At first glance, Salt Poppy vs. Anthony Taylor seems less like a match and more like a sacrifice. Poppy, who's incredibly fast, strong and smart, seems downright invincible compared to his opponent. Sure, Anthony looks like the most aggressive Bieber, but his style is actually perfect for defeating Poppy. So let's recall the keys to victory over Salt Poppy and see if they fit Taylor. We'll also break down counter actions for Poppy. The thing is, these boxers are polar opposites. To make it easier to understand, let's use football as an example. By this analogy, Salt Poppy is a classic number 10, a creative forward. A person who not only scores goals, but skillfully creates opportunities for attacks. In other words, he's like Messi. Not the most athletic player, but he compensates for this with great understanding of the game. He uses his high-game IQ to create scoring chances. Anthony Taylor is the complete opposite. You might expect a comparison to... RUN OUT! Ah, but no. Taylor is like in Golukante. Like you? He's a disruptor. His job in soccer is to make it hard for others to play. Yes, it sounds strange, but this kind of work on the field is often underrated. It doesn't look flashy, but it's these people who bring victories. Thanks to them, passes don't reach their target, and creative players are locked in one section of the field, unable to work with the team. Taylor's style is very similar. Everything he does in the ring is to disrupt his opponent's fighting, putting them in uncomfortable positions and wearing them down. Is that enough to win against such a skillful magician as Salt Poppy? Keys to victory for Taylor. The main problem Salt Poppy poses for all YouTube boxers is that he's a South Park counter-puncher. If you try to pressure him, you'll do all the work for him, and he'll catch you with a left straight. If you try to counter-punch, he'll break you down with faints and knock you out with a hook. So what should you do? First, forget the classic stance. You need to fight in a frontal stance. The point is that Salt Poppy is a South Paul, and when you stand in a regular stance against a South Paul, you increase the attack range for the South Paul. That's why he's so good at landing the left hook. In a frontal stance, it'll be harder for him to hit you. To land a good punch, he'll need to wind up too much, or step too deep behind your legs and lose balance. At worst, he'll have to abandon the counter-punching style. So it's best to stand frontally, forcing him to work in an uncomfortable manner. The next step is intensive work with both hands. Forget about the lead and rear hands. Both hands should be equally important. But remember, you're fighting a counter-puncher, so focus on the number of punches and faints. That's your main goal. This way, you'll confuse him, and his counter-punching window won't be as effective. All his opponents tried to hit only the head, but to defeat a South Paul counter-puncher, you need to aim for the liver. In a frontal stance, it'll be easy enough to hit his liver. South Pauls have their right side of the body closer to the opponent, which is where the liver is. Everything mentioned above perfectly describes Anthony Taylor, who has said many times that he's inspired by Mike Tyson. Essentially, he fights like Tyson. He uses a frontal stance, constantly bouncing on his feet, and working with both hands. His main issue is that he relies on counter-punches to get into close range. And if his opponent doesn't know this, we end up with a situation like with Ash Raksu. This tall South Paul tried to throw a left hook in the first second of the fight, resulting in a knockdown. If you've been paying attention, you understand that with this knockdown, Anthony showed he can easily neutralize Salt Poppy's left hook. Then wear him down in the clinch, from where he can land punches. But if the opponent realizes that Taylor is hoping for a counter-punch to close the distance, we'll get a fight like the one with Tommy Fury and Idris Virgin. They used a lot of jabs to slow down Anthony's movement. More jabs also reduced the chance of a counter-attack with an overhand. That's why Taylor tried to duck down a lot, so the opponent simply couldn't reach him, and then he'd spring up with a punch. But Idris shut down that option too, throwing timely uppercuts. Still, even with Anthony's attack completely neutralized, his pressure and clinching still worked. Even in a 4 round fight, the opponent leaves the ring totally drained. Does Salt Poppy have enough cardio to stop an aggressive beaver? Keys to victory for Salt Poppy. There's a detailed analysis of the Filipinos technique on the channel, link in the description. Knowing his style will help understand this video. Salt Poppy, a South Paul counter-puncher, has a style that'll work great against any YouTube boxer. His front hand is in the perfect position for powerful swings, and he counter-attacks with his backhand when anyone tries to get close. But because of Taylor's frontal stance and work with both hands, Poppy needs to adapt to such an awkward opponent. In this fight, he needs to forget about the knockout and work on winning by points. Use not only the power jab, but also keep the opponent at a distance. Constantly working with the front hand can tire out Anthony as he won't be able to dodge all the time. The jab will also mess up Taylor's vision, allowing Poppy to hide attacks with his backhand. But it needs some changes too. One left straight won't be enough. Poppy should look at Idris Virgo's work, who skillfully counter-attack Taylor's ducking. And that's not all. Even if Taylor is subdued, he'll still try his luck in the clinch. It's best to avoid that, like Alex Wasabi's style. But if a clinch is unavoidable, don't let Anthony drain your arms. If he succeeds in tiring your arms, jabs will no longer be a problem, and it'll be easier for him to enter the striking distance. Salt Poppy vs Anthony Taylor Considering everything set above, you can see that this matchup is much more interesting than it seems. The fight will start very actively with Taylor pressuring in his classic style. And frankly, the first exchange will answer who will win this fight. If Poppy throws his classic punches like a left hook or a hook in a straight, he probably underestimated Taylor and is in for a tough night, hoping for a knockout win. Because if it goes to a decision, Anthony will likely win. But if we see a different salt Poppy, one who's ready to work with the jab, counter-taylor's ducking with uppercuts, or a combination of a backhand uppercut and hook, then the fight will lean towards the Filipino. However, that's just the first exchange. There's a whole bout ahead of us. In two out of three scenarios for salt Poppy, the fight will be exhausting. If he loses or wins by the judge's decision, either way, he'll have a tough time in the last round. Taylor's pressure will give him the opportunity to take the last round. Body shots and clinching will 100% drain salt Poppy. And since Anthony will look good in the final stretch, many will say that Poppy's win wasn't fair. The probability that the fighters will go to the judge's decision is 80%. But if salt Poppy can suddenly work some magic and win by knockout, it'll become an even bigger problem in the future, as no influencer will agree to fight him. If he manages to knock out a stylistically awkward opponent whom undefeated professional boxers couldn't finish, Poppy's management should think about a professional path for their fighter. How do you think this bout will go? If you have questions, you can go to my personal Instagram, link in the description.