By Dr. Peter Edwards

This past Saturday night, Jermain Taylor was once again unable to win impressively over former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Taylor managed to grab a razor thin decision in a fight that mirrored their first meeting. The only difference between the first fight, and the second, was the broader lack of action in the ring.
 
Neither man was willing to engage, which turned the fight into a snooze-fest. The promoters built up a fiesta called "No Respect", when the event should of been called "More Respect". Both fighters appeared to be even more unwilling to make the fight - a fight.

The public threw down 50 dollars to watch a con job, two fighters that promised knockouts and aggressive behavior. What the public received was a friendly ballroom waltz. Taylor was unable to find an answer for the right hand of Hopkins, and Hopkins was unable to throw more than one punch at a time.  The only difference between their two meetings, was the abundance of coin-flip rounds in the rematch. While there were a few in the first encounter, the second had more. There were several that could of easily went in either direction. The reason there were so many coin-flip rounds was because neither man was willing to step-up.

The workrate of Hopkins is forgivable, many forget that Hopkins is almost 41-years-old. Compare the performance of Hopkins when he fought Felix Trinidad, and the performance of Hopkins in his last three fights. A huge difference in the workrate - from start to finish.

Taylor on the other hand is 27-years-old, the man who is supposed to be the heir to the middleweight legacy that Hopkins left behind. I don't see how anyone can sing the praises of a man that barely beat a 41-year-old fighter who was unable to throw more than one punch at a time. Forget what Hopkins did in the past, he obviously is not the same fighter.  Age catches up with everyone, even Bernard Hopkins.

The second fight left just as many questions, maybe more, than the first fight. Taylor was able to pace himself better, but there are many that still saw Hopkins as the winner. After the final bell had rung, it was apparent by the physical demeanor of Taylor that he was unsure if he won fight. He let Hopkins dictate the entire pace of the fight and there was little to no attempt to disrupt that pace. 

History has shown us, the young lion usually fights his way to a decisive conclusion over the old lion. The victory was not decisive, nor did it make Taylor look impressive as a fighter and it certainly did not make him appear as the next face of boxing.

Taylor now has one middleweight option that will earn him plenty of Ben Franklins. That option is Winky Wright, his WBC mandatory – if he beats Sam Soliman on Saturday. Most see the light punching, yet very defensive Wright, as a major stylistic threat to Taylor. The management of Taylor also view Wright as a major threat, and do not see him as Taylor’s next opponent. When the prospect of fighting Wright was brought up to  Taylor’s promoter Lou DiBella, he said that Jermain would likely stage an easy fight in his hometown, against some random ham-and-egger. DiBella feels that Taylor has been through two very difficult fights and needs a “rest”.

"I went 24 rounds with Shane Mosley and another 12 with Felix Trinidad, in a new weight class, back-to-back-to-back, and I'm seven years older than Jermain. Sounds to me like Jermain's promoter doesn't have a high level of confidence in his fighter." said Wright

Even Antonio Tarver, a fighter ten years older than Taylor, has been involved in tough fights on a very consistent basis for the last couple of years. To be great, one has to fight other great fighters.

If Taylor wants to become a superstar, he needs to you take a look at how super middleweight champ Jeff Lacy is taking the bull by the horns. Lacy, is not only keeping himself very active - year after year, he is also facing the best competition within his division on a consistent basis. Is there any doubt that the aggressive Lacy would maul through Taylor? If Taylor was too shook to scrap with an old man like Hopkins, what would he do with a monster puncher like Lacy?

While just about everyone agrees that Taylor needs more experience, he will only gain that experience by facing the best. The reason Taylor appeared as nothing more than average in the two bouts with Hopkins is because of his inexperience. And the inexperience came from not facing the best available competition. Prior to facing Hopkins, Taylor was unwilling to face Howard Eastman, but he was more than willing to drag William Joppy out of retirement.

Taylor is quickly finding out that winning a fight is not good enough. It’s how you win a fight that matters most. What it comes down to is heart and desire. If Taylor has the heart, which he appears to have, he needs to broaden his desire by taking on the best and showing his ability to fight above the level of his competition, not fight on the level of his competition.