By Cliff Rold (photo by Scott Foster/FightWireImages)

Before getting to what was the strongest, most effective performance by former World Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KO) since before he won and lost the crown, the HBO telecast of both Taylor versus his former 2000 U.S. Olympic teammate Jeff Lacy (24-2, 17 KO) and the Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones replay bears some attention.

Following the live Pay-Per-View telecast of Jones-Calzaghe, Calzaghe’s in-ring interview featured an exchange between the reigning Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight titlist and Max Kellerman about a possible fight with Calzaghe’s clear number one threat, IBF Light Heavyweight titlist Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KO).  If one wasn’t among the few who purchased the fight or made their way to Madison Square Garden a little more than one week ago, the conversation was lost.

If Dawson was mentioned at all this past Saturday, it was minimally enough to be missed altogether.  HBO’s live telecast this week began with Jim Lampley talking about a crowded Super Middleweight class. 

Fair enough; true enough. 

Then he went on to describe Joe Calzaghe as its still reigning champion, and the winner of Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy as on his short list of foes.  Perhaps that man, Taylor in this case, will be. 

But Joe Calzaghe is absolutely not the Super Middleweight champion of the world anymore.

Lampley would repeat the notion during the Taylor-Lacy fight itself.  The problem is, throughout 2008, Calzaghe has vacated each of the sanctioning body titles he held at the weight and finally, in September, his Ring Magazine belt as well.  Calzaghe has also stated repeatedly that he is no longer fighting at Super Middleweight.  So, if Taylor is to get the fight with Calzaghe which got so much chatter on HBO’s air Saturday, it would be at Light Heavyweight.

And at Light Heavyweight, unless he’s doing another round with Bernard Hopkins, a Calzaghe who elects not to retire should, on fistic merits, fight no one other than Dawson until proven otherwise.  HBO’s long, extensive relationships with Taylor, his promoter Lou DiBella, and advisor Al Haymon could create a different possibility and DiBella Entertainment would be wise and well served to go after the fight. 

It’s not like Calzaghe-Taylor is a bad fight.

However, choosing (and it was a choice as post-fight interviews for the recent Hopkins-Pavlik pay-per-view were shown on their replay) not to show Calzaghe’s post-fight interview and then not mentioning Dawson as a possible Calzaghe opponent while embellishing what titles Calzaghe actually holds was dismaying from the television side.  Heck, even Dariusz Michalczweski got lip service in the Roy Jones heyday and he was never as exposed on major American television as Dawson has been. 

Dawson, with wins over veterans Eric Harding and Tomasz Adamek, and former Ring Magazine titlists Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, has earned a shot at the top of 175 lbs.  Taylor just won his first fight at 168.  Something is wrong with the framing of the hype here.

Nothing was wrong with the way Taylor performed on Saturday night though and, in a certainly crowded field at Super Middleweight, he emerges immediately as one of the key figures to watch. 

Let’s go to the report card.

Speed - Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor B+; Lacy B/Post-Fight: Taylor A-; Lacy B
Power - Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor & Lacy B+/Post-Fight: Taylor B+; Lacy B
Defense - Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor B; Lacy C+/Post-Fight: Taylor B+; Lacy C+
Intangibles - Pre-Fight Grades: Taylor & Lacy B/Post-Fight: Taylor A; Lacy B+

As noted in the pre-fight report card, “Taylor gets off faster than Lacy and Lacy throws shorter shots inside.”  Only the first observation proved true on Saturday as Taylor both got off faster and was better inside as well.  Taylor, whose left jab was the weapon which convinced many of his class early on, employed the weapon to great affect all night.  He used the jab to set up hard, fast right hands, left hooks and some perfect right uppercuts.  Lacy was able most of the time only to land one punch at a time and never got his jab working.  Taylor was able to parry blows and fire back in combination.  His sharpness and focus brought to mind Billy Conn’s old adage that fighters only learn their craft after defeat.  Taylor has improved, both in defeat and now victory, since his first loss to reigning World Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. 

Taylor’s knockout percentage may not be the highest but his power is there.  It kept Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright honest, almost overwhelmed Pavlik in the first meeting, and had Lacy reeling early on Saturday.  A short left hook rocked Lacy hard in round three and by the end of the night, both eyes were swelling.  Taylor threw hard shots all night and without some of the robotics or wildness he has shown in recent fare.  The shift back to trainer Ozell Nelson seems to be working for Taylor.  Lacy continued a career bad habit of coming in with his head down and Taylor exploited it perfectly in winning at least ten of twelve contested rounds.

His defense was also improved in two ways.  Taylor fought a more flat footed fight and used his arms and gloves to block incoming fire along with savvier use of clinches than has been the case in the past.  As the fight wore on, he was leveraging clinches and walking Lacy into the ropes, increasing his foe’s fatigue. 

None of this is to say Lacy had no moments.  Taylor never had him completely out of the fight the way Calzaghe did in 2006.  Lacy even appeared to score a knockdown in the fifth, though it wasn’t ruled that way.  Taylor reacted as if stunned but weathered and resumed control of the bout.  Lacy showed off, yet again, the incredible heart he has in enduring a rough night.  Taylor showed off resolve and evolution, a sign of mental strength and renewed commitment he should be commended for. 

From here, Taylor has some big moves he can make.  Calzaghe, given the hard sell, must at least be considered.  Taylor was quoted post-fight as saying he might not want to go to Calzaghe’s backyard of Wales for such a fight and, with Wales likely the only place that could draw a serious gate, there is at least an immediate impediment.  

Taylor also now stands as a potential mandatory to the winner of next month’s WBC 168 lb. title clash between the U.K’s Carl Froch (23-0, 19 KO) and Canada’s Jean Pascal (21-0, 14 KO).  To HBO’s credit, they also gave strong mention of WBA titlist Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31 KO) both before and after the fight.  Taylor-Kessler would be a fantastic fight which would appeal to a large audience and be a ‘fight fan’s fight.’

Whatever happens, Taylor is in the conversation with anyone at Super Middleweight and may, at age 30, only be at the beginning of his peak as a professional.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com