By Mark Vester
Former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor was watching the Oct. 18 catch-weight bout between Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins with eager eyes. Taylor holds two wins over Hopkins, and lost two fights against Pavlik. He said the performance by Hopkins gave him inspiration as he continues his training camp for his super middleweight debut against Olympic teammate Jeff Lacy on November 15.
“I don’t really know how I feel about that. I mean, of course I watched that fight. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I figured Hopkins would win the fight, but I didn’t think by that much. He made Kelly look like a kid. I felt bad for Kelly, he’s just a champion on paper. Hopkins, I’m proud of him. He’s that old and still taking care of business. Hopkins is a beast. It takes a special kind of person to beat Hopkins,” Taylor told boxing scribe Chris Givens.
