More from Dibella on Taylor; Al Haymon trying to talk him into retiring?

DiBella, Taylor split up By Nick Walker, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Saturday, December 12, 2009 LITTLE ROCK — Jermain Taylor says he plans to continue fighting in the Super Six Super Middleweight Classic, but Lou DiBella, Taylor’s longtime promoter, will not be in Taylor’s camp. Taylor’s intention of reentering the ring in April against WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward is the reason for the split, DiBella said in a statement on his Web site. “It is with a heavy heart, but strong conviction, that I recuse myself and DiBella Entertainment as Jermain’s promoter,” DiBella said. DiBella said that he wanted Taylor (28-4-1), of Little Rock, to consider retiring after Taylor was knocked out with six seconds remaining in the 12th round of his Oct. 14 fight with Arthur Abraham. Taylor crashed to the canvas in Berlin after getting jarred by the right hand of Abraham, losing his first fight in the Super Six. Taylor, a former undisputed middleweight champion, left the ring under his own power, but he suffered a severe concussion and was taken to a Berlin hospital later that evening after suffering short-term memory loss. He was released the next day, but the impact of Taylor’s third knockout loss in the past four fights was not lost on DiBella, who stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars by dropping Taylor. “I made my opinion clear in the locker room after the fight, I made it clear in the emergency room after we had to take him there,” DiBella told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “My greatest hope is that nothing happens to Jermain, regardless of what decision he makes. Every man has to make a choice, and I made mine, and I hope Jermain makes the right one.” Guaranteed fights with Ward and Mikkel Kessler remain on Taylor’s Super Six contract, and potentially more if he can score enough points to get into the semifinals. It should be noted that Di-Bella is the promoter for Allan Green, who was selected by Showtime as the first alternate for the tournament should Taylor or any other boxer withdraw. Several published reports late Friday had Taylor’s manager Al Haymon traveling to Little Rock to try and talk Taylor into retirement as well. DiBella said he felt like his hand was forced when he heard of Taylor’s decision to resume boxing. “I hope that Jermain knows me well enough to know that I took no joy in this. I’m genuinely concerned about him and his well-being,” DiBella said. Taylor has been meeting with doctors, including Little Rock neurologist Dr. Scott Schlesinger, this week to get advice and clearance to fight Ward in the next round of the Super Six in Las Vegas. Ward stopped Kessler in the 11th round of their Super Six bout on Nov. 21 in Oakland, Calif., to retain his WBA belt. DiBella told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael that his strong sentiment about Taylor retiring stems from a relationship with former IBF lightweight champion Leavander Johnson, who died after suffering a brain injury in the 11th round of a title defense loss to Jesus Chavez on Sept. 17, 2005. “Losing Leavander was a profound experience for me and, if not for Leavander’s family encouraging me to stay in, I had serious thoughts of leaving the game,” DiBella toldRafael. “Any time you have that kind of loss or experience, I’m sure it impacts you.” Taylor, Haymon, publicist Norman Horton and trainer Ozell Nelson did not respond to repeated messages from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette seeking comment. Taylor’s business manager, Andrew Meadors, said that he was sorry to hear that DiBella was stepping down, but he declined to speculate about what this move meant for Taylor.