Taylor to fight Mora on 14th April 2007

HBO will offer Pavlik to fight Miranda for the right to fight Taylor. But... watch and see. Pavlik will turn it down.I'm sorry but I think that's the runabout way. I cannot see the economics of that. Why not Taylor- Miranda and then Taylor-Pavlik? An elimination wouldn't get as much audience as championships. Miranda has said he wants Taylor "ASAP". Why not let him have Taylor ASAP? Taylor can face him instead of Mora in April, and the talks of Miranda-Green can be shelved. Then, if Taylor wins, he can take Pavlik. Or, if Miranda wins, he can take on Pavlik. Two championships. Better money. Re: Pavlik doesn't want anything to do with Miranda: let the offer be made and let him say so, at that time. When there are championships at stake. Pavlik refusing Miranda at this stage can very well be so. For, what can the point be of a contender facing a dangerous contender when one can face the champ for much bigger money? Both Miranda and Pavlik should set their eyes on Taylor. That's what contenders should do: set their eyes on the champ and not on each other. Miranda has been calling out Taylor. He should keep at it while demonstrating in fights that he's most deserving. As for Pavlik, he can keep silent if he chooses to and let his deeds speak for him. If MIranda really wants Pavlik, they can meet after they have had their respective chance to face Taylor. Doing so prior to Taylor is not very clever management. HBO has the reputation of being finance-clever; sometimes, too clever by half.

HBO will offer Pavlik to fight Miranda for the right to fight Taylor. But... watch and see. Pavlik will turn it down.

You're completely wrong on that one. Not only did Taylor have more fans and people in the seats, he didn't have Jeff Lacy on the card. You can't honestly say a lot of people there didn't go because of Lacy. you're rite about lacy, kompletely wrong about the people in the seats, winkys event had 13000+, taylors 10+, but we all know you hate winky so you kant stand he sold fairly well

has pavlik stated himself that he wanted to fight jermain taylor?? i mean im sure that if the money were just unworldly he would have to say yes, but i dont think its a fight that pavlik would or should be actively seeking at this point.... pavlik is only 24 and rather inexperienced, just a look at his record shows he has only been past 6 rounds 3 times and never fought past 9 rounds once in his entire career.... that fact doesent bode well for him against guys who are proven over the distance in wright and taylor (not so much).. i feel he needs at least 2 or 3 fights like the zertuche match and maybe a shot at one of these guys early next year.... unless of course he gets an IBF title fight first (abraham or miranda), a fight i think he would take, cause he probably believes he could win... also, i think wright and taylor are holding the middleweight division back with their balking on offers and talk of meg-fights or cross overs between divisions, home state fights, etc..... itd be hard for pavlik to set his sights on taylor seeing how he may or may not even be a middleweight anymore the next time he fights.... miranda/pavlik would be a barnburner!The statement is about Pavlik having been offered, not whether Pavlik is calling out Taylor. He may not seek it, but shall he refuse? Why has there been no attempt, just so everyone finds out? If one speaks about people calling out Taylor, there's Miranda. Taylor's camp however has not been heard to mention his name. Mora, as far as I have seen, hasn't been calling Taylor out and yet Taylor's camp has been reported as eyeing him. He has not been reported as eagerly seeking out Taylor in any fashion or form, and yet, he is said to be Taylor's next. Though only 25, Pavlik has things that he can speak of that Mora cannot. Pavlik's name came up because I think he should be given as much a chance as the one that appears to be given to Mora. And that's at the very least. What has Mora done to earn the right to face Taylor next that Pavlik has not? Miranda and others too. On the matter of whether or not Pavlik wants a Taylor fight, it should be Pavlik who should be given a chance to refuse if he wants to refuse. Anyone else who does not belong to his crew cannot refuse on his behalf as it can amount to being no more than pure speculation; and all the rest shall be commentary.

Mora is a decent fighter, although he is feather fisted. Nay. Mora is fucking trash. He can never figure out whether to fight as a southpaw or orthodox. That's his best weapon, changing his stance. He's kinda quick, but not really all that fast, not fast enough to pull off the style he attempts all the time. He has zero punching power-- he couldn't knock out a child-- and he's not that technically sound. Taylor is going to brutalize him, it won't even be worth watching. Manfredo has a much better chance at beating Calzone than Mora has at even winning a round against Taylor.

I thought so. I can't see someone slave in the gym for hours and days only to pass up a great opportunity. It is difficult to comprehend how a fighter like Pavlik can try to rise in the rankings only to stop and turn away right at the championship doorway. He's facing Zertuche in January, isn't he? I can't recall that Zertuche has ever been dropped much less counted out. Good match. Both guys have power. Pavlik, a tad more. In two fights against Zuniga, Zertuche threw nothing but bombs. Pavlik should however watch out for the low blows that Zertuche has been known to throw often. has pavlik stated himself that he wanted to fight jermain taylor?? i mean im sure that if the money were just unworldly he would have to say yes, but i dont think its a fight that pavlik would or should be actively seeking at this point.... pavlik is only 24 and rather inexperienced, just a look at his record shows he has only been past 6 rounds 3 times and never fought past 9 rounds once in his entire career.... that fact doesent bode well for him against guys who are proven over the distance in wright and taylor (not so much).. i feel he needs at least 2 or 3 fights like the zertuche match and maybe a shot at one of these guys early next year.... unless of course he gets an IBF title fight first (abraham or miranda), a fight i think he would take, cause he probably believes he could win... also, i think wright and taylor are holding the middleweight division back with their balking on offers and talk of meg-fights or cross overs between divisions, home state fights, etc..... itd be hard for pavlik to set his sights on taylor seeing how he may or may not even be a middleweight anymore the next time he fights.... miranda/pavlik would be a barnburner!

No, he was not offered anything. I'm pretty sure that was made up. To say Pavlik would turn down such an offer is foolish :nonono:I thought so. I can't see someone slave in the gym for hours and days only to pass up a great opportunity. It is difficult to comprehend how a fighter like Pavlik can try to rise in the rankings only to stop and turn away right at the championship doorway. He's facing Zertuche in January, isn't he? I can't recall that Zertuche has ever been dropped much less counted out. Good match. Both guys have power. Pavlik, a tad more. In two fights against Zuniga, Zertuche threw nothing but bombs. Pavlik should however watch out for the low blows that Zertuche has been known to throw often.

I don't know that Pavlik has been offered and that he turned it down. If he has been...oh well... But if he has not been, why not? No, he's never been offered anything. I'm pretty sure that was made up. To say Pavlik would turn down such an offer is foolish :nonono:

I know Winky's turned it down, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's the most deserving challenger right now. He should get 50/50 too since the fight was a draw, more people thought Winky won (shown on many polls), and Taylor just last week proved he isn't much more of a draw in his hometown than Winky is. I think Winky drew a couple thousand more fans actually... You're completely wrong on that one. Not only did Taylor have more fans and people in the seats, he didn't have Jeff Lacy on the card. You can't honestly say a lot of people there didn't go because of Lacy. I don't even think that relevant. Weaky would NEVER give somebody a chance at his title for 50/50

Pavlik wants absolutly no part of Taylor. He has been taking the path of least resistance. Its not about your record or KO percentage, its about who your fight. In this case, its also about how popular you are, and Mora is more popular than any other fighter Taylor could face right now. Like I said, Im OK with this fight AS LONG as it leads to a big clash between Taylor and Winky or Joe.I don't know that Pavlik has been offered and that he turned it down. If he has been...oh well... But if he has not been, why not? I agree that records are not the be all and it all. But they're a better gauge than guesswork. Mora's record tells us that of the 19 he has had, 4 of those were on "The Contender", working 5 rounds--7 tops. The record also tells us that Mora has had only two bouts that were scheduled for ten and has never appeared for any that was slated to go into the "championship rounds". If he faces Taylor, it shall be his first time. And, his first real "Championship" fight shall be for a world crown, no less. Not a regional one, not a national diadem. A World belt. Make that world belts. Plural. Now, to me, that's a record that speaks volumes and a situation that's elonquent in itself. First 12-rounder and you fight a Taylor for world belts. It leaves me speechless. On the matter of the value of "who you fought". I'm looking at Mora's record and I don't see any name that jumps at me. Wins over a Brinkley who has lost all but one of his succeeding fights, against Ishe whose best win was against a late sub, and a pre-Roach Manfredo are not exactly ones that...And getting KD'd before TKO'ng a Termeliksetian, who is not only an unknown but has a name that's hard to remember even by the very few who know him... Boxing is as much a business as it is a sport. Popularity counts and it should. Mora's The Contender "championship" may have given his name some resonance. He can, perhaps, draw decently facing fighters of his level. But, can he excite many about a fight against Taylor? Will he be seen as an opponent so compelling as to make people cough up the price of tickets and PPV? In business, name recall doesn't count for much if it cannot be translated to revenues. I fear that those who will go to such a meeting shall only be those who'll go to any Taylor fight, regardless of opponent. If such will be the case, Mora with his popularity cannot be of help. So, why him? Why not, say... a MIranda? People may be lured to that match if only to find out about Jermain's chin, or, whether Miranda really has the power that he appears to have. Miranda may not have Mora's name recall but his power can sell better. Besides, he has been making a lot of noise lately...calling out Taylor. Taylor's camp can respond if only to "shut him up". That makes for a hostile environment: drama that sells tickets and PPV's. Nevertheless, I may go so far as to agree that Taylor-Mora can be made if only it leads to big ones. I don't see it serving any other purpose. But, even then, I don't know that it shall serve the purpose very well, if at all. If Taylor does to Mora what he did to Uoma, future fights shall not be much of a lure. Mora with his well-known 4 stoppages is not at all much of a danger. On the other hand, Taylor can win big against Mora. But I suspect such a win can do little to erase recent memories of Uoma, Winky and Hopkins. Whispers of "It was just a Mora, after all," can run rife. Taylor has a job to do, and I think the path to greatness does not have to go through Mora's front door. Not at this stage of Mora's career. Somebody posted somewhere on this forum that Mora blamed his defeat to Taylor in the amateurs on some ailment he had when they fought. Taylor, it was also said, asserted that Mora was a tough one for him. I dunno that these statements were any boost to the prospects of Mora winning over Taylor. They can be seen by some as a finger not flatteringly pointing to Taylor. But I don't share either view. I can look at Taylor-Mora as a tune-up, if Mora it has to be. But, then, what is it a tune-up for? For a repeat against Winky? For Joe? It shall be nice to know for sure. At least we'll have an idea of where we're going...

Winky is challenging to Undisputed Champ, and there offeting 55-45. Its not like there asking for 70-30 or anything. Winky doesnt have a big fanbase, and is the CHALLENGER. He has NO reason not to take this fight unless he is scared he will get beaten. Winky was going to get around $5 million, he should quit his bitching about not getting the respect he deserves and should have accepted the offer.

Mora by K.O. rd.1

I know Winky's turned it down, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's the most deserving challenger right now. He should get 50/50 too since the fight was a draw, more people thought Winky won (shown on many polls), and Taylor just last week proved he isn't much more of a draw in his hometown than Winky is. I think Winky drew a couple thousand more fans actually... Winky is challenging to Undisputed Champ, and there offeting 55-45. Its not like there asking for 70-30 or anything. Winky doesnt have a big fanbase, and is the CHALLENGER. He has NO reason not to take this fight unless he is scared he will get beaten.

Pavlik has 10 more fights and 26 more stoppages than Mora. Even Uoma has 5 more fights and 11 more stoppages than Mora. Okay, let's get desperate and go to the lower division. Marco Antonio Rubio, a light middleweight, floored Uoma before losing by Split D. Then, KD'd Baysangurov in the first round before losing in a fight in the Ukraine. But he has stopped 31 opponents in 35 victories. And, I won't even bet on him beating Taylor. Rubio can't help pull in the crowds. That can be the the primary consideration. But can Mora do better? Perhaps his "Contender" stint can help. But, by how much? What is Taylor doing fighting a guy who has had only 19 fights, five of them in fights that were not scheduled in the way that usual fights are because they were in a "reality show"? And, Mora has only 4 stoppages to his credit. Even someone named Amin Asikainen has a much better record: undefeated in 19 fights with 14 KOs. The Fin (he fights out of Finland) may not have faced "quality opposition". But, seriously, has Mora done better? The pre-Roach Manfredo? Smith whose best win post-"Contender" was against a late sub? Brinkley who has won only one of three fights after co-starring in that "reality show"? Speaking of Asikainen: anyone who says European fighters are inferior may have to remind themselves that Europeans rule the Heavyweight class and a European with a pedestrian name like Joe did what he did to Lacy. Asikainen may not be a Calzaghe, but I cannot think of him as a Mora either. If a fighter named Archak can knock down Mora in the second round before becoming Mora's 4th and final TKO victim, can we truthfully expect Mora to give Taylor a fight worthy of PPV? Is a victory against Mora a boost to Jermaine's IBHOF bid? I said this earlier in this thread: I am not killing myself with cardiac over Taylor-Mora; I'll take it, given that Jermaine has had three consecutive close ones in Hopkins I and II as well as Winky. The Uoma fight is something I understood: even past greats were given relatively easy ones after tough ones. But, Taylor and his crew should give us better ones after Mora. Much, much better ones. Pavlik wants absolutly no part of Taylor. He has been taking the path of least resistance. Its not about your record or KO percentage, its about who your fight. In this case, its also about how popular you are, and Mora is more popular than any other fighter Taylor could face right now. Like I said, Im OK with this fight AS LONG as it leads to a big clash between Taylor and Winky or Joe.

I Think Taylor-mora Is Avery Good Fight, Imean, Jt Deserves A Little Break And Then Return To The Big Dogs(miranda Abraham,calzaghe, Kessler...), But I Dont Think Mora Will Be As Easy As It Seems, Maybe Winning Some Rounds, I Mean Mora Has Said When He Lost To Taylor In The Olympic Trials He Had Just Sustained A Back Injury In His Previous Fight When He Was Wrestled Down By Sechew Powell(who Was Desqualified), And Jt Said Mora Was A Though Fight For Him..., Dont Know, I Have A Felling Jt Will Win Clearly But Not Easily.

I agree with you that Skill > Power, and there is no doubt Hopkins x2 and then Winky is an incredible string of opposition, but think about this for a second... First, alot of people (including me) see Taylor as 0-3 in those fights. Others see it as 0-2-1, and a few see it as 0-1-2. Add all those up and you have close to a majority who feels Taylor did not win any of those fights. I would say a majority definitely didn't see him winning more than one (the Hopkins rematch) of the three fights. Second, people are all about praising Taylor for choosing this list of opposition. He didn't. He was given the first Hopkins fight, an offer from Golden Boy and Hopkins that he HAD to take because he wasn't going to get another chance to take the lineal middleweight championship. Yes, some credit is deserved for taking the challenge of a legend while still developing, but after the Eastman fight, alot of people thought Hopkins was ripe for the picking (particularly for Taylor's strong, aggressive style). Taylor was the HOT prospect in boxing, he just demolished Edouard on that Hopkins-Eastman undercard and he looked very strong. We all know HBO didn't like Hopkins and they LOVED (and still do, though not as much seemingly) Taylor. DiBella knows his stuff, and he surely advised Taylor that taking the fight and just being busy enough and throwing "showier" puches (thanks, Lamps) would be enough to get the nod from the judges and of course the unabashed favoritism from the announcers. They (DiBella, Taylor and HBO) knew Hopkins wouldn't knock him out and they THOUGHT (wrongly) that he couldn't hurt Taylor. It was a risk they had to take. The rematch was enforced due to the clause in the contract. It was a better performance from Taylor, and less controversial, but many still had Hopkins winning the fight or a draw. The Winky fight was also forced on Taylor by the WBC. After the controversies with Hopkins, the last thing Taylor could do is duck Winky. He needed credibility. Again, credit to him for doing it, some 'champions' don't do this kind of thing, they just talk out both sides of their mouth. They have promoters like Don King who buy undeserving mandatories so his fighters don't ever HAVE to take these tough fights. More credit to DiBella for not doing this. (As an aside, I am not the biggest DiBella fan, but he seems more willing to put his guys in with other promoters' top guys without having the audacity to ask for options or other 'perks'. Think about how easily the Quartey-Forrest, Ouma-Powell, Winky-Quartey and Cotto-Malignaggi and even Green-Codrington fights were made.) The Winky fight was another example of Team Taylor feeling all they needed to do was throw punches and look busier and bust up Winky's high guard. After all, here was another smaller fighter, and Taylor was used to fighting small guys; he could bully him around and win on pure strength. Well, that almost worked, and throwing hard punches at Winky's guard looked good at times because even though they weren't landing, they were moving the smaller Winky. "Showier" again. It looked better than the Hopkins fights because Winky was ducking and dodging like Hopkins did, he just withstood the blows by actually using his arms to block them. But judges see what they want and they gave Taylor every benefit of the doubt, just enough to get a draw. How can you look at the way the two fighters reacted to this decision and not know that Winky knew he won and Taylor knew he was lucky to get the draw. He was LIFTED UP IN CELEBRATION for crying out loud. Has that ever happened after a draw before?!?! So, Taylor will always have his doubters. I am one, I freely admit, but until he makes me say 'wow', like I expected him to vs. Ouma, I won't be swayed. Ouma was an acceptable fight, and Mora, for the exposure, is also acceptable, but after this, he better be thinking along the lines of Calzaghe/Winky II/Miranda/Abraham for opponents because otherwise he will be trying to hide behind his 2 'wins' against Hopkins and his draw against Wright. And that's another thing, people act like Taylor won that fight, because he got the favorable decision, but don't forget the favorable decision for Taylor that night was a draw. There are very, very few people who think he beat Winky that night. And please, no one mention the 12th round, Winky didn't run, he moved forward for all but the last 15 seconds or so, and then lunged in with a nice straight left hand with a few seconds left. Whew, well I got a little long-winded but I hope you can see my point. I am not one of those guys who just says 'Taylor is garbage, a paper champion'. If I just disliked Taylor, I would do that, but I want him to show me that he can get a big, uncontroversial, impressive win. It hasn't happened yet, but he's still young, and he has a list of big names against whom he could shine if he ever put it all together in the ring. I want to see him try. You make good points, but regardless if people think JT is 0-3 in those fights, he isnt, and you cant objectively say that any of those fights could go decisively to either fighter. Even if you think JT lost his fights with Bhop you still have to give him credit for making it that close, especially after Bhop moved up and humiliated Tarver. I cant see any fighter today winning decisively over Bhop, hell I dont know if any fighter from the past could win decisively over Bhop. The same with Winky, JT gave winky the toughest fight I have seen him have since he was a youngster. JT's potential is limitless imo, it just comes down to if he is willing to develope his awesome raw athletic ability into something special.

I agree with you that Skill > Power, and there is no doubt Hopkins x2 and then Winky is an incredible string of opposition, but think about this for a second... First, alot of people (including me) see Taylor as 0-3 in those fights. Others see it as 0-2-1, and a few see it as 0-1-2. Add all those up and you have close to a majority who feels Taylor did not win any of those fights. I would say a majority definitely didn't see him winning more than one (the Hopkins rematch) of the three fights. Second, people are all about praising Taylor for choosing this list of opposition. He didn't. He was given the first Hopkins fight, an offer from Golden Boy and Hopkins that he HAD to take because he wasn't going to get another chance to take the lineal middleweight championship. Yes, some credit is deserved for taking the challenge of a legend while still developing, but after the Eastman fight, alot of people thought Hopkins was ripe for the picking (particularly for Taylor's strong, aggressive style). Taylor was the HOT prospect in boxing, he just demolished Edouard on that Hopkins-Eastman undercard and he looked very strong. We all know HBO didn't like Hopkins and they LOVED (and still do, though not as much seemingly) Taylor. DiBella knows his stuff, and he surely advised Taylor that taking the fight and just being busy enough and throwing "showier" puches (thanks, Lamps) would be enough to get the nod from the judges and of course the unabashed favoritism from the announcers. They (DiBella, Taylor and HBO) knew Hopkins wouldn't knock him out and they THOUGHT (wrongly) that he couldn't hurt Taylor. It was a risk they had to take. The rematch was enforced due to the clause in the contract. It was a better performance from Taylor, and less controversial, but many still had Hopkins winning the fight or a draw. The Winky fight was also forced on Taylor by the WBC. After the controversies with Hopkins, the last thing Taylor could do is duck Winky. He needed credibility. Again, credit to him for doing it, some 'champions' don't do this kind of thing, they just talk out both sides of their mouth. They have promoters like Don King who buy undeserving mandatories so his fighters don't ever HAVE to take these tough fights. More credit to DiBella for not doing this. (As an aside, I am not the biggest DiBella fan, but he seems more willing to put his guys in with other promoters' top guys without having the audacity to ask for options or other 'perks'. Think about how easily the Quartey-Forrest, Ouma-Powell, Winky-Quartey and Cotto-Malignaggi and even Green-Codrington fights were made.) The Winky fight was another example of Team Taylor feeling all they needed to do was throw punches and look busier and bust up Winky's high guard. After all, here was another smaller fighter, and Taylor was used to fighting small guys; he could bully him around and win on pure strength. Well, that almost worked, and throwing hard punches at Winky's guard looked good at times because even though they weren't landing, they were moving the smaller Winky. "Showier" again. It looked better than the Hopkins fights because Winky was ducking and dodging like Hopkins did, he just withstood the blows by actually using his arms to block them. But judges see what they want and they gave Taylor every benefit of the doubt, just enough to get a draw. How can you look at the way the two fighters reacted to this decision and not know that Winky knew he won and Taylor knew he was lucky to get the draw. He was LIFTED UP IN CELEBRATION for crying out loud. Has that ever happened after a draw before?!?! So, Taylor will always have his doubters. I am one, I freely admit, but until he makes me say 'wow', like I expected him to vs. Ouma, I won't be swayed. Ouma was an acceptable fight, and Mora, for the exposure, is also acceptable, but after this, he better be thinking along the lines of Calzaghe/Winky II/Miranda/Abraham for opponents because otherwise he will be trying to hide behind his 2 'wins' against Hopkins and his draw against Wright. And that's another thing, people act like Taylor won that fight, because he got the favorable decision, but don't forget the favorable decision for Taylor that night was a draw. There are very, very few people who think he beat Winky that night. And please, no one mention the 12th round, Winky didn't run, he moved forward for all but the last 15 seconds or so, and then lunged in with a nice straight left hand with a few seconds left. Whew, well I got a little long-winded but I hope you can see my point. I am not one of those guys who just says 'Taylor is garbage, a paper champion'. If I just disliked Taylor, I would do that, but I want him to show me that he can get a big, uncontroversial, impressive win. It hasn't happened yet, but he's still young, and he has a list of big names against whom he could shine if he ever put it all together in the ring. I want to see him try. I understand what you are saying, but you have to admit, that at any point, he could easily shy away from such defenses if he felt the need. You can say it was his team, you can say whatever, but how often do you see a guy take on top 5 p4p in consecutive fights? In all honesty, im not big on Taylor neither, infact...now that i think about it, i dont even care about the middleweight division really, but a fight against mora, i think its my own personal vendetta against Mora, i just dont like the guy, and i wanna see him get KTFO just like Litzau did. But i agree with alot of what you said for the most part, i thought wright won the fight also. There is nothing to warrant me to argue against what you said, so i wouldnt worry about any opposition from myself.

I heard Taylor vs Mora is not close to happening. Nothing more than a thought at this point. Good chance it won't.

He hasnt fought anyone with power, yet he fights 2 top 5 P4P opponents in succession. Get outta here, thats so stupid. Skill>>>>.Power its been proven time and again I agree with you that Skill > Power, and there is no doubt Hopkins x2 and then Winky is an incredible string of opposition, but think about this for a second... First, alot of people (including me) see Taylor as 0-3 in those fights. Others see it as 0-2-1, and a few see it as 0-1-2. Add all those up and you have close to a majority who feels Taylor did not win any of those fights. I would say a majority definitely didn't see him winning more than one (the Hopkins rematch) of the three fights. Second, people are all about praising Taylor for choosing this list of opposition. He didn't. He was given the first Hopkins fight, an offer from Golden Boy and Hopkins that he HAD to take because he wasn't going to get another chance to take the lineal middleweight championship. Yes, some credit is deserved for taking the challenge of a legend while still developing, but after the Eastman fight, alot of people thought Hopkins was ripe for the picking (particularly for Taylor's strong, aggressive style). Taylor was the HOT prospect in boxing, he just demolished Edouard on that Hopkins-Eastman undercard and he looked very strong. We all know HBO didn't like Hopkins and they LOVED (and still do, though not as much seemingly) Taylor. DiBella knows his stuff, and he surely advised Taylor that taking the fight and just being busy enough and throwing "showier" puches (thanks, Lamps) would be enough to get the nod from the judges and of course the unabashed favoritism from the announcers. They (DiBella, Taylor and HBO) knew Hopkins wouldn't knock him out and they THOUGHT (wrongly) that he couldn't hurt Taylor. It was a risk they had to take. The rematch was enforced due to the clause in the contract. It was a better performance from Taylor, and less controversial, but many still had Hopkins winning the fight or a draw. The Winky fight was also forced on Taylor by the WBC. After the controversies with Hopkins, the last thing Taylor could do is duck Winky. He needed credibility. Again, credit to him for doing it, some 'champions' don't do this kind of thing, they just talk out both sides of their mouth. They have promoters like Don King who buy undeserving mandatories so his fighters don't ever HAVE to take these tough fights. More credit to DiBella for not doing this. (As an aside, I am not the biggest DiBella fan, but he seems more willing to put his guys in with other promoters' top guys without having the audacity to ask for options or other 'perks'. Think about how easily the Quartey-Forrest, Ouma-Powell, Winky-Quartey and Cotto-Malignaggi and even Green-Codrington fights were made.) The Winky fight was another example of Team Taylor feeling all they needed to do was throw punches and look busier and bust up Winky's high guard. After all, here was another smaller fighter, and Taylor was used to fighting small guys; he could bully him around and win on pure strength. Well, that almost worked, and throwing hard punches at Winky's guard looked good at times because even though they weren't landing, they were moving the smaller Winky. "Showier" again. It looked better than the Hopkins fights because Winky was ducking and dodging like Hopkins did, he just withstood the blows by actually using his arms to block them. But judges see what they want and they gave Taylor every benefit of the doubt, just enough to get a draw. How can you look at the way the two fighters reacted to this decision and not know that Winky knew he won and Taylor knew he was lucky to get the draw. He was LIFTED UP IN CELEBRATION for crying out loud. Has that ever happened after a draw before?!?! So, Taylor will always have his doubters. I am one, I freely admit, but until he makes me say 'wow', like I expected him to vs. Ouma, I won't be swayed. Ouma was an acceptable fight, and Mora, for the exposure, is also acceptable, but after this, he better be thinking along the lines of Calzaghe/Winky II/Miranda/Abraham for opponents because otherwise he will be trying to hide behind his 2 'wins' against Hopkins and his draw against Wright. And that's another thing, people act like Taylor won that fight, because he got the favorable decision, but don't forget the favorable decision for Taylor that night was a draw. There are very, very few people who think he beat Winky that night. And please, no one mention the 12th round, Winky didn't run, he moved forward for all but the last 15 seconds or so, and then lunged in with a nice straight left hand with a few seconds left. Whew, well I got a little long-winded but I hope you can see my point. I am not one of those guys who just says 'Taylor is garbage, a paper champion'. If I just disliked Taylor, I would do that, but I want him to show me that he can get a big, uncontroversial, impressive win. It hasn't happened yet, but he's still young, and he has a list of big names against whom he could shine if he ever put it all together in the ring. I want to see him try.

Pavlik has 10 more fights and 26 more stoppages than Mora. Even Uoma has 5 more fights and 11 more stoppages than Mora. Okay, let's get desperate and go to the lower division. Marco Antonio Rubio, a light middleweight, floored Uoma before losing by Split D. Then, KD'd Baysangurov in the first round before losing in a fight in the Ukraine. But he has stopped 31 opponents in 35 victories. And, I won't even bet on him beating Taylor. Rubio can't help pull in the crowds. That can be the the primary consideration. But can Mora do better? Perhaps his "Contender" stint can help. But, by how much? What is Taylor doing fighting a guy who has had only 19 fights, five of them in fights that were not scheduled in the way that usual fights are because they were in a "reality show"? And, Mora has only 4 stoppages to his credit. Even someone named Amin Asikainen has a much better record: undefeated in 19 fights with 14 KOs. The Fin (he fights out of Finland) may not have faced "quality opposition". But, seriously, has Mora done better? The pre-Roach Manfredo? Smith whose best win post-"Contender" was against a late sub? Brinkley who has won only one of three fights after co-starring in that "reality show"? Speaking of Asikainen: anyone who says European fighters are inferior may have to remind themselves that Europeans rule the Heavyweight class and a European with a pedestrian name like Joe did what he did to Lacy. Asikainen may not be a Calzaghe, but I cannot think of him as a Mora either. If a fighter named Archak can knock down Mora in the second round before becoming Mora's 4th and final TKO victim, can we truthfully expect Mora to give Taylor a fight worthy of PPV? Is a victory against Mora a boost to Jermaine's IBHOF bid? I said this earlier in this thread: I am not killing myself with cardiac over Taylor-Mora; I'll take it, given that Jermaine has had three consecutive close ones in Hopkins I and II as well as Winky. The Uoma fight is something I understood: even past greats were given relatively easy ones after tough ones. But, Taylor and his crew should give us better ones after Mora. Much, much better ones.