By Jake Donovan
An already loaded December 14 show in San Antonio now has one more fight worth talking about, though not necessarily in the same celebratory fashion as the rest of the card.
Former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor will return on the undercard of this show, which is headlined by a scheduled 12-round welterweight showdown between Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana. Appearing on a loaded undercard, Taylor will face Juan Carlos Candelo in a bout that marks the first ring appearance of 2013 for both fighters.
“This is a terrific card. Added to the show, we have Jermain Taylor returning. He will be facing JC Candelo on the undercard,” confirmed Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer during a media conference call Monday afternoon.
Taylor (31-4-1, 19KO) stepped away from the ring following his dramatic knockout loss to Arthur Abraham in the first leg of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in October ’09. The night marked the third time in a span of five fights in which he was violently stopped, prompting his handlers and family to convince him to step away from the sport.
More than two years later, the former champ decided to give it another go. Three straight wins followed, though none of which convinced fans that he could ever return to the level of relevance he enjoyed from 2005-2009. Included among the lot was a major scare in his April ’12 bout with Caleb Truax, in which he was dropped hard in the 9th round but eventually went on to win a unanimous decision.
Taylor, who turned 35 this past August, has not fought since a 2nd round stoppage over Raul Muñoz last October.
Candelo (32-12-4, 21KO) enters this fight having not stepped into the ring since suffering a 6th round stoppage versus Fernando Guerrero last November. The former 154 lb. contender has lost two straight, with the pending Taylor fight to take place less than a month shy of his 40th birthday.
No announcement was yet made on whether the bout will appear on the Showtime Extreme broadcast preceding the Showtime-televised quadrupleheader.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
