LOS ANGELES - "Don't call us, we'll call you...maybe" seems to be the mantra from Team Taylor whenever Ray Leonard and Jeff Wald call to make a fight between the former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and Tournament of Contender's BRIAN VERA.
"It's as if we're speaking a foreign language every time we call Lou DiBella to propose a fight, " said Wald. "You don't need Rosetta Stone to understand him though. It's plain as day he's protecting Taylor from his third consecutive loss. In a year that has seen so many great and competitive matchups, it's a shame Lou and Jermain are so resistant to this fight."
Vera (16-1, 10 KOs), from Austin, Texas, pulled off the upset of the year in March when he knocked out Manny Steward's highly-touted undefeated middleweight, Andy Lee, who was making his U.S. television debut. Now rated a career-high No. 11 by the IBF, Vera is looking for even bigger challenges -- and that road leads to Taylor. Too bad he's not taking calls.
