Boxing legend Barry McGuigan says that young Scottish fighter Josh Taylor is the most exciting Scottish talent since Ken Buchanan.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Taylor is now managed by McGuigan after signing to London-based Cyclone Promotions, and he will contest his first professional bout on Saturday night in Texas against Alejandro Gonzalez Jnr on the undercard of stable-mate Carl Frampton’s IBF World Super Bantamweight title defence.

McGuigan is sure that the Prestonpans boxer has what it takes to reach the very top.

He said: “Josh Taylor is the most exciting fighter to come out of Scotland, I think, since Ken Buchanan.

“That’s not being disparaging to any of the other fighters that have come from there, but he is the most talented kid that I’ve seen in a long, long time.

“He’s charismatic, he’s good looking and he can really fight. He’s brilliantly talented, he’s very quick and he’s got mesmerising skill.

“We’re going to be featuring a lot of his shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow and build up his following there, just as we did with Carl Frampton in Belfast.

“It’s a very exciting future he has ahead of him, he’s a really talented young man and he ticks all the boxes.

“There’s a long road ahead and I’m sure there will be bumps along the way, but at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow he was the standout talent by a mile and a half.

“He’s tall and rangy, he’s a lightweight/light welterweight, and I think he can move through the weights as well.

“The future is bright if we do things right and we get commitment from Josh, and I know in the couple of months we’ve been working with him, he’s utterly obsessed by training and learning something incrementally every single day to improve.

“He’s really got all of the fundamentals, and if you’re looking for innate boxing talent and intelligence, then this kid’s really got it.

“The bottom line though is that all means nothing if you can’t fight. And this kid can fight.

“Ricky Burns is a good fighter and so was Jim Watt, but I don’t think I’ve seen a talent come out of Scotland like this since Buchanan."

Taylor is delighted to be working with McGuigan after benefitting from training alongside Alex Arthur in his youth, and he feels he is now primed to make the grade in the professional ranks.

“I feel that I couldn’t have a better team behind me to help me achieve my goal of becoming a world champion and following in the footsteps of a legend like Ken Buchanan,” Taylor said.

“He fought all over America, and if I could achieve anything like Buchanan did, I’d be a happy man.

“I couldn’t ask for a better manager or mentor, and I firmly believe he’s going to take me all the way.

“I can’t wait to get started on Saturday.”