by David P. Greisman
Middleweight titleholder Jermain Taylor has once again found himself in trouble, and that news coincides with word of the cancelation of his Feb. 6 defense against Sergio Mora.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette had the news of Taylor’s arrest, while boxing reporter Michael Woods of The Sweet Science spoke to promoter Lou DiBella, who said the bout is off and that Taylor fractured a rib, an injury that occurred a couple of days ago.
Apparently no one told DiBella’s press team, who sent out applications for media credentials at about 5:28 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday for the planned Feb. 6 show in Mississippi on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”
The newspaper said Taylor was at an intersection in Little Rock on Monday afternoon when he allegedly shot a gun about five times. “Taylor has been charged with five counts of aggravated assault,” the article said. “The boxer has also been charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and possession of marijuana.”
Taylor was already facing a court date in another case. He entered a not guilty plea in the case stemming from an incident in which the middleweight titleholder allegedly shot his cousin and threatened another man in late August.
A hearing has been scheduled for May 29, and a jury trial is scheduled to take place on June 23 and June 24, according to online court records. Taylor is facing one felony count of first-degree battery and one felony count of first-degree terroristic threatening.
He was also accused last month of throwing a brick that struck a woman, a case he claimed was in self-defense. Online court records don’t yet list any charges.
Taylor, who is 36 years old, won the middleweight championship in 2005 with a split decision win over Bernard Hopkins. He reigned until 2007, losing via technical knockout to Kelly Pavlik. Taylor dropped a decision to Pavlik in a rematch, won a decision over Jeff Lacy and then was stopped by Carl Froch in the final round of their fight in early 2009. He then entered the “Super Six” super middleweight tournament.
His first and only tournament fight came against Arthur Abraham, who scored a one-punch, 12th-round knockout. Taylor suffered a brain bleed and was out of the sport for about two years. He returned in late 2011 after undergoing a series of medical examinations. Taylor won four bouts in a row and ultimately met a hobbled Sam Soliman this past October, scoring several knockdowns and taking Soliman’s title by unanimous decision. That moved Taylor’s record to 33-4-1 with 20 KOs.
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