By
David P. Greisman
On Saturday night, Bernard Hopkins limited Jermain Taylor’s offense, controlling the pace of the fight, using exemplary footwork, counterpunching, an inside game and just the right amount of dirty tactics to provide the strictest test yet (and perhaps ever) for the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist and new middleweight champion.
He forgot to win enough rounds.
In this week’s edition of Fighting Words, I will analyze nearly every facet of Hopkins’s split decision defeat, from the performances of both pugilists to the scoring of the twelfth round by one of the judges, breaking down the facts and opining along the way. This week’s segment of The 10 Count
On Saturday night, Bernard Hopkins limited Jermain Taylor’s offense, controlling the pace of the fight, using exemplary footwork, counterpunching, an inside game and just the right amount of dirty tactics to provide the strictest test yet (and perhaps ever) for the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist and new middleweight champion.
He forgot to win enough rounds.
In this week’s edition of Fighting Words, I will analyze nearly every facet of Hopkins’s split decision defeat, from the performances of both pugilists to the scoring of the twelfth round by one of the judges, breaking down the facts and opining along the way. This week’s segment of The 10 Count
includes thoughts on the undercard of the Hopkins/Taylor pay-per-view, as well as items concerning Kassim Ouma, Juan Diaz, Danny Williams, and Shane Mosley’s new partnership with Golden Boy Promotions.
The Master Strategist Fails Himself
Despite jumping the gun and running across the ring just prior to the opening bell, Bernard Hopkins did little to press the action for the majority of the fight. Whereas against Howard Eastman, Hopkins had slowed down the pace of the fight and won nearly every round on the scorecard, with Jermain Taylor he seemed content to let the young challenger build what would become an insurmountable lead.
After three rounds had been completed, Hopkins was only averaging four landed punches per round, with Taylor just slightly better at six. Yet it was Taylor’s throwing of 36 shots a stanza, compared to Hopkins’s 15, that gave the Little Rock native an early advantage.
It wasn’t until the fifth that a round clearly went to Hopkins, a small victory that came as a result of an accidental head butt that opened up a gash on Taylor’s scalp, followed by a few hard right hand leads.
Hopkins could have used round five as a turning point in the match, but instead gave the sixth away, landing only four punches while letting a confused Taylor, busted open for the first time in his career, take the stanza and the momentum back as the fight hit the halfway point.
The plodding pace continued in rounds seven and eight, with Hopkins content to try and eke out rounds with the minimum amount of offense. And when the tide began to turn in the ninth, when Hopkins began to land cleaner and harder, affecting Taylor more, he was already far behind on two judges’ cards.
In round ten, however, Hopkins used a left hook to make Taylor duck, and when “Bad Intentions” lifted his head, Hopkins landed a right cross that left Taylor holding on for his dear life. Suddenly, the trap that Hopkins had been setting during his prolonged period of in-ring study had sprung into action, and Taylor, who appeared to be exhausted, was the proverbial deer in the headlights.
But again, Hopkins would shoot himself in the foot, stepping back and looking for more openings for his right hand lead to land instead of coming forward to maul his opponent until the referee stopped the fight. Hopkins had fallen behind in rounds and needed a knockout, but his overconfidence and inability to grasp the status quo ended up costing him the championship.
Hopkins naively confirmed as much in his post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, during which he expressed disappointment that he lost, that he should have come out the winner considering the state that he had left Taylor in during the waning portions of the night.
He had waited too long, thought too much, and as a result, the wily veteran Executioner was now an ex-champion.
After three rounds had been completed, Hopkins was only averaging four landed punches per round, with Taylor just slightly better at six. Yet it was Taylor’s throwing of 36 shots a stanza, compared to Hopkins’s 15, that gave the Little Rock native an early advantage.
It wasn’t until the fifth that a round clearly went to Hopkins, a small victory that came as a result of an accidental head butt that opened up a gash on Taylor’s scalp, followed by a few hard right hand leads.
Hopkins could have used round five as a turning point in the match, but instead gave the sixth away, landing only four punches while letting a confused Taylor, busted open for the first time in his career, take the stanza and the momentum back as the fight hit the halfway point.
The plodding pace continued in rounds seven and eight, with Hopkins content to try and eke out rounds with the minimum amount of offense. And when the tide began to turn in the ninth, when Hopkins began to land cleaner and harder, affecting Taylor more, he was already far behind on two judges’ cards.
In round ten, however, Hopkins used a left hook to make Taylor duck, and when “Bad Intentions” lifted his head, Hopkins landed a right cross that left Taylor holding on for his dear life. Suddenly, the trap that Hopkins had been setting during his prolonged period of in-ring study had sprung into action, and Taylor, who appeared to be exhausted, was the proverbial deer in the headlights.
But again, Hopkins would shoot himself in the foot, stepping back and looking for more openings for his right hand lead to land instead of coming forward to maul his opponent until the referee stopped the fight. Hopkins had fallen behind in rounds and needed a knockout, but his overconfidence and inability to grasp the status quo ended up costing him the championship.
Hopkins naively confirmed as much in his post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, during which he expressed disappointment that he lost, that he should have come out the winner considering the state that he had left Taylor in during the waning portions of the night.
He had waited too long, thought too much, and as a result, the wily veteran Executioner was now an ex-champion.
Taylor Showed Promise, Flaws
The heir apparent has become king, but along the way he has shown weaknesses that can be exploited to limit his reign.
Taylor dislikes pressing the action, especially when it can open him up to hard counters, and as such, changes in pace and direction that make him think will make him lose focus and stray from his game plan.
Taylor, who had played the role of counter puncher against smaller foes Raul Marquez and William Joppy, instead found himself the aggressor against Hopkins. While searching for openings, Taylor was unable to let his hands go or attack Hopkins’s body, and following him across the ring tested his conditioning.
Considering that Hopkins, a hard puncher but not a knockout artist by any means, had Taylor in danger, the question arises as to whether Taylor’s chin could hold up against stronger opponents. The weight that Taylor gains before his bouts begin show that he may not be long for the middleweight division, but his jaw could fail him should he ever face the likes of 168-lb. titlist Jeff Lacy.
Still, it must be remembered that Taylor is still developing, and that his match with Hopkins came at this point in his career out of necessity, with Hopkins aiming to retire by the end of January 2006.
Should the contracted rematch between Taylor and Hopkins occur, it will be interesting to see which man can adjust more in order to ensure victory. And the rematch is the best next fight for Taylor, as it will earn more money for him than any other match at the moment. Also, despite Taylor now holding the four middleweight belts, he is currently way out of Winky Wright’s league.
Taylor dislikes pressing the action, especially when it can open him up to hard counters, and as such, changes in pace and direction that make him think will make him lose focus and stray from his game plan.
Taylor, who had played the role of counter puncher against smaller foes Raul Marquez and William Joppy, instead found himself the aggressor against Hopkins. While searching for openings, Taylor was unable to let his hands go or attack Hopkins’s body, and following him across the ring tested his conditioning.
Considering that Hopkins, a hard puncher but not a knockout artist by any means, had Taylor in danger, the question arises as to whether Taylor’s chin could hold up against stronger opponents. The weight that Taylor gains before his bouts begin show that he may not be long for the middleweight division, but his jaw could fail him should he ever face the likes of 168-lb. titlist Jeff Lacy.
Still, it must be remembered that Taylor is still developing, and that his match with Hopkins came at this point in his career out of necessity, with Hopkins aiming to retire by the end of January 2006.
Should the contracted rematch between Taylor and Hopkins occur, it will be interesting to see which man can adjust more in order to ensure victory. And the rematch is the best next fight for Taylor, as it will earn more money for him than any other match at the moment. Also, despite Taylor now holding the four middleweight belts, he is currently way out of Winky Wright’s league.
The Scorecards
I don’t know how in the world Jerry Roth saw the fight 116-112 for Hopkins. I had Hopkins winning 115-113, but I had no issue with anyone scoring it the other way around, seven rounds to five in favor of Taylor.
What bothers me is that judge Duane Ford somehow felt that Jermain Taylor had won round twelve. Had he given the stanza to Hopkins, the fight would have been a draw. I do not, however, blame Ford for Hopkins’s loss; rather, I believe that Hopkins put himself in a poor position, having dropped too many rounds early and by not dropping Taylor late.
What bothers me is that judge Duane Ford somehow felt that Jermain Taylor had won round twelve. Had he given the stanza to Hopkins, the fight would have been a draw. I do not, however, blame Ford for Hopkins’s loss; rather, I believe that Hopkins put himself in a poor position, having dropped too many rounds early and by not dropping Taylor late.
The 10 Count
1. Wayne McCullough should take pride in knowing that although he was stopped, for the first time in his career, against Oscar Larios, he was never knocked down or out. The problem, and the reason that his trainer Freddie Roach, referee Richard Steele and ringside physician Dr. Margaret Goodman all wanted the bout halted, was that McCullough was in danger of being knocked off. And that is why, despite McCullough’s objections that he was fine and that there were only two rounds remaining, that the tenth-round stoppage was correct. McCullough was taking way too much punishment, and Larios had pulled away on the scorecards, landing clean, hard punches while McCullough’s activity level dropped dramatically.
2. Fernando Montiel had a so-so performance against late replacement Evert Briceno, pulling off a unanimous decision but failing to put away his opponent down the stretch. His opponent, a Nicaraguan nobody, was able to get stronger as the bout went on, and provided too much difficulty for WBO junior bantamweight titlist Montiel. Perhaps it was just an off night against a foe that he knew little about, but under the bright lights of a pay-per-view, Montiel should have done everything he could to win fans instead of blandly boxing backwards.
3. Vernon Forrest returned from his two-year layoff with a second round TKO over designated squashee Sergio Rios. Forrest didn’t show any signs of ring rust, but he wasn’t exactly in with a formidable challenger. Instead, Forrest did what he needed to do, and he should continue to raise his level of opposition until he gets to the point where he can see if he has returned to championship-level form.’
4. Did anyone else notice Jim Lampley’s bathroom break in round eleven of Montiel/Briceno?
5. A Dream Defeated: Leningrad’s Roman Karmazin sent Kassim Ouma a message: “From Russia, With Love.” Karmazin knocked down Ouma twice this past Thursday, and could have put him away for good, but instead chose to step back and box en route to a unanimous decision victory. With the win, Karmazin gained Ouma’s IBF junior middleweight belt and knocked Kassim off of his pedestal. Whether or not the reports are true that Ouma had been seen throwing up in training camp, he definitely was not his usual active self against Karmazin. Ouma was already being avoided as champion; for him to find opponents now that he is without a belt will be even more difficult.
6. WBA lightweight beltholder Juan Diaz returned to the ring Saturday in a non-title bout against Arthur Cruz, which Diaz won via fifth-round TKO. Diaz hadn’t fought since his January victory over Billy Irwin, as a cut suffered during training for an April match with Ebo Elder put the young champion on the shelf. Surprisingly, Diaz has refused to renew his booking with Elder, considering the bout promised to be action-packed and entertaining.
7. Shane Mosley beat Oscar De La Hoya in the ring as a welterweight and a junior middleweight, but the long-time friends and two-time foes are now business partners. Mosley has joined De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions as President of Fighter Relations, a role in which he will advise GBP’s roster and scout and develop future talent. His entry into Golden boy will also be as a fighter, as Mosley will face the undefeated Jose Luis Cruz on the undercard of the September 17 Marco Antonio Barrera/Robbie Peden pay-per-view. Speaking of Barrera, he also now holds a non-fighting role with De La Hoya’s company, running the company’s interests in Mexico.
8. Danny Williams was a last-minute no-show for his British Heavyweight title fight with Matt Skelton. Williams called out with the flu, although that claim is met with skepticism due to his weighing in at a massive 283 pounds. The show went on, though, and Skelton retained his belt by knocking out replacement Mark Krence in the seventh round.
9. The heavyweight mess is one step closer to being cleaned up. Vitali Klitschko had created a furor by seeking an opponent for his September 24 return to the ring other than the winner of August’s Hasim Rahman/Monte Barrett WBC interim title match. Press releases were sent out, conference calls were held and lawyers filed briefs with the sanctioning body. The fuss is over now, thankfully, and Klitschko will defend against whomever picks up the interim belt.
10. A few final notes on Hopkins/Taylor: I don’t know how bad the cut was, but they made a wise choice in attending to the bleeding and letting the result be decided in the ring. Also, Hopkins must have at least had a slight idea as to his needing to take advantage of every moment remaining … he and Taylor didn’t do the customary touching of gloves at the beginning of the final round.
2. Fernando Montiel had a so-so performance against late replacement Evert Briceno, pulling off a unanimous decision but failing to put away his opponent down the stretch. His opponent, a Nicaraguan nobody, was able to get stronger as the bout went on, and provided too much difficulty for WBO junior bantamweight titlist Montiel. Perhaps it was just an off night against a foe that he knew little about, but under the bright lights of a pay-per-view, Montiel should have done everything he could to win fans instead of blandly boxing backwards.
3. Vernon Forrest returned from his two-year layoff with a second round TKO over designated squashee Sergio Rios. Forrest didn’t show any signs of ring rust, but he wasn’t exactly in with a formidable challenger. Instead, Forrest did what he needed to do, and he should continue to raise his level of opposition until he gets to the point where he can see if he has returned to championship-level form.’
4. Did anyone else notice Jim Lampley’s bathroom break in round eleven of Montiel/Briceno?
5. A Dream Defeated: Leningrad’s Roman Karmazin sent Kassim Ouma a message: “From Russia, With Love.” Karmazin knocked down Ouma twice this past Thursday, and could have put him away for good, but instead chose to step back and box en route to a unanimous decision victory. With the win, Karmazin gained Ouma’s IBF junior middleweight belt and knocked Kassim off of his pedestal. Whether or not the reports are true that Ouma had been seen throwing up in training camp, he definitely was not his usual active self against Karmazin. Ouma was already being avoided as champion; for him to find opponents now that he is without a belt will be even more difficult.
6. WBA lightweight beltholder Juan Diaz returned to the ring Saturday in a non-title bout against Arthur Cruz, which Diaz won via fifth-round TKO. Diaz hadn’t fought since his January victory over Billy Irwin, as a cut suffered during training for an April match with Ebo Elder put the young champion on the shelf. Surprisingly, Diaz has refused to renew his booking with Elder, considering the bout promised to be action-packed and entertaining.
7. Shane Mosley beat Oscar De La Hoya in the ring as a welterweight and a junior middleweight, but the long-time friends and two-time foes are now business partners. Mosley has joined De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions as President of Fighter Relations, a role in which he will advise GBP’s roster and scout and develop future talent. His entry into Golden boy will also be as a fighter, as Mosley will face the undefeated Jose Luis Cruz on the undercard of the September 17 Marco Antonio Barrera/Robbie Peden pay-per-view. Speaking of Barrera, he also now holds a non-fighting role with De La Hoya’s company, running the company’s interests in Mexico.
8. Danny Williams was a last-minute no-show for his British Heavyweight title fight with Matt Skelton. Williams called out with the flu, although that claim is met with skepticism due to his weighing in at a massive 283 pounds. The show went on, though, and Skelton retained his belt by knocking out replacement Mark Krence in the seventh round.
9. The heavyweight mess is one step closer to being cleaned up. Vitali Klitschko had created a furor by seeking an opponent for his September 24 return to the ring other than the winner of August’s Hasim Rahman/Monte Barrett WBC interim title match. Press releases were sent out, conference calls were held and lawyers filed briefs with the sanctioning body. The fuss is over now, thankfully, and Klitschko will defend against whomever picks up the interim belt.
10. A few final notes on Hopkins/Taylor: I don’t know how bad the cut was, but they made a wise choice in attending to the bleeding and letting the result be decided in the ring. Also, Hopkins must have at least had a slight idea as to his needing to take advantage of every moment remaining … he and Taylor didn’t do the customary touching of gloves at the beginning of the final round.
Next Week’s Fighting Words – Comparing HBO to WWE; August Preview
In next week’s edition of Fighting Words, I will argue that HBO Boxing is morphing, in a manner, into the sweet science’s version of the WWE. I will also preview the major fights scheduled to take place for the month of August, including Lacy/Reid, Vargas/Castillejo, Chi/Juarez and the Don King pay-per-view show.
In next week’s edition of Fighting Words, I will argue that HBO Boxing is morphing, in a manner, into the sweet science’s version of the WWE. I will also preview the major fights scheduled to take place for the month of August, including Lacy/Reid, Vargas/Castillejo, Chi/Juarez and the Don King pay-per-view show.
