Heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor returns to the ring on Saturday, May 9, at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta. The fight streams live on DAZN. Across the ring stands Calvin Barnett. More importantly, the bout marks the first ten-round fight of Taylor’s young career.
For many fighters, that step brings pressure. For Taylor, it brings opportunity.
The Brooklyn native enters the fight after the best performance of his career. He stopped James Evans in five rounds and looked sharper, meaner, and far more confident. The victory mattered because questions had started to surround him.
Before the Evans fight, Taylor delivered two underwhelming outings. Those performances against Robert Simms and Michael Coffie slowed his momentum. Some observers wondered whether the former Brooklyn basketball player could truly fulfill his potential inside the ring.
Instead of hiding from criticism, Taylor studied it.
During an in-depth interview with Brunch Boxing, he explained how those frustrating nights changed his mindset and approach.
“I think those are little lessons I needed to learn,” Taylor said. “I figured it out. I figured the method out of how to stop people.”
That realization came after the Coffie fight. Taylor returned to the gym with a different attitude. He reviewed old footage and searched for mistakes instead of highlights.
“It happened after the Michael Coffie fight,” he said. “Once I went back into the lab, I did a lot of studying on my fights. I was looking and nitpicking everything I did wrong.”
Many young fighters watch tape to admire themselves. Taylor did the opposite. He criticized every flaw. He questioned every missed opportunity. That process forced him to become more honest about his development.
“The first one I could tell you with Robert Simms, with him, I wasn’t rough enough,” Taylor explained. “I wasn’t being rough. I should have been a little bit more rough, and he kept holding me. I should have put more weight on him.”
Then he addressed the Coffie fight with the same honesty.
“With the Michael Coffie fight, if I moved my hands a lot more, put my hands on him a little bit more, I think I could have stopped him, especially to the body,” he said. “And still be a little bit more rough with him too.”
That reflection changed his style.
Taylor believes he discovered a new fighting identity. He no longer wants to rely only on athleticism or natural power. Now he wants to impose himself physically every second of the fight.
“I learned how to be a lot rougher with my opponents, especially in sparring,” Taylor said. “I learned that. And I think that’s my new fighting method.”
The comments reveal a different side of Taylor. Fans often see his playful personality outside the ring. However, growth demanded self-awareness and discipline. He had to confront uncomfortable truths about himself.
“Knowing what I need to look for, it’s hard to explain,” Taylor said. “When you know, you know. When I’m watching it, I’m not there to credit myself. I’m bashing myself.”
He continued with even more frustration directed at himself.
“I’m like, bro, what the hell? Why you ain’t do this? You’re supposed to do that, bro. Do that.”
Those moments pushed him forward. Rather than make excuses, Taylor treated every mistake like homework.
“All the things I could have done,” he said. “I’m yelling at myself like why didn’t you do that, bro? What is you doing? I’m just trying to figure out why I didn’t do the certain things.”
That mentality carried directly into the Evans fight. Taylor entered the ring determined to apply everything he had learned.
“That was adding up to the two fights I didn’t get to stoppage,” he explained. “I made sure to be a lot rougher with my opponent.”
The change became obvious during the fight. Taylor leaned on Evans physically and mentally. Whenever Evans tried to hold, Taylor punished him with pressure and weight.
“If he decided to hold me, that’s what I did,” Taylor said. “If you watch it, I put my weight on him, made him take a knee.”
Then Taylor explained the psychological side of breaking an opponent.
“Cause once you take a knee that first time, I feel like you’re gonna wanna keep going back down there,” he said. “You know, it’s mental.”
His confidence grew as he described the sequence.
“Now it’s like, ‘Damn, I was already here before. Fuck it. Let me just go back down there and stay down this time.’”
That type of insight often separates prospects from contenders. Physical gifts matter in heavyweight boxing. Mental pressure matters just as much.
Recently, Taylor found another source of growth in an unexpected place. He received an invitation to spar former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
For any young heavyweight, that opportunity carries major significance. Wilder remains one of the hardest punchers in boxing history despite recent setbacks.
Taylor understood exactly what the invitation meant.
“That was a blessing because I have always wanted to spar with him,” he said. “Get him ready for his fight.”
The opportunity came suddenly while Taylor trained in camp with heavyweight contender Andrii Novytskyi.
“And then out of the blue, while I’m at Andrii’s camp, they hit me up that week,” Taylor recalled. “Talking about ‘Yo, come down to Alabama and help us spar.’”
Taylor did not hesitate.
“I was like, ‘Let’s do it,’” he said. “I’m trying to get there.”
Even with all his confidence, the moment still felt surreal.
“You know, I was all starstruck cause at the end of the day, he’s still Deontay Wilder.”
Taylor also pushed back against critics who dismiss Wilder’s technical ability. In his eyes, results still matter.
“No matter what people think about his skills he still has a 94% knockout rate,” Taylor said. “He’s still up there with the best.”
Then he made his point even clearer.
“He’s knocking people out. The power is real. Don’t get it twisted.”
The sparring sessions taught Taylor valuable lessons about power, commitment, and confidence. Wilder’s punching force left a major impression.
“Learning how hard he hit was definitely an eye opener,” Taylor admitted.
At the same time, the experience also inspired him.
“That gave me a chance to be like I can punch a lot harder too.”
Taylor studied Wilder’s willingness to throw punches without hesitation. He noticed how fully Wilder commits to every shot.
“Certain techniques he had,” Taylor explained. “I feel like he punches with everything he had without consequences to his body.”
That fearlessness helped Wilder build one of boxing’s highest knockout percentages.
“He’s just trying to punch you,” Taylor said. “That’s what gave him all those knockouts.”
Yet the biggest takeaway may have been psychological. Taylor entered the sparring sessions confident in his own skills. He left even more convinced that he belongs among elite heavyweights.
“I still have all the things I knew already,” he said. “I applied it in that sparring and everything I tried worked.”
Then he laughed about surviving the experience.
“I’m still here. I didn’t get knocked out,” Taylor said. “I feel like my confidence got a lot bigger just sparring him and staying alive, not waking up in a stretcher.”
Now Taylor stands at an important point in his career. The talent has always existed. The athleticism has never been questioned. Neither has the power.
The real question centered on maturity and consistency.
So far, Taylor seems determined to answer those doubts himself.
The heavyweight division always searches for the next American star. That search creates pressure for every promising prospect. However, Taylor appears more focused on growth than hype these days.
He understands what went wrong in previous fights. More importantly, he believes he fixed those problems.
Saturday’s matchup with Barnett offers another chance to prove it.
The ten-round distance could reveal plenty about Taylor’s conditioning, patience, and focus. It will also show whether the lessons from Simms, Coffie, Evans, and Wilder truly transformed him into a more complete fighter.
Yesterday’s Pryce Taylor relied heavily on talent.
Today’s Pryce Taylor studies, adjusts, and evolves.
That version might be far more dangerous.
