How Jermain Taylor’s reign as the unified world middleweight champion is remembered could depend largely on how he performs against unbeaten puncher Kelly Pavlik on 29 September at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After a string of listless performances at 160lbs, Taylor will move up to super middleweight immediately after the bout, so this fifth and final title defence will set the context for which his entire reign will be judged.
If Taylor, 27-0-1 (17 quick wins), blasts through Pavlik in the manner he did previous opponents when he was an up-and-coming express train of a contender, fans will suddenly re-remember that two wins — close, controversial or whatever — over Bernard Hopkins is pretty damn impressive and that managing a draw against Winky Wright is more than the likes of Shane Mosley (twice) and Felix Trinidad could do. As for the mauls against Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks... well, 12-round bores don’t exactly lodge in any fight fan’s memory for too long. They will be forgotten and Taylor will debut at 168lbs next year as an immediate and obvious challenger to the winner of Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler.
But if Pavlik does what a lot of knowledgeable fight figures are expecting him to do — out-punch and out-fight the champion — then it will probably be the last straw in breaking the champion’s credibility as a force in boxing. In that scenario, Taylor will be remembered merely as an average fighter who came along at the right time to get lucky against a weight-drained Hopkins and relied on that luck — and luck alone — to pickpocket his way through one of the least impressive reigns of any undisputed champion in a generation.
Make no mistake, boxing’s U.S. cable-TV bankroller HBO as well as boxing as a whole believed the sport had a new superstar in the euphoric moments after Taylor defeated Hopkins for the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles. But not only has Taylor regressed as a fighter (and as an athlete for that matter), his public profile has also been allowed to atrophy to the point of non-existence.
Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, who became chief coach for Taylor following the second win over Hopkins (more on that later), admits there are problems but insists the Pavlik fight will set all to rights.
He told BM: “I took over as Jermain’s trainer 18 months ago and had six weeks to get him ready for Winky Wright, who is the best defensive fighter boxing has seen in years and years. It was a fight Jermain accepted because that’s the type of champion he is but I would never have let even Tommy Hearns fight Winky. Why would you put any fighter in with Winky Wright if you didn’t have to? But, in six weeks, I got Jermain to punch through Winky’s gloves to hit him and, if you look at the tape, that last round [which a tired-looking Wright gave away] won the fight for Jermain.
“Then, against Ouma, Jermain fought another southpaw and tried for the knockout all through the first five rounds until he ran out of energy. He lost a couple of rounds in the middle but he started strong and finished strong against a very game, champion-level fighter.
“Then, because Pavlik didn’t want the fight at that time and other fights didn’t happen, the Spinks fight happened against my wishes. Spinks runs away after every punch he throws and I knew it was going to be a long, awkward night. I hated that match from the start. Ray Leonard and I were talking and he told me there’s no way he would have fought three awkward southpaws all one after the other like Jermain has had to. His last five fights — all the way back to Hopkins — the opponents have been nightmares and no one is giving the kid any kinda break for fighting two [future] Hall of Famers and two former champions back-to-back.
“But Pavlik is the first right-handed fighter Jermain and I have fought together. And he won’t come to cover up like Winky did. He’s not a southpaw, and he won’t come to run away like Spinks did.”
If all that sounded suspiciously like excuse-making to your ears, long-time co-trainer Ozell Nelson has some more for you, blaming his charge’s alarming dips in stamina on weight-making.
He said: “This weight has been a problem for a long time. We’ve hired a nutritionist, done everything we can. Jermain’s been struggling to make it since the second Hopkins fight, and he had to lose nine pounds in 36 hours before the Spinks weigh-in. Lou [DiBella, promoter] and I wanted him to move up after that, but he wanted this next fight. That’s the kind of champion he is but, afterwards, I’m not going to make him do this any more. It’s time to move up.”
It is true that, during negotiations with Pavlik’s promoter Bob Arum, DiBella tried very hard to have the fight take place above the 160lbs weight limit. Knowing Pavlik also has trouble making the division limit, DiBella first floated the idea of a catchweight bout before offering Team Pavlik the same money for a non-title fight at super middleweight as they’d get for challenging for the 160lbs titles but, not surprisingly, Pavlik wanted to fight for the belts.
The weight-making efforts of both men introduces a big intangible into the fight, but Pavlik is the fighter coming into this battle of the unbeatens with all the momentum. Although he lost to the older Taylor in the amateurs eight years ago, he carries an eight-fight stoppage streak into the ring with him and is coming off an extremely impressive mugging over highly respected puncher Edison Miranda in May.
Moreover, he has been improving with every fight while Taylor has been regressing — and he seems to know it. At the New York press conference to announce the fight, a puffy-faced Taylor looked uncomfortable and distracted while the three-inches taller and much leaner Pavlik sizzled with energy, appearing anxious to begin training for the biggest fight of his life.
Steward, though, warns us to expect his fighter to expose the 6ft 3ins Youngstown, Ohio, native as something of a fraud. He said: “Pavlik has one marquee name on his record — Miranda — who was a completely overhyped fighter. Miranda was known for losing in Germany against a fighter who fought him with a broken jaw [Arthur Abraham]. If Miranda was anything, he’d have won that fight but the fact was he was a very, very slow fighter who needed a lot of time to land his punches. I thought so [little] of him I wanted Andy Lee [Steward’s 23-year-old prospect] to fight him before he [Miranda] lost again.
“But the rest of the world thinks Pavlik beat this great fighter, so what happens is Jermain will finally get some credit when he knocks this guy out in eight rounds.”
And perhaps he will, although the goodwill extended to Team Taylor after the second Hopkins fight has long since run out for the boxing public. Taylor is a nice young man, but he’s been caught more than once admitting he doesn’t follow boxing, doesn’t like boxing — and that hardly endears a fighter to Joe Boxing Fan.
But, worse than that, that attitude says something deeper about Taylor’s psychological make-up as a prizefighter. While he has shown resilience and grit, he has also allowed himself to be backed up the length of the ring and back again by smaller foes such as Ouma. It just looked wrong, as did his May maul with Cory Spinks — the natural welterweight — who won five of the 12 rounds.
One cannot escape the impression that, to Taylor, boxing is a job. It’s one he takes seriously and one he has ambitions in, sure, but he is a career boxer rather than a born fighter and he won’t fight tooth and claw like many expect Pavlik to do.
Steward conceded that the mounting criticism has hurt Taylor. He said: “Jermain is a smalltown kid and, when he goes back there, he’s like a god there. He’s the biggest thing not only in Little Rock, but the whole state. He can do no wrong as far as they are concerned and that’s kinda [insulated] him against all the criticism he’s been getting. Remember, he doesn’t read boxing magazines, doesn’t watch HBO or go to fights.
“Believe it or not, he doesn’t know which belts he currently holds [WBC and WBO] and which he’s lost [WBA and IBF].
“But he’s aware that his career is on the line here. He came into camp early, in shape, and he insisted on sparring much earlier than we normally do. For the three fights I’ve been with him, Jermain has fought three left-handed fighters, who essentially took away his best weapon — his left jab — from us in them fights. Now it is back in play you can expect to see the best of him again.”
I wonder. For me, Taylor has been going backwards as a fighter ever since Nelson replaced Pat Burns, who had trained Taylor from his pro debut in 2000 right through the two wins over Hopkins. Steward may be the best trainer in boxing, but he doesn’t appear to be the best trainer for Jermain Taylor.
It gets worse: Taylor has gone backwards as an athlete, too. According to those who have spent time in camp with the middleweight champion, Burns used to push Taylor hard in the gym, all the better to expand the borders of his cardiovascular fitness. Nelson, meanwhile, merely trains Taylor within his comfort levels. With Steward focusing so much time on other fighters, his business interests and his role as a HBO colour commentator, it is Nelson who more often than not is the de facto trainer while Steward serves as a finetuner, tactician and chief second on fight night.
It is an arrangement that clearly isn’t bringing out the best in Taylor.
Meanwhile, Pavlik seems to be improving with every fight, his chin appears sound, his power unquestionable and his freakish height at 160lbs has earnt him comparisons with Tommy Hearns. As noted above, both fighters are going to have to sweat buckets to make the weight limit and the fight could be won and lost somewhere between a skipping rope and a sauna.
One American sportswriter put it simply: “If the Jermain Taylor of the Hopkins fights turns up, he wins; if the Jermain Taylor of any of the last three fights turns up, Pavlik wins.”
Of those two options, I’m expecting to see the Taylor of his last three fights.
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