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By TK Stewart - As a kid, there were a couple years when Santa Claus and his reindeer flew right by the ramshackle house that Jermain Taylor, his three sisters and his mother called home. For the Taylor family, there were times when December 25th rolled around on the calendar and there were no presents wrapped with care, no fat man in a red suit to spread holiday cheer and not even a Christmas tree in the family living room.
“Christmas time was hard,” says Taylor, who is currently locked away in a training camp in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, high in the Pocono Mountains, preparing to defend his world middleweight championship against Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, on September 29th at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
“There was a couple of times when we didn't have Christmas,” continues Taylor. When I look at where I come from, if there was a picture that I could show you, it would almost bring you to tears how poor we were,” says the soft-spoken 29 year-old champ.
His father left the family and walked out the door when Taylor was only five years old. Several years later, his grandmother, with whom he was especially close, was murdered by her own son, Taylor’s uncle, who then killed himself three days later. His bronze medal from the 1998 Goodwill Games was buried with her. [details]
“Christmas time was hard,” says Taylor, who is currently locked away in a training camp in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, high in the Pocono Mountains, preparing to defend his world middleweight championship against Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, on September 29th at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
“There was a couple of times when we didn't have Christmas,” continues Taylor. When I look at where I come from, if there was a picture that I could show you, it would almost bring you to tears how poor we were,” says the soft-spoken 29 year-old champ.
His father left the family and walked out the door when Taylor was only five years old. Several years later, his grandmother, with whom he was especially close, was murdered by her own son, Taylor’s uncle, who then killed himself three days later. His bronze medal from the 1998 Goodwill Games was buried with her. [details]
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