WestBay's own Charles Whittaker will be fighting Australian boxerShannan Taylor in the most significant fight of his career thisSaturday in Los Angeles, California - after the mysterious withdrawalof Taylor's opponent Miguel Ruiz.Taylor was set to fight the experienced Mexican on the undercardof the World Boxing Council welterweight title bout between OscarDe La Hoya and Shane Mosley in Los Angeles this weekend.
Ruiz withdrew from the fight just a week ago, forcing the US promotersto seek an 11th hour replacement - Charles Whittaker.
Taylor will now fight Charles - the hard-punching boxer who hasmade a name for himself in local events and has been traininghard to pursue his boxing career overseas. Now 26, he has 17 winsagainst eight losses, with 14 of his victories awarded via knockout.
If Taylor beats Whittaker, he is tipped to be next in line fora world title match up against either De La Hoya or Mosley. Or,it could be the other way around.
De La Hoya, 27, is a four-time world champion who has a recordof 32-1 with 26 knockouts. Mosley, 28, is 34-0 with 32 knockouts.
Taylor, who flew out of Australia last Staurday afternoon forLos Angeles, was untroubled by the late switch.
``I don't really know why Ruiz pulled out. Maybe he saw some tapesof my fights,'' Taylor said.
``It's no drama because it won't affect my preparation or my focus.I'm going over there with a job to do. This is my chance for ashot at a world title fight and no-one's going to take that opportunityaway from me.''
Australian promoter Craig Mordey was confident Taylor won't beaffected by Ruiz's sudden about-face.
``It's not an inconvenience whatsoever. If anything it'll probablyhelp Shannan,'' Mordey said.
``Whittaker is naturally bigger than Ruiz so the weight for thefight has been pushed up to 150lbs (68kg). That will suit Shannanbecause he can eat alright without having to worry about gettinghis weight down.''
Taylor and Whittaker clash in the first bout on the De La Hoyav Mosley card.
The fight will be seen live locally as a pay-per-view event at7:00 pm local CITN/CTS Wireless Cable station, Channel 23 Saturday,18 June.