Taylor-Mora is Close, Fernando Vargas Looms

By Mark Vester

It appears that a proposed bout between middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and Contender winner Sergio Mora is coming close to being a reality. Negotiations are going well and both sides anticipate the fight taking place.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports that the fight is slated to take place in either Los Angeles or Las Vegas, on Dec. 2 on HBO pay-per-view. Mora must win his upcoming tuneup bout against Eric Regan on August 25 to seal the deal. Initially Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella wanted Mora to scrap his bout with Regan in order to stage the fight in November, but eventually allowed the tuneup to proceed after Mora's promoter said that he needed a tuneup bout before facing Taylor.

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Emanuel Steward has agreed to train Taylor for the fight while training Wladimir Klitschko for his upcoming November date with Shannon Briggs. Steward said that both men will train at Kronk gym in Detroit, Michigan.

There is a small possibility that Taylor may take on Fernando Vargas in December, provided that Vargas wins his upcoming bout with Shane Mosley and Mora loses his tuneup against Regan.

“It’s boxing, anything can happen. I’m banking on the fact that Mora’s good enough to win this [tuneup ] fight. But if not, then we’ll take a look at Vargas, who may beat Mosley. If Vargas wins [and Mora loses ], that’s a real possibility for our next fight. At the very least, [Taylor ] will fight in December. If Mora and Vargas are unavailable, and there aren’t any big-name fights that present themselves, then he will fight in Arkansas in December,” DiBella told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.