It was only a short time ago that I contributed an article to Eastsideboxing.com titled “Jermain Taylor: World Class, Sure, All-Time Great, Not Quite.” The purpose of the piece was not to bash Taylor but to point out that though he is one of the world’s best boxers there seems to be something missing from his arsenal. He maintains a sensational amateur pedigree, a charismatic personality and appears to be an excellent representative of the sport and his family. Still something is not there.
I am never one to kick a man when he is down. I thought highly of Taylor before his fight with Froch and still think highly of him. However, my focal point of the previous article was the glaring problem that Taylor failed to make us really care about his success or failure as a fighter. This is even more evident now being shortly on the heels of his twelfth round TKO loss to Carl Froch. Don’t misunderstand, Taylor fought excellently as did Froch. This was a back and forth bout and if Taylor could have lasted 20 more seconds he would have been on the top side of a split decision win. Still, you must appreciate that Taylor has gone from being the “inevitable heir apparent” to the boxing throne to nearly an “also ran” in only a few bouts. Where is the overwhelming outcry from fans supporting him or even demanding a rematch? I haven’t seen it.
Since beating Bernard Hopkins he is 3-3-1 with wins coming against two smaller fighters and highly touted but less talented fighter: Corey Spinks, Kasim Ouma and Jeff Lacy.
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Jermain Taylor fails the Litmus Test…Again!
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