Price-Taylor's journey into boxing has been a roller coaster since he started at Six Flags. The Brooklyn resident shares his Superman measurements while standing in line for his favorite superhero-themed ride in middle school. Weighing 225 pounds at the time, he recalled the day his scale read the same number years later: “I could be as strong as Superman.”
These days, Taylor is 27 years old and around 270, a true heavyweight, but so far no one has found his kryptonite. His record is a young but perfect 4-0, coming off a decision win last Saturday. He has improved rapidly since turning pro last winter.
Taylor's first love was basketball, and he first set foot in a hardwood forest as a freshman playing in a church league. Like most of his six-year-olds and his seven-year-olds at the time, he was clueless. However, Taylor was a quick learner and quickly developed into a full-fledged player by middle school. And it didn't hurt that he was the strongest kid on the court.
Moving to Atlanta during high school allowed Taylor to develop his talent, but his ties to Brooklyn were severed and his grades suffered. He remained on the hardwood throughout his youth, ironically dissuaded from playing football due to his father's concerns about the dangers of contact sports. It's hard to believe he's undersized at 6 feet 4 inches, but despite his strength and penchant under the basket, Taylor has had to hone his guard skills because of his height.
“Honestly, basketball didn't work out for me because I just didn't have the skills and development needed to be a point guard,” Taylor said. “It's hard for someone who doesn't think you understand to think, 'Oh, I can tackle him.' They don't know what you've been through. Someone ropes me in.” If he had taught me how to do that, I think he would have been a great point guard.”
At age 20, Taylor's hoops dreams were thwarted and he turned to boxing. He took it like a fish out of water. He returned to Brooklyn and began training at Cops & Kids Boxing Club. The gym later became known for producing more New York City police officers than pugilists. (The center started out as a crime prevention program to keep kids away from gangs, not a training ground for future world champions.) For Taylor, entering a sport with no commensurate salary and overhead costs; This center was free and easy to use.
Pat Russo, founder of Cops & Kids Boxing, said the heavyweight was never a paid fighter and needed travel expenses to participate in several amateur tournaments to make a name for himself. I remember when it was.
“He came to me and said, 'Pat, I'm not asking you for money. Just give me a job for the summer. [so] I can earn enough money so I can pay for my own travel expenses. I don’t want freebies, I want to work for it,” Russo said. “And he did. Every time he had to travel, he said, 'Pat, can you buy me something?' He was like an African-American Rocky. [Balboa]cut meat to earn money for travel [and] pursue his career. ”
Despite all his hard work in the ring, in the gym, and in the cutting room, Taylor narrowly missed out on competing in the Tokyo Olympics, a stepping stone to becoming a professional. By that time, he had developed into a blue chipper in the amateur ranks, distinguished from the pros by headgear, short matches, and no pay. Despite being seven years older than fellow Brooklyn heavyweight Mike Tyson when he won his first world title, he is currently only in the formative stages of his professional career. He continued to get off the canvas his whole life and now he can finally call himself a professional athlete.
His goal inside the ring is simple. In an era of four world titles, there was never an undisputed heavyweight champion. It's this Saturday, May 18th, when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight for all the belts, and Taylor plans to be there one day.
As Taylor rises through the ranks, he develops his persona outside of the ring as well. He laughs and oscillates between his two catchphrases: “The Price is Right” and “Taylor Made.” But he is clear about the type of boxer he wants to be: a people's champion like Muhammad Ali.
“Outside the ring I want people to fear me, but at the same time I want them to love me,” he said.
Thandi Rau is a reporting American Legion member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your gift, matched by an RFA grant, will help him keep writing articles like this. Visit us today to consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount. https://bit.ly/amnews1.
