LeedsLad

Jermain Taylor- 27-2-1 (17KOs)

Jermain Taylor, born on 11th August 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a professional boxer from the USA. He is nicknamed 'Bad Intentions', and is a former undisputed Middleweight champion of the world. He has a professional record of 27 wins, 17 coming by KO, with only 2 defeats and 1 draw.

Jermain Taylor was a fantastic amateur fighter, winning numerous national title's and making a big name for himself on the amateur scene. After winning many national titles, Taylor became the first fighter from Little Rock to represent the USA in the olympics games in Sydney 2000. Taylor managed to beat three opponents, Dmitri Usagin (RSC1), Scott MacIntosh (23-9 PTS) and Adnan Celtic (19-14 PTS), before losing to Yermakhan Ibraimov in the Semi-Final's. Taylor claimed the Bronze medal for the USA.

Taylor made his professional debut in January 2001 against Chris Walsh, winning the bout via 4th round TKO. Taylor went onto fight 6 more times in 2001, resulting in 6 more wins and 4 more knockouts. He continued his winning streak through 2002 & 2003, before winning his first minor title (WBC Continental Americas Middleweight belt) with a win over Alex Bunema in the 7th round. He then defeated Raul Marquez, a world-ranked opponent, after his corner retired him after the 9th round. He then fought former world champion William Joppy, defending his minor belt for the second time, and he won a very wide UD, with the final scores being 120-107 on all three scorecards. After defeating Daniel Edouard in the 3rd round, he earned the right to fight for his first major world title.

In July 2005, Taylor fought long time WBC, WBA & WBO Middlweight champion Bernard Hopkins, who had successfully defended his belts 20 times. In a very close fight, both Taylor and Hopkins had there moments. Taylor being the more active fighter, whereas Hopkins delivering the better punches. The scorecards came in as a Split-Decision, with one judge scoring it 116-112 for Hopkins, and the other two having it 115-113 for Taylor. Taylor's first defence came in December 2005, it was a rematch against Bernard Hopkins for the title's. In another very close fight, it was another controversial decision as Taylor won once again. All three judges had the bout 115-113 in favour of Taylor, a decision which enraged Bernard Hopkins.

In June 2006, Jermain Taylor had vacated the WBA middleweight belt and put his WBC & WBO title's on the line against Winky Wright. In another very close bout, both guys fought very well. It was an entertaining fight which could have been scored either way. The final scorecards were 115-113 to either fighter, then 114-114 on the third judges card. Winky stormed out of the ring with disappointment, his reaction to the decision meant a rematch never happened. Later in the year, Jermain Taylor fought former Light-Middleweight title holder Kassim Ouma. In a bout Taylor was expected to win impressively, he failed to do so. He landed some good shots, but Ouma walked through them and the fight ended in a fairly uneventful UD win for Taylor. Then, in May 2007, Taylor defended his title against Light-Middleweight ring champion Corey Spinks. In one of the most uneventful bouts in recent times, it was very unclear who won. Both guys did next to nothing and the bout was awfully dull. The final judges scorecards were 115-113, 117-111 & 111-117 in favour of Taylor. This did little to enhance Taylor's reputation.

On the Spinks-Taylor card, a young undefeated fighter named Kelly Pavlik won the right to fight for Taylor's titles. In one of the best fights of 2007, Taylor vs. Pavlik happened in Atlantic City. Taylor came out fast, landing power punches on Pavlik. In the second round, Taylor knocked Pavlik down with a series of massive punches, however Taylor failed to finish the job despite dominating Pavlik. As the fight went on, Pavlik came stronger and Taylor appeared to gas out. In the 7th round, Pavlik landed a huge right which backed Taylor into the ropes, then Pavlik landed a combination of power punches before the referee jumped in and stopped the bout. Taylor suffered the first defeat of his professional career. Taylor fought a rematch with Pavlik in Febuary 2008, which resulted in another defeat. Taylor fought better the second time round, but faded in the later rounds and lost a decision. The final scorecards were 115-113, 116-112 & 117-111 all against Taylor.

Jermain Taylor has now officially moved up in weight to Super-Middleweight (168lbs). The fight which is most likely for Jermain is a showdown with former IBF Super-Middleweight champion Jeff 'Left Hook' Lacy, with the fight being talked about for October.

Updated by LeedsLad (07/20/08)

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