Who Is Protected Now? Jermain Taylor Ducks Carl Froch

[abadger]

yeah im beating a dead horse but thats EXACTLY the kind of question margarito fans were asking Floyd fans.

I'm sure they were, its a pretty similar situation. I am a Margarito fan by the way. At least Floyd could reasonably argue he had bigger fish to fry, I don't think Taylor can.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Great post.

They'll end up fighting in about 10 years time and the Yanks will say that Froch is an "overprotected Euro bum" who "waited till Taylor was old" to fight him.

[mojack]

I would say yes, If there is anytime to take Froch on it is now before he has learned to deal with being hurt, stunned etc.

Froch is a decent fighter with good power but he stands around with his hands down. If Taylor had any faith in his own skills he would see this as an easy belt... obviously he lacks that confidence.

That's kind of a bluff, believe it or not Froch's defense is a lot more solid than what people give him credit for.

[The Hammer]

Shouldn't Froch be a walk in the park for Taylor though? An easy way to get a belt, surely.

Carl Froch is a powerful puncher, so Dibella feels it's a riskier fight for Jermain than Lacy.

Taylor is lucky to be offered a title fight at 168, since he has no wins in this weight division, and he's lost his last two fights.

[Hitman932]

That's kind of a bluff, believe it or not Froch's defense is a lot more solid than what people give him credit for.

He still does it throughout the fight here and there, i assume he would tighten it up in world championship fight, but if he does it and gets tagged i dont think that he would survive it

[Hitman932]

Carl Froch is a powerful puncher, so Dibella feels it's a riskier fight for Jermain than Lacy.

.

funny but true. when has a fighter fallen farther and faster than Jeff Lacy?

his power doesent even get respect anymore.

[abadger]

Carl Froch is a powerful puncher, so Dibella feels it's a riskier fight for Jermain than Lacy.

Taylor is lucky to be offered a title fight at 168, since he has no wins in this weight division, and he's lost his last two fights.

He is indeed lucky, and not the IBF or WBO either, the WBC. If he had any balls he would snatch the opportunity with both hands IMO.

[T-97]

That is a question Margarito fans had been asking prior to the Cotto fight. not about Froch of course.............

Is there anything significant about that?

Also, please call me up on it if in a few years i am still crying about it and calling Foch the most feared man in the world etc.

[mojack]

He still does it throughout the fight here and there, i assume he would tighten it up in world championship fight, but if he does it and gets tagged i dont think that he would survive it

Yea, but usually that low guard opens fighters up because they want to exploit it....then BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM the cobra comes in.

[dstew]

I fully understand that Jermain Taylor has had some nasty losses recently and needs to get back on his feet. My question? Why on earth can't the supposedly 'elite' Taylor, who has in the past beaten Bernard Hopkins, do this against Carl Froch, who in the past has beaten nobody.

I thought 'true champions fought the best', in this case it appears that Taylor is not even prepared to try to be a champion, and will not even fight the distinctly average.

Instead he is going to stay at home and take a payday by taking on Jeff Lacy, thats right, a US domestic fighter he should beat easily.

This my friends is what we call 'being protected'.

Thoughts?

Protected? The last fight he took was against the MW champ who knocked him out four months prior. Don't you think you're going overboard a bit?

If after Taylor fights Lacy he continues to take what fans view as the easier fights, then I think it's fair to start the criticism. But this is ONE fight, coming off a string of title defenses against titleists or former titleists.

Also, say what you will about Lacy being the easier fight for no title, but he, unlike Froch, HAS held a belt before. He HAS fought elite competiton before, even if he lost. His name is without a doubt better on Taylor's resume.

If Taylor fights Froch now for a title and beats him, history will perceive it as a victory over an unproven Euro bum. You could easily argue that he would get LESS respect for such a win than a win over a once-beaten Lacy, who despite his poor showings the last two years has only lost to a top 3 p4p fighter.

Pretty much hit the nail on the head, not a whole lot to add.

Taylor has never chosen a tough fight in his entire career.

He fought Hopkins because he had to.

He fought Pavlik because he believed he was nothing more than a slow white boy.

Now faced with a fight that would earn him some respect back he turns it down for a fight that does nothing except give Anorak a chance to see more muscular blacks than he was planning on.

Talk about ignorance.

Did he HAVE to go after the belts Hopkins held? No. He chose to.

Did he HAVE to have his first defense against Winky Wright? No. He chose to.

Die he have to fight Pavlik a second time, after ending the first fight curled up like a roly-poly on the canvas? No, he chose to.

And the Froch fight wouldn't earn him much respect (outside of hardcore fans) win OR lose. It would get him a title over a guy that hadn't fought anyone prior to Taylor... at least that would be how history writes it.

I understand the frustration; I do. I'm a fan. I want to see the best fights. But I've also noticed that some fans tend to want to dictate the sport and have no empathy whatsoever for the fighters they are so quick to lift up and tear down. There is not a fighter out there today who hasn't been criticized by someone for a choice he has made in his career. Everyone acts like it's the end of the ****ing world if they've got to wait three or even six more months to see the matchup they've been having masturbatory fantasies about 24/7 on a message board. Get over it. These fighters aren't just focusing on one fight at a time like we do; they're nursing careers. This is their livlihood. For you it's just a hobby... a passion at most.