Meet the Man Behind Anthony 'Pretty Boy' Taylor
Meet the Man Behind Anthony 'Pretty Boy' Taylor
Anthony Taylor will walk into Dublin and attempt to derail rising Irish star James Gallagher on Friday night.
Anthony "Pretty Boy" Taylor has been causing quite stir in Dublin, Ireland, ahead of Bellator 169.
Taylor will walk into enemy territory this Friday evening when he faces James Gallagher in the co-main event at the 3Arena, but in the past few days he's shown little regard for being public enemy No. 1.
His brash, cocky persona isn't to everyone's taste, but beneath the surface of it all, Taylor has much more to his story than just his fight week personality.
Speaking to FloCombat, Taylor revealed why he acts the way he does and some details about his difficult upbringing.
"I fight for every kid out there who wants to put themselves out there as fighter, who believes that they can but don't really have the opportunity to fight," Taylor said. "I want to give hope to all these kids who grew up without a father figure. I want to say 'Hey it's OK to grow up without a father figure. It doesn't mean you don't have that work ethic.'
"I never had family support. I didn't have a support system. What I had was a great work ethic that got me this far. I'm definitely fighting for my family and for my future. I don't have a college degree or a college education. I have to make what I have now. The way I look at it now is my life is going great, but I've been through so much watching friends and family die, but it made me who I am now.
"I may not be the smartest most intellectual person out there, but I'm fine with that and I accept that. When you accept that and accept God, you definitely become a better person. When you get better, your life becomes better. I just want people to know that it's OK to fail but just get back up and keep trying."
As a 1-1 professional fighter, this Friday will no doubt be Taylor's biggest payday of his career. While some fighters might choose to spend their windfall on watches, clothes, or jewelry, Taylor explained that he wants to give some of his money back to the community.
"I definitely want to do something for charity," Taylor explained. "This Christmas I want to donate like $2,000 to the homeless shelter or something like toys for toddlers you know? Seeing kids with less fortunate families without that this Christmas, I really want to give back and treat them.
"It's really important, because the kids of tomorrow are our future. Seeing as I was one of those kids growing up, not having a big Christmas like kids do these days, it hurts me and it's like wow. When you give a kid a certain thing or a toy, it can really change that kid's life. I definitely want to give back to the community, because I know how it is to live in that type of community and in that environment.
"That's why I just want to give back to the young kids, the homeless, young men, and women whose father or mother aren't around--that's what I want to do."
Taylor will walk into enemy territory this Friday evening when he faces James Gallagher in the co-main event at the 3Arena, but in the past few days he's shown little regard for being public enemy No. 1.
His brash, cocky persona isn't to everyone's taste, but beneath the surface of it all, Taylor has much more to his story than just his fight week personality.
Speaking to FloCombat, Taylor revealed why he acts the way he does and some details about his difficult upbringing.
"I fight for every kid out there who wants to put themselves out there as fighter, who believes that they can but don't really have the opportunity to fight," Taylor said. "I want to give hope to all these kids who grew up without a father figure. I want to say 'Hey it's OK to grow up without a father figure. It doesn't mean you don't have that work ethic.'
"I never had family support. I didn't have a support system. What I had was a great work ethic that got me this far. I'm definitely fighting for my family and for my future. I don't have a college degree or a college education. I have to make what I have now. The way I look at it now is my life is going great, but I've been through so much watching friends and family die, but it made me who I am now.
"I may not be the smartest most intellectual person out there, but I'm fine with that and I accept that. When you accept that and accept God, you definitely become a better person. When you get better, your life becomes better. I just want people to know that it's OK to fail but just get back up and keep trying."
As a 1-1 professional fighter, this Friday will no doubt be Taylor's biggest payday of his career. While some fighters might choose to spend their windfall on watches, clothes, or jewelry, Taylor explained that he wants to give some of his money back to the community.
"I definitely want to do something for charity," Taylor explained. "This Christmas I want to donate like $2,000 to the homeless shelter or something like toys for toddlers you know? Seeing kids with less fortunate families without that this Christmas, I really want to give back and treat them.
"It's really important, because the kids of tomorrow are our future. Seeing as I was one of those kids growing up, not having a big Christmas like kids do these days, it hurts me and it's like wow. When you give a kid a certain thing or a toy, it can really change that kid's life. I definitely want to give back to the community, because I know how it is to live in that type of community and in that environment.
"That's why I just want to give back to the young kids, the homeless, young men, and women whose father or mother aren't around--that's what I want to do."