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Taylor will prob be the bigger man on fight night and will wobble and hurt the skinnier Froch.Comment
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He is not soft in my eyes...Comment
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The last time Taylor look ripped is the first Pavlik fight because he was somewhat weight drained and dehydrated. The less water you have in your system, the more ripped you look. Taylor barely made weight because of lack of training against Lacy, but he came in at 166, it just tells me that he's comfortable at the weight.Comment
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Because he had an omlet for breakfast:
Weight no worry to Taylor
BY CHRIS GIVENS ARKANSAS ********-GAZETTE
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — Jermain Taylor woke up Friday morning, the day of the weigh-in for his super middleweight championship fight with Carl Froch, and ate a good breakfast.
Doesn’t sound that remarkable? For Taylor, and many boxers needing to make weight before a title fight, a solid meal before the weigh-in is a luxury they often cannot afford.
Taylor’s indulgence of an eggwhite omelet with vegetables and a bottle of water did not cost him those precious pounds — he weighed in at 166 pounds, comfortably under the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds at the official weigh-in held in a ballroom at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino Resort.
Little Rock’s Taylor and Froch, of Nottingham, England, fight tonight for the WBC super middleweight title.
Froch stepped on the scale to raucous cheers of his countrymen yelling “Nottingham, Nottingham” and “You’ve got to beat the champion” and weighed 167 pounds. Both men looked solid on the eve of their fight, and both men had fans sporting flags of their respective countries.
Taylor, as is his custom the day before fights, was intense when he got on the scale and during the staredown. He had little to say to the media after that. He did appear loose, however, and laughed and joked with family and friends who made the trip from Arkansas.
“It’s been a long day, but I feel great,” Taylor said. “I have walked around a bit, watched movies. Chilled. What I haven’t had to do is run or turn the thermostat way up and sweat out the pounds.”
Weight has been an issue for Taylor for the past few years, even during his most recent fight when he moved up from middleweight (160 pounds) to super middleweight.
This time, Taylor said he could have weighed in Thursday and made weight, and his weight was not a concern during training camp.
“I feel good. I’m a lot more comfortable,” Taylor said. “In training camp I focused a lot more on boxing and not my weight. If I’m not on weight, I’m hungry, I can’t wait to eat and that’s all I’m thinking about. Now all I’m thinking about is boxing and beating Carl Froch.”
In the days immediately before most of Taylor’s recent fights, members of his camp said, a considerable amount of attention was placed not on the opponent but on making sure Taylor had his weight under control.
Taylor has had to run as many as 6 miles the day of previous weigh-ins to shed pounds.
Ozell Nelson, Taylor’s trainer, said the only thing Team Taylor has been discussing this week has been how to beat Froch.
“Weight has been our biggest problem, until now,” Nelson said. “When the weight’s off as early as it was this camp, it makes everything so much easier. His mind is totally focused on boxing, nothing else.”
Taylor said he would do a short shakeout in the gym Friday night, but otherwise he is prepared for the fight.
Froch said that while watching recent Taylor fights he noticed Taylor starts holding a lot more from the fifth round on, and Froch questioned Taylor’s stamina.
“I hope he’s thinking that way,” Taylor said. “I hope he trains thinking that way. I’m going to have 100 percent legs, the entire fight. I’m in shape to go all 12 rounds. And I want to win all 12 rounds. Not for the judges, not for the scorecards, but for me.”Comment
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