By Matthew Hurley
It was very close. The old lion finally started to roar down the stretch of his 21st title defense, winning the last four rounds (although inexplicably losing the last round on judge Duane Ford’s official card – giving the decision to Taylor), but it was that early lead that the young challenger put together that staved off a final kill. As the fight between long-term champion Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor began to unfold, one thought kept creeping into mind, “What is Hopkins waiting for?” Going in, it seemed the champion would either charge Taylor, as it almost looked as though he would do at the opening bell, or, more in character, wait out his inexperienced foe and pick his shots in order to wear him down. He chose the latter and Taylor seized his opportunity early with tough-minded aggression, trying to impose his strength on the champion. It won him rounds and it ultimately won him the fight.
But did he really beat the champion? Did he really take the title away from the longest reigning middleweight champion of all time who swept the last four rounds? Somewhere Marvin Hagler is shaking his head. Taylor certainly held his ground and proved himself a worthy heir apparent, but in the eyes of many, he didn’t beat Hopkins. The old adage is that the challenger must take the title away from the champion. However, the fact is, when the opening bell rings there really is no champion – just two fighters trying to win. You put the rounds in the bank or you knock your opponent out. In the aftermath of the fight most boxing scribes had it for the champion or a draw. A few of those early rounds were very close and could have gone either way, but the champion closed the show. It all depends on whose style you preferred – the aggressive Taylor or the more economical and defensively sound Hopkins who made Taylor miss more than the pro-Arkansas native’s enthusiastic crowd support would lead you to believe. The judges were split and, quite frankly, a 115-113 score for Taylor isn’t a robbery. All those points scored for both men simply add up to a “rematch”.
That being said there were definite mixed feelings after Bernard Hopkins’ first loss in over a decade and Taylor’s biggest win in his young professional career. In Taylor’s case the sky is now the limit. He will only get better. Not only did he prove himself worthy of stepping up into boxing’s elite, he proved that his mental fortitude matches his ever improving boxing skills. He was not overwhelmed by the moment. He remained poised and fought evenly with an aging but still dangerous Hall of Fame bound fighter. Simply put, he has the potential to be a very big star in the boxing universe.
In the case of Hopkins we may have seen the last great surge from this oftentimes underappreciated fighter in those last four rounds of the bout. He turned it on, arguably a little late, but proved that fire still burns in his taught belly. Yet Taylor didn’t fold. That could be crucial if there is a rematch. Hopkins may have left the last pieces of his fistic greatness in the ring against Taylor. Taylor is now in the driver's seat, with Lou DiBella by his side in the passenger seat, with a road map to Taylor’s future in his hands. Don’t think for a moment that Taylor and DiBella won’t savor this victory and make Hopkins wait for a return bout.
Jermain Taylor’s victory could very well mark the final stage in the recent changing of the guard in boxing - something all sports eventually go through. Boxing, because of its brutality and individuality represents the most obvious and sometimes painful example of this axiom. With the retirement of Lennox Lewis, the successive defeats of Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Kostya Tszyu, Hopkins and the remnants of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield washing ashore like driftwood, boxing finds itself in transition. Fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, Diego Corrales and Taylor along with crafty veterans Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera will not only sustain the sport, but they will help create a new era. Throw in up and comers like Miguel Cotto and suddenly, despite a lackluster heavyweight division, boxing is thriving.
Still, it’s never easy to bid farewell to an era, and an era has ended. Boxing is the harshest and most unforgiving of sports, but the very punishing nature of the sport is what makes it so compelling. Fighters, so exposed on center stage, so alone, reveal themselves like no other athletes and leave themselves vulnerable to every hurt imaginable. They are so very human. Even a fighter like Bernard Hopkins, who for so long seemed almost mythically ageless. Perhaps he has one more great fight left inside his forty year old body but if he doesn’t, his performance against Jermain Taylor capped off a magnificent career. Just like Marvin Hagler in the aftermath of his loss to Sugar Ray Leonard, Hopkins has many people in his corner who believe he won.