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Ever since I saw Jermain Taylor fight Daniel Edouard I always thought he was a tough young kid with a lot of untapped potential, and that under the right trainer he could really reach his ultimate level of competition. Going in against Bernard Hopkins it should be noted I was a Hopkins fan, always have been a big supporter of his.
I didn't think Taylor won the firs fight with Hopkins. I thought Hopkins won a narrow decision and that Taylor simply didn't do enough. Fighting a champion you have to do enough to take the champion's title and to me, Taylor didn't. I thought Taylor won the rematch in December '05, he was the aggressor and he won me over with his display in the ring.
In his match with Winky Wright, again I found myself thinking that Taylor lost a narrow decision. That said I also stood by the "golden rule" that while Wright landed the better, cleaner punches, his defensive style didn't do him enough in the judges eyes of being the aggressor and trying to take the champ's title.
In his bout with Kassim Ouma I was in disbelief that Ouma, the much smaller fighter, was the aggressor and constantly backed Taylor up all night. However I thought Taylor won against Ouma easily. And last night against Cory Spinks again I found myself in disbelief. Taylor, with his Olympic pedigree and a world famous, top notch trainer in his corner, still couldn't find it in himself to reach his potential.
Not to mention his choices for opponets in usually being much smaller guys moving up in weight where Taylor always stays in his natural weight class. The cap to it all was last night after Kelly Pavlik annihilated Edison Miranda, Larry Merchant asked Taylor if he wants to fight Pavlik next. Taylor said he only wanted to fight the guys who could offer him the most money, a Floyd Mayweather like move.
The only difference is that Mayweather actually beat a lot of really great fighters in Corrales, Castillo, Judah and De La Hoya. Taylor barely escaped fighting Hopkins and ever since then he's been fighting smaller guys and doing the bare minimum to win his fights. Taylor gave himself an "out". Fighting Pavlik will not make Taylor the money he wants because Pavlik is still a rising star and has nowhere near the draw power of someone Taylor wants to fight.
So basically look for Kelly Pavlik to want to fight Taylor and Taylor being a ***** and backing out because he won't make any money on the fight. I also look for Taylor to duck Joe Calzaghe's challenges, but he may well move up to Super Middleweight to not only fight Calzaghe but get away from Pavlik.
You are nothing to me anymore Jermain.
I didn't think Taylor won the firs fight with Hopkins. I thought Hopkins won a narrow decision and that Taylor simply didn't do enough. Fighting a champion you have to do enough to take the champion's title and to me, Taylor didn't. I thought Taylor won the rematch in December '05, he was the aggressor and he won me over with his display in the ring.
In his match with Winky Wright, again I found myself thinking that Taylor lost a narrow decision. That said I also stood by the "golden rule" that while Wright landed the better, cleaner punches, his defensive style didn't do him enough in the judges eyes of being the aggressor and trying to take the champ's title.
In his bout with Kassim Ouma I was in disbelief that Ouma, the much smaller fighter, was the aggressor and constantly backed Taylor up all night. However I thought Taylor won against Ouma easily. And last night against Cory Spinks again I found myself in disbelief. Taylor, with his Olympic pedigree and a world famous, top notch trainer in his corner, still couldn't find it in himself to reach his potential.
Not to mention his choices for opponets in usually being much smaller guys moving up in weight where Taylor always stays in his natural weight class. The cap to it all was last night after Kelly Pavlik annihilated Edison Miranda, Larry Merchant asked Taylor if he wants to fight Pavlik next. Taylor said he only wanted to fight the guys who could offer him the most money, a Floyd Mayweather like move.
The only difference is that Mayweather actually beat a lot of really great fighters in Corrales, Castillo, Judah and De La Hoya. Taylor barely escaped fighting Hopkins and ever since then he's been fighting smaller guys and doing the bare minimum to win his fights. Taylor gave himself an "out". Fighting Pavlik will not make Taylor the money he wants because Pavlik is still a rising star and has nowhere near the draw power of someone Taylor wants to fight.
So basically look for Kelly Pavlik to want to fight Taylor and Taylor being a ***** and backing out because he won't make any money on the fight. I also look for Taylor to duck Joe Calzaghe's challenges, but he may well move up to Super Middleweight to not only fight Calzaghe but get away from Pavlik.
You are nothing to me anymore Jermain.