By Tom Donelson

After 24 rounds of fighting, there is very little to separate Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor. Last Saturday night, you could have easily flipped a coin and given either fighter the fight. This match left more questions unanswered and nothing appeared to be solved. And there is no way that we will be exposed to a Taylor-Hopkins III. This fight had more drama than action. Both fighters appeared reluctant to engage as they looked for advantages that often did not appear.

Pat Burns, Taylor’s cornerman, had the fight down to its essential. He repeatedly told Taylor that when Taylor stood in front of Hopkins flatfooted; he became a victim of Hopkins’ sneaky right. When Taylor moved and used angle, as Burns suggested, he scored. This proved true round after round.
 
This fight showed that Hopkins still has the skills to beat any Middleweight but at the age of 40, he doesn’t have the ability to fight every minute of every round. His defensive skills often made Taylor look amateurish but he appeared reluctant to engage in a pitch battle. As Larry Merchant commented, “Hopkins use to be a young lion ready to pounce but now he is an old Lion, waiting in the bush for something to come by.” He scored most of the power punches in the fight but too often, he allowed Taylor’s jab to win many of the early rounds. As for Taylor, he often missed with his right.

Hopkins is a great Middleweight and one month away from 41; he showed the world the skills that allowed him to escape serious damage in a long and illustrious career. As I mention in previous pieces, the Hopkins that fought Trinidad would have chewed the 2005 version of Taylor and spit him out. That Hopkins is not presently fighting.

Now Taylor has passed the test with flying colors, the time has come for Taylor to fulfill his potential as the next great American fighter. Hopkins revealed many of Taylor’s weaknesses but he also allowed Taylor to unleash his strengths. Taylor has one of the best jabs in the business and there were times Taylor jab sent Hopkins back on his heel. Taylor’s jab is the equivalent to most fighters’ power punches. It is like a piston that paralyses foes and against Hopkins in their second fight; he found a way to strike the elusive Hopkins. The negative is that Taylor appeared to press and throw his right wildly at nothing, but air.

He often missed Hopkins with his right, because Hopkins would instinctively sense when Taylor was loading up and ducked away. While Hopkins could not escape Taylor left jab or hook, he easily avoided Taylor’s right.

In both fights, Hopkins appeared to be the more fluid fighter and Taylor never seemed to establish momentum in either fight. The one strength that Taylor did show, is that he won these fights while not being at his best or better yet, he won fights in which the other guy’s style dictated the pace. Taylor won two fights that he had no business winning. Yes, both fights were close and you could have easily scored them the other way; but Taylor found a way to persevere in bouts that he could have easily lost.

Hopkins’ place in boxing history is secured. He was one of boxing’s great Middleweights and has nothing more left to prove. Taylor is still an enigma, waiting to be discovered. There are many questions left to be answer and Taylor is still a piece of art being painted. We have but a sketch and wait anxiously for the full portrait to be completed.