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By Victor Garcia (February 18, 2005)
The heir apparent to Bernard Hopkins’ middleweight throne is a topic of discussion everywhere. The man who evidently leads the pack, however, is falling under fire. Everyone has heard the criticisms. Some of you have been a party to the condemnation.
“Jermain Taylor needs to fight a real middleweight,” reads an email I received on the subject.
This sentiment seemed to be everywhere after Taylor fought blown-up light middleweights Marcos Primera, Nicolas Cervera, Alfredo Cuevas, and Rogelio Martinez in succession. The criticism continued and grew in intensity after Taylor again was matched against ballooned light middleweights, Alex Rios and Alex Bunema. However, the critics had now added a new demand.
“If Jermain Taylor wants to be respected as a fighter, he should stop fighting super welterweights or at least step up his level of opposition,” said a Tarvis Simms fan named Patrick Alonso. This, after I remarked that Taylor would have beaten Simms on the night Simms fought Carlos Bojorquez at the Staples Center.
Thankfully, Taylor heeded Mr. Alonso’s call for better opposition when he took on a more credible opponent in Raul Marquez. Although still essentially a super welterweight, Marquez was a former IBF light middleweight champion. He was a tough, experienced, crafty veteran. Still, Taylor seemed to have little trouble in dissecting the former title holder, en route to a ninth round TKO.
Despite this win, Taylor continued to be given little credit by some. This time it was said that he had fought a badly faded Marquez who should have retired before the bout. As usual, the obvious was pointed out to me: Raul Marquez is no middleweight.
Voices of reason called for patience, while some of the patient had grown weary or restless. After the Marquez fight, Taylor’s management team arranged a contest between their man and former WBA middleweight titlist, William Joppy. Certainly, this was a step in the right direction. After all, Joppy was a true middleweight with decent credentials. An impressive Taylor used this opportunity to shut-out the former champion, winning a unanimous decision and remaining unbeaten. The praise for the up-and-coming star was hardly audible.
In an email conversation with a boxing fan that seems never ending, I was accused of gloating after Taylor handed Joppy a decisive loss when I stated that “Jermain Taylor is coming along just fine.”
“William Joppy was a done fighter. [Felix] Trinidad and [Bernard] Hopkins finished him off. You can’t possibly expect me to say that Taylor is the future of the division at this point. You need to take a closer look at his opponents instead of trying to rub it in my face,” was the response I elicited.
To his detractors, critics, and those who are just plain tired of waiting for him to fight tougher opponents within his weight division, I ask for patience, and I repeat, Jermain Taylor is coming along just fine.
Remember that Bernard Hopkins, the reigning and undisputed middleweight champion who is considered by many as pound-for-pound the best in the world, lost his professional debut and hardly fought anyone of consequence in his first 21 fights. Keep in mind that he won the vacant USBA middleweight title against a super welterweight and then defended it against a former light middleweight in his 22nd and 23rd fights respectively. A lesson can be learned here.
In his 24th professional fight, Bernard Hopkins was matched against an undefeated young phenom named Roy Jones Jr. for the vacant IBF middleweight championship. Hopkins had not faced this level of opposition before and had done little to build up to it. Although he made a good showing of himself, he lost. If history is not to repeat itself, Jermain Taylor needs to be groomed for greatness. His handlers are wise to increase his level of opposition in increments. Rushing him into bouts that he is not prepared for will hurt their investment and may hurt the young boxer’s psyche.
Have patience and take pleasure in watching a young star in-the-making grow.
Although he is fighting a natural middleweight with some power, many people will continue to throw verbal jabs at the heir apparent Jermain 'Bad Intentions' Taylor, 22-0 (16), when he fights Daniel 'The Haitian Sensation' Edouard, 16-0-2 (9), on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins and Howard Eastman match-up at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California this Saturday, but I won’t.
The heir apparent to Bernard Hopkins’ middleweight throne is a topic of discussion everywhere. The man who evidently leads the pack, however, is falling under fire. Everyone has heard the criticisms. Some of you have been a party to the condemnation.
“Jermain Taylor needs to fight a real middleweight,” reads an email I received on the subject.
This sentiment seemed to be everywhere after Taylor fought blown-up light middleweights Marcos Primera, Nicolas Cervera, Alfredo Cuevas, and Rogelio Martinez in succession. The criticism continued and grew in intensity after Taylor again was matched against ballooned light middleweights, Alex Rios and Alex Bunema. However, the critics had now added a new demand.
“If Jermain Taylor wants to be respected as a fighter, he should stop fighting super welterweights or at least step up his level of opposition,” said a Tarvis Simms fan named Patrick Alonso. This, after I remarked that Taylor would have beaten Simms on the night Simms fought Carlos Bojorquez at the Staples Center.
Thankfully, Taylor heeded Mr. Alonso’s call for better opposition when he took on a more credible opponent in Raul Marquez. Although still essentially a super welterweight, Marquez was a former IBF light middleweight champion. He was a tough, experienced, crafty veteran. Still, Taylor seemed to have little trouble in dissecting the former title holder, en route to a ninth round TKO.
Despite this win, Taylor continued to be given little credit by some. This time it was said that he had fought a badly faded Marquez who should have retired before the bout. As usual, the obvious was pointed out to me: Raul Marquez is no middleweight.
Voices of reason called for patience, while some of the patient had grown weary or restless. After the Marquez fight, Taylor’s management team arranged a contest between their man and former WBA middleweight titlist, William Joppy. Certainly, this was a step in the right direction. After all, Joppy was a true middleweight with decent credentials. An impressive Taylor used this opportunity to shut-out the former champion, winning a unanimous decision and remaining unbeaten. The praise for the up-and-coming star was hardly audible.
In an email conversation with a boxing fan that seems never ending, I was accused of gloating after Taylor handed Joppy a decisive loss when I stated that “Jermain Taylor is coming along just fine.”
“William Joppy was a done fighter. [Felix] Trinidad and [Bernard] Hopkins finished him off. You can’t possibly expect me to say that Taylor is the future of the division at this point. You need to take a closer look at his opponents instead of trying to rub it in my face,” was the response I elicited.
To his detractors, critics, and those who are just plain tired of waiting for him to fight tougher opponents within his weight division, I ask for patience, and I repeat, Jermain Taylor is coming along just fine.
Remember that Bernard Hopkins, the reigning and undisputed middleweight champion who is considered by many as pound-for-pound the best in the world, lost his professional debut and hardly fought anyone of consequence in his first 21 fights. Keep in mind that he won the vacant USBA middleweight title against a super welterweight and then defended it against a former light middleweight in his 22nd and 23rd fights respectively. A lesson can be learned here.
In his 24th professional fight, Bernard Hopkins was matched against an undefeated young phenom named Roy Jones Jr. for the vacant IBF middleweight championship. Hopkins had not faced this level of opposition before and had done little to build up to it. Although he made a good showing of himself, he lost. If history is not to repeat itself, Jermain Taylor needs to be groomed for greatness. His handlers are wise to increase his level of opposition in increments. Rushing him into bouts that he is not prepared for will hurt their investment and may hurt the young boxer’s psyche.
Have patience and take pleasure in watching a young star in-the-making grow.
Although he is fighting a natural middleweight with some power, many people will continue to throw verbal jabs at the heir apparent Jermain 'Bad Intentions' Taylor, 22-0 (16), when he fights Daniel 'The Haitian Sensation' Edouard, 16-0-2 (9), on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins and Howard Eastman match-up at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California this Saturday, but I won’t.