous prospect, even when he came on as a youth,” adding, “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Taylor Bevan. It’s a big difference fighting over three rounds then jumping to six. I think it’ll suit him. He’s a very fit lad.” Colin Jones has resumed coaching Bevan, having previously guided him through the Welsh junior ranks. Jones continued, “He’s made a big commitment moving down to Cardiff – he’s paid up [his rent] for 12 months and he’s expecting to be in the game for quite some time.” He concluded, “I’m sure you’ll hear big things about Taylor.” Bevan expresses confidence in his ability to make a notable impression in professional boxing, following his commendable performance during his brief tenure on the British programme. He stated, “I was in very exciting fights as an amateur and I would expect even more so in the pros,” adding, “At GB they do an awards night every year and the two years I was there I won ’bout of the year’, which isn’t such a good thing as you want easy fights!” He concluded, “But I’m in exciting fights, I can say that.”