No dispute: neither fought like a champion, neither deserved to win.
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
The fight is over, and while the judges' scorecards are still a point of dispute within boxing circles, the decision stands; Jermain Taylor is the new undisputed middleweight world champion.
Taylor, now 24-0 (17 KO’s), had been tabbed the "heir apparent" to Bernard Hopkins' crown for sometime now. Many thought the former Olympian wasn’t quite ready to take on Hopkins, still considered one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighters and mentioned in the same breath as former all-time middleweight greats Carlos Monzon and Marvin Hagler. Even with all of his acolades, Taylor jumped at the immediate opportunity to fight for the championship.
Bernard Hopkins, whose record stands at 46-3-1 (32 KO’s) following the defeat, was looking to solidify his legacy with a victory over the division’s rising star and then follow with a career finale against either Roy Jones, the last fighter to defeat Hopkins (before Taylor), or current light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver.
Now Hopkins must settle on a rematch against the new champ to try and get back all the title belts he valiantly fought for, and struggled to attain and keep for over ten years.
The fight itself, thought to be a classic showcasing the battle between the young, talented, commercially appealing, rising star challenging the experienced, veteran of greatness, proved to be nothing of the sort.
HBO did it’s part to sell the fight, and the Lou DiBella-Bernard Hopkins scenerio added some more pre-fight drama, but once the fight’s opening round bell sounded, both fighters fought at their respective levels. What truly was not envisioned prior to the fight was the failure of either fighter rising to the occasion.
This past Saturday night Bernard Hopkins proved he is not still the fighter he once was - while Jermain Taylor showed that he has yet to become the fighter he has been hyped to be.
Even the casual fight observer could tell that Hopkins, a notorious slow starter, did practically nothing through most of the first eight rounds of the fight. The disturbing factor is that Taylor hardly did much more.
Hopkins landed a pitiful average of close to five (yes, five) punches a round during those listless eight stanzas, while the busier Taylor’s connect rate was a still very unimpressive average of nine.
During those first eight rounds I was hard pressed to see Hopkins winning two rounds. The last four rounds (rounds 9-12) of the fight, no question, belonged to Hopkins. Sensing an urgency, and rightfully so, that his belts were all slipping away, Hopkins finally began taking the fight to Taylor.
Taylor’s inexperience began to show in this fight. Viewers saw Taylor's inability to defend against Hopkins’ now assertive offense, as well as Taylor’s failure to listen to the proper instructions of trainer Pat Burns to use his potent jab. Taylor's jab is a key tool in his arsenal, it is not only an offensive weapon but can also be used as a defensive tool.
Taylor was totally overmatched during the last twelve minutes of this bout. A valid argument could have been made throughout all the barber shops, deli counters and water coolers covering our fifty states and abroad, as to how anyone gives Jermain Taylor the nod in rounds nine, ten, eleven or twelve.
Logically, the best Hopkins could have hoped for was a draw. While scoring on a ten point must system, Taylor was the appropriate winner. A draw would of been the right decision - neither fighter honestly deserved the win.
But there is no argument because, simply put, Bernard Hopkins didn’t do his job. He wasn’t the "Executioner" of old, he became the "Excuse-ioner".
The thing that bothered me the most about the fight, it’s result, and the aftermath, wasn’t the complaint by Hopkins of "being robbed by the judges". It was how easily the complaints were soothed with his post-fight talk of a rematch and the fact of his looking ahead, "to us both making more money".
Jermain Taylor’s day has come, but it shouldn’t have been this past Saturday night. Now that it’s here, congratulations and all the best to a wonderful, classy and very likable young man who has achieved the dream of every youngster who enters the gym and laces up the gloves.
During his tumultuous career, Bernard Hopkins has fired his managers, his promoters, and even his loyal trainer Bowie Fisher (whom he then brought back). He has staunchly claimed that he has been underpaid and mistreated. This past Saturday night, Hopkins was definitely overpaid, and he didn’t give his HBO pay-per-view customers their monies worth.
As noted earlier, Hopkins has been closely compared, by some, with former middleweight great Marvin Hagler.
Hagler, also undervalued and under appreciated during his career, fought the best and realized that by beating the best the money would come. Hagler’s legacy is his greatness, his character and his pride. When he was "robbed" of his championship (vs. Sugar Ray Leonard 4/6/87), also by a split decision, Hagler left the sport he loved (and the business he tolerated) in disgust. Hagler wasn’t appeased with the notion of a rematch to sooth over the ill feelings brought on by having his championship taken away with a judge’s decision. It wasn’t about the money, it was about pride. That’s where the comparison between Bernard Hopkins and Marvin Hagler ends.
