Australian middleweight Shannan ?Bulli Blaster? Taylor who is ranked No. 10 by the WBA has returned to Sydney after an intense training camp in Angeles City arranged by well-known international referee and longtime resident Bruce McTavish.
McTavish convinced the former trainer of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, Rick Stehely who handled the young southpaw when he scored a stunning 8th round KO victory over Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul to win the WBC flyweight title in December 1998, to train Taylor in preparation for his February 11 clash with Anthony Mundine.
Stehely worked alongside Taylor?s head trainer Brad Gallagher who told Hannah Ireland of the Daily Telegraph in Sydney that it was in a dingy gym in the hot and dusty backstreets of Angeles City that he saw just how real the possibility of Taylor scoring an upset against the heavily fancied Mundine.
Gallagher said ?Shannan is a different person now. I remember when he was at the top of his game and that is the Shannan Taylor that is coming into the gym every day now. You can really feel the change in him. Rick and I have been working on the littl;e technical things. He?s now hitting harder than he ever has and his hand speed is getting quicker. ?
Mc Tavish told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that he was impressed with Taylor ?s attitude in training and said that Stehely will soon fly to Sydney to continue working with Taylor in the run-up to the Mundine fight.
The 36 year old Taylor who has a record of 48-6-3 with 34 knockouts is coming off a 12th round TKO over Filipino Dondon Sultan in a Pan Asia Boxing Association title fight last October 31.
Taylor has had a troubled ride including a battle with cocaine and dark days of drugs and doubt but the chance to battle ?The Man? Mundine is to Taylor one of the biggest fights of his career and one he believes he can win which is a belief shared by McTavish.
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