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17 May, 2025
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The brother of a Premier League footballer is Welsh boxing's next big thing
@Source: walesonline.co.uk
"What we're seeing now is the education of a real, world-class prospect". So said a beaming Eddie Hearn shortly after watching one of his latest and most promising prospects cruise to a stunning first-round win over Ales Makovec in front of a raucous Manchester crowd. 'MONSTER KO', is the title of one video that pops up when you search Taylor Bevan's name online, and those eye-catching heavy hits have clearly helped fuel what already feels like something of a meteoric rise. Saturday's bout with Juan Cruz Cacheiro will be just the fourth fight of Bevan's professional career, and a win would bring him a step closer to reaching the target of a 7-0 record Hearn has challenged him to achieve before the end of the year. An American debut could also on the cards before 2026 rolls round, meaning there are potentially plenty of really big nights ahead for the 24-year-old. "I enjoy putting on a show. I want to do that for people that have come out and spent their hard-earned money," he tells WalesOnline ahead of his fight, which is part of the undercard for the heavyweight rematch between Johnny Fisher and Dave Allen at the Cooperbox Arena in London. "They come out to support me so I want to put on a show for them. I wouldn't say I'm someone that loves all the attention like a Chris Eubank or something. I don't have this massive persona or whatever but I want to put on exciting attacking performances for people that come to watch me. Like I said, they're paying for that and I hope it's the start of a long journey. "I couldn't have asked for more really in terms of how performances have gone so far. I think this stage in my career is about getting those highlight reel knockouts that grab people's attention. So I can start building that interest and building a following. I'm very lucky that the following I have back in Southampton and a few in Wales have come out to support me so far." Born and raised in Winchester, Taylor gets just as much backing in Hampshire as he does in Wales, whom he represented when he won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. Taylor is reluctant to err fully one way or the other when examining the dynamics of his Anglo-Welsh heritage, which is understandable when one delves into his journey up until this point. After all, his English father, Lester, himself is a boxing coach, has always been an important inspiration in his career. "My dad always pushed to do sports and physical activity," he says. "I remember before I even took sport seriously, he'd take us out on runs and I remember crying because I just hated it, running up all these hills and that. "I started boxing when I was about 11 or 12 and then maybe took it more seriously when I was about 14. It's a sport where if you're not giving it 100 per cent then there's no point in doing it. If you get in the ring with an opponent it's you or him. If you're not giving 100 per cent you're not going to win." But while reluctant to turn away from the English side of his identity, Wales is clearly a hugely important part of the Bevan family identity, which is perhaps evidenced by Taylor's decision to now base himself in Cardiff . Taylor's mother hails from Pontypridd , while his brother Owen is a footballer who's been capped five times by Wales at under-21 level. He's also currently on the books of Premier League side Bournemouth. "My brother actually played football for Wales before I did," he says. "That's how it came about that I ended up representing Wales. "I think Wales actually approached Bournemouth. They asked if they had any players eligible and he obviously was. So that's how that came about. I think he's been with Wales since he was about nine years old." "He's been on loan the last couple of years but he's been very unlucky with injury the last year or so," he added when pressed on his brother's career. "He's had to have surgery on that and it's just taken a long time for him to return. "I think if that injury hadn't happened, he'd potentially be a lot further along in his career. But he's lucky to be at Bournemouth and they've really looked after him through that injury. I'm looking forward to him being back playing again and seeing how far he can go. "But he basically sparked the idea that I could box for Wales. I could have gone down either route of England or Wales, but I did a trial with Wales and got on the development program and worked my way through to get on the full-time program. "I did that for three-and-a-half years leading up to the Commonwealth Games. That was something England didn't have, a full-time program. "That created loads of opportunities for me and I went to the Commonwealth Games and ended up wining a silver medal. Then came Team GB." Bevan joined the GB programme in January 2022, and it seemed inevitable that he would beat a path to the door of the Olympics. But when he narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2024 games in Paris, it brought his career to something of a crossroads. In August 2024, he made the decision to drop out and go pro. "It was a difficult decision at the time," he says. "I put a lot thought into it. I had aspirations of going to the Olympics and that obviously didn't work out. "It was very hard to qualify this time around. It's very competitive at every weight category because they're taking some of the weight categories out. So 75kg wasn't there, so a lot of them moved up to 80, which is where I was. Then if you were 91, you're dropping down to 80. So it was very tough to qualify. "I did consider staying on for another four years for the LA Olympics. But I think at the age I'm at it's a good time to turn over. I always had aspirations to turn pro. I didn't wanna wait another four years and then feel like I was having to rush turning over and then rush my career. "Even if I did go to the Olympics, it would have put me in a better position to turn pro, but to be honest it wasn't something I always dreamed of as a kid. Since I've been boxing, I've watched pro boxing. "Obviously the Olympics is a massive achievement and I would've loved to have done it. But even if I'd stayed for those four years, there's no guarantee. "It's very hard to qualify for the Olympics and there's a lot of luck involved in amateur boxing. I put 100 per cent into it and it didn't always work out. "It was disappointing at the time not to qualify, but I don't feel disappointed any more." Nor should he be. After signing a deal with Hearn's promotion juggernaut Matchroom Boxing, he stepped into the ring for the first time as a pro at the end of November, seeing off Greg O'Neil with a second-round stoppage in Birmingham. His second fight in January saw him knockout Szymon Kajda, again after two rounds, before that viral uppercut dispatched Makovec in March 2025. Three wins and three knockouts isn't a bad way to announce yourself on the world stage, and there have already been suggestions he could potentially follow in the footsteps of another legendary Welsh super middleweight. "Joe Calzaghe's left some big shoes to fill," he says with a smile. "I'd love to have a record like he has when I'm finished, but we'll wait and see. We'll take it one step at a time."
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