Josh Taylor beats Prograis in stunning fight to win the super-lightweight World Boxing Super Series

JOSH TAYLOR slayed an American Werewolf in London to win the super-lightweight World Boxing Super Series and become the unified champion.

Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis came to the ring masked as the mythical Creole beast he was named after but he was left bloodied and beaten by the brave Scot.

The New Orleans icon survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Houston in 2017 but the Tartan Tornado was one natural disaster too many for the American.

Taylor added the WBA and Ring Magazine belt to his IBF strap with a gutsy and gruelling performance that earned him scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 117-112.

He then called out fellow champ Jose Ramirez by roaring: “Jose Ramirez, where you at? Let’s do it!

“What a fight, all respect to Regis, he’s a great champion and was very strong. I wish him all the best going on.

“I knew I could get to him. I don’t think he expected me to be able to switch it up so easily.”

Prograis, 30, seemed to start strongest when he connected with a stabbing right hand that stumbled Taylor but it was nothing serious and he recovered instantly.

Later in the tense opener, the pair clinched and Taylor was able to whip out two left hooks that landed on the side of Prograis’ head but failed to wobble him.

The second was a treat for fight fans, Prograis’ head movement was poetic at times and he targeted Taylor’s body as he was by far the taller man.

But Taylor was not taking a single step back and his uppercuts and hooks from mid-range were catching the visitor.

The third was another painfully even session, A Prograis left hook sent a squirt of Taylor’s sweat spewing across the ring.

But the Brit clipped the Louisiana man with a left hook to the temple, at the end of the stanza, to wrestle back the round.

Prograis took control of the fourth with a Left hook to Taylor’s ribs and a switch upstairs with a one-two to the head.

Once again the IBF boss clubbed his way back into the session and the enthralling action carried on after the bell with referee Marcus McDonnell having to separate them.

Taylor, 28, punished Prograis for his low lead right hand at the very end of the fifth, but the father-of-two smiled and shook his head as the crowd roared for their home fighter. And again the action leaked into the interval with action after the bell.

The two 10st southpaws swapped right hooks in the sixth and when Taylor’s ringside former gym-mate George Groves ordered him to throw a right to the body, he had instant success with the shot and looked for it again before the bell rang.

Taylor made the seventh the most one-sided round with a blistering start, a handful of right hooks and an uppercut hurt Prograis and left him with a bloody nose.

At the end of the round, rightly proud of his work, Taylor strolled back to his corner beating his chest like Braveheart.

Taylor was less urgent in round eight, perhaps taking his eye off the ball after the success of the previous session, and Prograis, 30, landed his best shot of the fight with his left.

Round nine was magnificent, both brave fighters landed highlight reel shots that would have put a lesser opponent straight to sleep, everyone in the 18,000 crowd was on the edge of their seat.

And they got another thriller in the 10th with both men landing enough shots to leave painful wounds above the other’s right eye.

The eleventh was again another three minutes of brutality that was hard to split but the obscene purple welt growing rapidly over Taylor’s eye made it look kike Prograis had enjoyed more success.

In the final exchanges, Taylor was reduced to a single peeper and Prograis hurt with a big left hand but the Brit roared back with a pinpoint uppercut.

The final seconds, like the previous 36 minutes, were almost impossible to split as the two sensational warriors left everything in the ring.