by David P. Greisman
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com

The instants replay, constantly and alternately taunting and haunting Jermain Taylor.

It is late Saturday night in late September in Atlantic City. The second round is underway in Taylor’s defense of the middleweight championship against a hard-punching challenger named Kelly Pavlik. Taylor, once loftily publicized, is now often criticized for the mediocre manner in which he has ruled his division.

Boom.

Taylor lands an overhand right, following with several more punches that leave Pavlik flailing. An onslaught of hooks sends Pavlik falling forward onto the canvas.

Pavlik rises. The round is long, the odds against him longer.

A looping right hand high on Pavlik’s head sends him stumbling across the ring. Taylor fires away with more hooks, but he appears to punch himself out. Pavlik holds on. The bell rings. Pavlik’s head doesn’t.

“I think about it all the time,” Taylor said last week on a media conference call. “What comes into my head is how I could have trained harder or finish him off in the second round. And all the should-haves, could-haves in the world is not going to change anything.

“If I get him in that position again, I’m going to finish him,” he said. “That’s what I’m training for. I just felt like I wasted a lot of energy. I threw a lot of stupid punches and I should have put them together, gone to the body, uppercuts. I could have done a lot of things I didn’t do.”

Sunday approaches, but neither the night nor the fight are over. It is the seventh round. The lights in Atlantic City remain on. Jermain Taylor’s will soon be off.

Boom.

Pavlik lands a right cross, sending Taylor staggering into the blue corner. Pavlik closes in. A left uppercut, and Taylor’s head bobbles, his eyes rolling first toward the ceiling and then to the back of his head. Left hook, right hook, right uppercut. Another pair of left hooks. Taylor goes limp.

In the books, the fight is over. But the instants replay on video and in his mind.

“I have watched it a couple of times, but not a lot,” Taylor said. “It’s not something I like looking at.”

In those instants, he lost his championship. He lost his undefeated record. He lost.

“It’s all about revenge now,” Taylor said. “I’m just going in there getting back everything this man took from me.

“It took a butt kicking to get me back on track, “ he said. “Now I feel like I’m back on track, and can’t nobody beat me when I’m at the top of my game.”

Pavlik begs to differ. The win has given him the mental advantage. “The Ghost” is haunting Jermain Taylor.

“I don’t know how he’s going to react from that knockout,” Pavlik said last week on a conference call. “It was a pretty wicked knockout, and neurologically I don’t know how he’s going to respond. I don’t know mentally if he’s going to be hesitant, if he’s going to come out firing.”

Pavlik could be where Taylor is now, a formerly undefeated fighter recovering from a stunning knockout loss. Round two nearly prevented round seven.

“It was a behind-the-ear shot, the equilibrium shot,” Pavlik said. “I got hit with a lot of those in the second round.”

The fight is over. But the instant replays on video and in his mind.

“I watched the film over and over and over,” Pavlik said. “I was there mentally. I wasn’t foggy. I knew everything that was going on. It was just my legs, you know, one of those buzzing feelings, and we just had to hold on. It was just like somebody just pulled the carpet out from underneath me, and I got right back up.

“There was a minute-forty-five left in that round when I went down the first time, and there wasn’t another knockdown,” he said. “He was trying. He was swinging for the fences.”

But Taylor struck out. And Pavlik thinks he can strike Taylor again. With the fight being contested at a catch-weight of 166 pounds, the Youngstown native believes that the physical advantage is his, too.

“I’m taller than he is, and it’s hard for me to make 160,” Pavlik said. “Now I can sit there and work out like I do and even harder, and eat and refuel my body. I’ll have my balance. I’ll have my snap. Everything will be there. I won’t be drained.

Confidence is not cockiness. Pavlik knows he can’t let that second round have a second time around.

“We prepare for anything,” Pavlik said. “We’ll be prepared for him to come out banging. We prepare for him to come out boxing.

“He really wants to redeem himself, so we can’t take nothing lightly.”

The instants have been replayed. But will the sequel be true to the original? Saturday in Las Vegas. Kelly Pavlik. Jermain Taylor.

Boom.

The 10 Count

1.  Carlos Quintana demonstrated the depth of the welterweight division Saturday, outpointing Paul Williams over 12 rounds in a surprisingly entertaining clash that could have implications on future proceedings in the 147-pound weight class.

Quintana and Williams had shared a “Boxing After Dark” card on HBO once before, appearing in separate matches in June 2006 in which both fighters came out victorious. On that night, Quintana out-boxed undefeated and heavily favored prospect Joel Julio while Williams overcame an early onslaught from Walter Dario Matthysse before ultimately scoring a stoppage win.

Bits and pieces of both bouts reappeared Saturday. Williams proved to be vulnerable to hooks and strong, solid shots. Quintana used footwork, skill and sheer determination to stifle his opponent’s physical advantages. And Williams fought back, digging into his reserves and his resolve in an attempt to retain a title belt he was defending for just the first time.

Quintana was the one to come out triumphant, though, unanimously taking the judges’ scorecards by tallies of 116-112 (twice) and 115-113. The win proved to be an impressive turn of events for the Puerto Rican southpaw, whose lone loss came 14 months ago against celebrated compatriot Miguel Cotto. In that bout, Quintana retired on his stool after five rounds against the welterweight wrecking ball. There would be no quit against Williams.

Nor will there be any quitting from Williams. Quintana’s win exemplifies the maxim that defeat shouldn’t equal dejection. Williams’ dethroning last year of Antonio Margarito was a major accomplishment for a prospect who had oft gotten by on his imposing size and work rate. He will come back, more developed and more determined than ever.

Williams’ loss does further cement Cotto’s status as the number one challenger to 147-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. And while “Pretty Boy Floyd” is set for another business transaction with Oscar De La Hoya, Cotto will attempt to assert his claims to contention in bouts with Alfonso Gomez and, should he win that, with whomever comes out on top in the rematch between Kermit Cintron and Margarito.

Waiting in the distance, among others, are fighters such as Quintana and Williams. But few can complain when those further down in the divisional rankings are still worth watching and watching out for.

2.  Someone who could soon be added to that list is Andre Berto, whose development continued with a technical knockout of Michel Trabant on the televised undercard to Williams-Quintana.

It was but a year ago that Berto was running roughshod over journeyman Norberto Bravo. But since then he’s survived a gut check against tough veteran Cosme Rivera, scored a late stoppage against gritty 147-pounder David Estrada and demolished Trabant. It’s not exactly enough to rank him alongside the second-tier boxers at welterweight, but it could be a good sign of things to come.

Trabant is only 29, but the veteran of four-dozen fights appeared to be far from the form that once earned him fringe contender status. He was slow, defensive and largely ineffective. Berto did precisely what he should do against foes that are either unwilling or unable, taking the bout into his own hands by punishing his fellow pugilist with hard combinations. Trabant finally wilted for good after the sixth round, retiring in his corner.

3.  In other action Saturday, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defeated Jose Celaya, stopping the 31-3 fighter after Celaya called it a night in the middle of the eighth round.

Chavez, whose 36 professional bouts in four years have essentially substituted for an amateur career, looks likely to continue his active streak that saw him fighting five times in 2007. It doesn’t hurt that he is now headlining independent, profitable pay-per-view shows despite having a ledger that lacks landmark victories.

Part of it is the name. Part of it is the potential.

Chavez’s promoter, Top Rank, has created another draw with the same wise matchmaking and marketing that built up so many stars before. Whereas Chavez was once on track for a crossroads bout with first-season “Contender” alum Alfonso Gomez, that bout is no longer seen as necessary as long as the kid puts fannies in seats and on couches, no matter the opponent. He’s still young – he turns 22 on Saturday – but he’s already drawn enough attention that many wonder how he’ll do against more experienced and capable foes. Prolonging the payoff can be a wise marketing strategy. For the hardcore fans, it’s just incredibly maddening. Chavez-Gomez would mean more to the sport. Gomez, however, will appear in April instead against another brilliantly groomed Top Rank fighter, Miguel Cotto.

4.  On the undercard, Jose Luis Zertuche, a former Kelly Pavlik kayo victim, made his first appearance since being knocked out cold by the current middleweight champion.

It didn’t turn out too well.

Zertuche was in against Marco Antonio Rubio, a solid former junior middleweight who holds wins against Grady Brewer and J.C. Candelo. Zertuche has spent most of his career in the 160-pound division, but that didn’t necessarily translate into advantages in size and power.

Rather, it was Rubio scoring the stoppage, forcing referee Jesus Salcedo to call a halt to the action in the final minute of the seventh round. With Rubio’s current positioning as a gatekeeper opponent, the loss could leave Zertuche locked out of major main events. Zertuche has now lost three in a row: a split decision with Fulgencio Zuniga and the early nights against Pavlik and Rubio. Zertuche has entertained often, but it is entirely possible that his 34 years and two kayo losses now make him more vulnerable to being consigned to measuring-stick status.

5.  Though it was not shown on the Chavez-Celaya pay-per-view, Tommy Morrison was on the undercard, making the second appearance in his controversial comeback Saturday and taking out 3-0-2 Matt Weishaar via a third-round technical knockout.

Morrison last fought a year ago, stopping a similarly hopeless John Castle. That was Morrison’s first bout in more than a decade. And many still wonder how he has been allowed to return.

Morrison’s involuntary banishment from the sport began in 1996, when he tested positive for HIV. After traveling to Japan and knocking out designated opponent Marcus Rhode, Morrison retired.

Morrison returned last year, though, having convinced the West Virginia Athletic Commission that he either no longer has HIV, or that the ‘90s test yielded a false positive. Saturday’s fight went on in Mexico, despite the protests of an Association of Boxing Commissions that, on this occasion, was admittedly powerless in terms of influence and jurisdiction.

6.  Sticking with the circus sideshows, disgraced former figure skater Tonya Harding saw plans to appear last week in an exhibition boxing match fall through when the Kentucky nightclub that would have staged the fight failed to line up a licensed referee and medical personnel, according to Louisville television station WLKY.

The problem, apparently, is that Tonya Harding is a professional boxer. And no, that wasn’t a typo. Harding fought six times between 2003 and 2004 against similarly inexperienced opposition, splitting the wins and losses straight down the middle.

Instead of donning gloves, Harding signed autographs and sang in front of a crowd of approximately 200 people, according to Louisville newspaper The Courier-Journal. And no, that wasn’t a typo.

7.  Writing “Tonya Harding” and “professional boxer” in the same sentence. To quote Nancy Kerrigan: “Why me?”

8.  B.J. Flores took a 12-round unanimous decision over Darnell Wilson on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights,” but neither the bout nor the winner lived up to expectations.

Flores-Wilson pitted an undefeated cruiserweight prospect against one of the most entertaining combatants to compete in recent years at the 200-pound weight limit. Many expected explosions and thrills. Instead, the fight fizzled.

Wilson was plodding and one-dimensional. Flores, meanwhile, used his advantages in speed and skills but rarely looked to exchange. And when Wilson finally caught up to his foe, Flores went into survival mode, doing enough to convince the three most important decision-makers to issue verdicts of 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110, all for Flores.

Wilson, whose June 2007 decapitation of Emmanuel Nwodo was played over and over Friday night, will probably be welcome anytime as a “Friday Night Fights” fixture. Flores has more convincing to do before his path is clear. The cruiserweight division is packed, and any fighter hoping to make a name needs to defeat or leapfrog numerous other claimants.

9.  Boxers Behaving Badly: Jamie Cox will go on trial in April on assault charges relating to a June 2007 incident in which the British welterweight prospect allegedly floored a man in a nightclub with a single punch after spitting at the man’s girlfriend, according to the Wiltshire Gazette & Herald.

Cox, 21, pleaded guilty last week and was released on unconditional bail. He joined the professional ranks this past July, fighting four times in five months against the beginner’s usual substandard opposition. His last appearance was in December, a third-round stoppage of aptly named 2-16-1 fall guy Surinder Sekhon.

10.  Just one boxer behaving badly this week? How could this be? Next thing I know, you’ll tell me the Portland Trail Blazers are a team with a future and a starting lineup that includes five model citizens.

David P. Greisman’s weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com