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Pryce Taylor, Brooklyn heavyweight, is about as unconventional as boxers get

A SCHNEPS MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

In another universe, there may be another version of Pryce Taylor who hasn’t yet discovered boxing.

The rising heavyweight boxer (8–0, 6 KOs) is about as unconventional as most boxers get. He migrated to the sport when he was about to turn 20, after a failed college basketball career.

He likes competing. He likes showing off. But unlike the stereotypical boxer, he’s not arrogant. He likes to stay humble.

“I’m like a double side,” he told amNewYork. “Like, Yin [and] Yang.”

Taylor trains out of Brooklyn’s Cops & Kids Gym — known for breeding world champions like Richardson Hitchins. On July 26, he’ll face the biggest fight of his career on Claressa Shields’ undercard at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.’’

He was 19, turning 20, when he switched to boxing from basketball.

Taylor’s grades weren’t good enough to earn him a D1 scholarship. He had a 1.0 GPA in high school. He ended up as a walk-on at Corning Community College, which is part of the SUNY system. He didn’t play much until the end of the season, when his coach saw how good he was. Taylor was told he’d be starting in the fall.

He had to finish an assignment. He took out a computer from the library. When he was done, the library was closed, and he had to leave. He asked the head RA to hand in the computer for him.

“No problem,” Taylor was told.

Ahead of the following semester, the school called Taylor and asked him to pay for the stolen computer that they had replaced. He was confused. The computer had never been handed in. He couldn’t reach his coaches or his professors. He didn’t have the money to pay for it.

Taylor decided he wasn’t going back to school. He also found that the standard 9-to-5 life wasn’t for him. A co-worker recommended Cops & Kids.

“The 9-to-5 was stressing me out,” he said. “So I had to punch something. I decided to go to the boxing gym. Then I realized how good I was.”

Pryce Taylor
Boxing Hall of Fame Fight Night – Salita Promotions

What made boxing feel so natural to Taylor was his agility, developed through years of playing basketball.

“My footwork is already there,” he said. “I just had to work on my hands and my, you know, just knowing when to do certain things at certain times.”

Starting any sport late puts an athlete behind the 8-ball, especially with the aspirations of a professional career. Learning boxing was the easy part. Taylor’s new challenge became getting to know the people in the boxing world.

Taylor didn’t have an idol growing up, either. He was more focused on watching who he had to beat. He’s always been focused on proving that he’s the next heavyweight to come out of Brooklyn. That doesn’t come from trying to beat someone weaker than him.

“In the profession you’re in, you can’t really have a hero,” Taylor said. “You can’t. You never want to see your hero. Because if you ever meet your hero and then they disappoint you, now you’re just wasting your time.”

He equated this mindset to The Incredibles, when Buddy Pine met his hero, Mr. Incredible — Buddy had hoped to become his sidekick, but when he was turned down, he became resentful and turned into the villain, Syndrome.

“There’s no heroes,” Taylor said. “I just try to hurt everybody.”

Another effect of starting boxing later is Taylor’s small fan base. His family members and former classmates will always have his back. He knows the fans will come once he starts fighting more.

But Brooklyn loves a good heavyweight, he said. They want one. They need one.

“They don’t know I’m around yet,” Taylor added. “They don’t know yet. They’re gonna find out soon.”

For more like this Pryce Taylor exclusive, visit AMNY.com