Articles of 2009
BORGES: I'm Tired Of Taylor's Constant Excuses
No one really believes in Jermain Taylor any more. Why would you?
SHOWTIME’S Super Six tournament, designed to crown one super middleweight champion and create a boxing star in the process, has five of the best fighters in the 168 pound division involved. Then there’s Taylor. How’d he get in there ahead of undefeated IBF champion Lucian Bute (24-0)?
The combined record of the six of them – Taylor, WBC champion Carl Froch, WBA title holder Mikkel Kessler, former Olympic medalists Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward and ex-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, who dumped the meaningless 160-pound title he held for this opportunity – is 161-4-1. Take out Taylor, which most people believe Abraham is about to do Saturday night in Berlin, and it’s 133-1.
Only a few years ago Taylor was the talk of boxing, a raw talent from Arkansas with an athlete’s agility and a pleasant way about him. Unfortunately, he turned out to be more athlete than fighter and less pleasant than we thought once he began to believe he was a star.
That star went into nova almost the moment it began to twinkle, mostly because of his own arrogance and refusal to put in the time it takes to master as difficult a trade as boxing. In what seems like a century ago but was really only four years, Taylor beat back Bernard Hopkins twice, although many folks would have argued then and certainly now that he was handed those decisions because the sport wanted a new face and he was briefly the Chosen One.
Yet even at his coronation in that first victory over Hopkins, Taylor revealed a fatal flaw for a fighter. He tended to fade like old newspapers. He faded in fights and, soon enough, he faded in his profession.
Taylor has now lost three of his last four fights, is 3-3-1 since beating Hopkins and has been knocked out twice, first by middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and most recently by Froch. The latter stopped him with 14 seconds left in a fight Taylor had at one point been winning easily.
His conclusion was he didn’t lose, he got tired, which is why he will very likely lose again to Abraham, who is smaller and less athletic but hard in places where Taylor is soft.
“The best fighter lost because he didn’t train right,’’ Taylor (28-3-1) said in the build up to what will be a SHOWTIME doubleheader with Abraham fighting Taylor at the O2 World Arena in Berlin while Froch (25-0, 20 KO) takes on Dirrell (18-0, 13 KO) in Nottingham, England, not far from his roots.
That was the kind of comment that leads you to have no faith in Taylor. Some guys learn from their mistakes. Others repeat them. Taylor has been singing this song since he first faded badly against a guy old enough to be his fistic grandfather, Hopkins, in their first meeting.
This did not change except in his first fight with Pavlik. He didn’t wait until the end to tire that night, being knocked cold in his corner in the seventh round after seemingly having Pavlik beaten in the fight's opening minutes.
That night he said he got tired because he’d expended too much energy trying to knock Pavlik out when he had him hurt. This all leads you to conclude he gets tired early and he gets tired late. Either way, he doesn’t seem to get tired of losing.
Jermain Taylor loses these kinds of fights because he respects neither his opponent’s skills or his own. At the age of 30, a professional for eight years, he claimed to have not trained properly for Froch. After they woke him up, Taylor said exhaustion and Big Macs got him not the undefeated WBC champion. Sadly, six months later he’s still saying the same thing.
“The only reason I lost to Carl Froch was because I got tired,’’ he said this week.
No, the only reason you lost to Carl Froch was because he’s a professional and you’re not. He comes to the arena physically prepared, mentally prepared and emotionally prepared. Although he is far less gifted an athlete then Taylor (or even than young Dirrell who is so blessed with speed and movement) but he defeated him because he is a master craftsman who shows up to work every day with his tools sharpened, a proper lunch in his pail and a desire to leave the job at the end of the day having given full measure to the people who pay him.
In this case, that is the fans of boxing, people Taylor has short- changed for some time now. The sadder fact is he’s short-changed himself. Perhaps he can turn that around this time. Perhaps he finally understands at 31 that he is at the end of the line if things don’t work out for him in this double elimination tournament.
Maybe, most of all, he finally understands very few people believe he can fight anymore, an opinion borne out by his lackluster win over a totally shot Jeff Lacy. But boxing is a forgiving place if you have been given a reputation by powerful entities like HBO, which Taylor has. It gives those few fighters many opportunities to let their supporters down.
So Taylor gets another chance at a second chance Saturday night but Abraham (30-0, 24 KO) hardly sees it that way. He sees it as the beginning of a coronation for him, the start of what is a long, 18-month road which when it has been traveled will crown the survivor a star.
Jermain Taylor has long thought himself a star but he wasn’t willing to work hard enough to prove it. Arthur Abraham thinks he’s a star too but he has always understood there is a responsibility that comes with that, a responsibility that, if left unfulfilled, will come back to tap you on the shoulder when you’re inside a boxing ring. Worse, it may tap you on the chin.
“There is nothing special about him,’’ Taylor insisted this week, as if giving Abraham his due was somehow radioactive. Well, he may not be special but he’s 30-0. He may not be special but he not only won a world championship he successfully defended it 10 times. He may not be special but he didn’t have to move up to 168 pounds because he got too lazy to stay at 160. He moved up for an opportunity. My bet is Taylor came here for a payday, which is not the same thing by a long shot.
“I am sure he will have a different opinion of me once I’ve caught him for the first time,’’ a surly Abraham said this week. “We’ll find out Saturday night what shape Taylor will be like.’’
While Abraham talks with respectful menace in his voice, Taylor kept insisting, “I beat myself in every fight I lost.’’
No, actually you didn’t. Pavlik beat you into unconsciousness. So did Froch, leaving you on the floor like a half empty sack of potatoes. Winky Wright beat you but was given only a draw. And if Cory Spinks wasn’t half your size, he would have beaten you too because he, too, is a professional.
For a guy who beats himself, Jermain Taylor has had a lot of help. Yet both he and his enabler, trainer Ozell Nelson, keep singing the same old song, refusing to learn from their mistakes and hence doomed to repeat them.
“I feel like I’m the bigger fighter,’’ Taylor said. “I’m a lot stronger. As long as I don’t get tired I’m going to win the fight.’’
Well, in the long history of boxing there have been few fighters who didn’t get tired. It comes with the savage nature of the sport. It comes with facing a man who keeps applying hard pressure on you, as Abraham tends to do.
Exhaustion, or at least near exhaustion, is inevitable for even the most highly trained boxer when he is facing an opponent of equal or superior skills. So if Jermain Taylor feels he can’t win if he gets tired, he’s already half beaten because Abraham will wear him down. He will wear him out. He will make sure he gets tired. Then what?
Articles of 2009
UFC 108 Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
Former champion Rashad Evans meets Brazil’s venerable Thiago Silva in a non-title belt that can lead to a return match with the current champ, but first things first.
Evans (15-1-1) and Silva (14-1) meet in Ultimate Fighting Championship 108 in a light heavyweight bout on Saturday Jan. 2, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. A win by either fighter could result in a world title bid. The fight card is being shown on pay-per-view television.
Events can change quickly in the Octagon and anybody can beat anybody in the 205-pound weight division. Just ask Silva or Evans.
Silva and Evans are both experienced and can vouch firsthand about the capriciousness of fighting in MMA and especially as a light heavyweight. On one day this man can beat that man and on another day, that man can beat this man. It can make you absolutely daffy.
Evans, 30, is the former UFC light heavyweight world champion who only defended his title on one occasion and lost by vicious knockout to current champion Lyoto Machida of Brazil. It’s the only defeat on his record.
Silva, 27, is a well-rounded MMA fighter from Sao Paolo, Brazil who is versed in jujitsu, Muy Thai and boxing. He can end a fight quickly in a choke hold just as easily as with a kick or a punch. His only loss came to who else: Machida.
Evans and Silva know a win can push open the door to a rematch with current UFC light heavyweight champion Machida.
“A win against Rashad would put me in the track against Lyoto,” said Silva, in a telephone conference call. “That's what – what I want to do.”
When Silva fought Machida the two Brazilians were both undefeated and feared in the MMA world. The fight took place in Las Vegas and with one second remaining in the first round a perfectly timed punch knocked Silva unconscious.
“I was humbled big time, man,” says Silva who fought Machida in January 2009. “I learned a lot from that fight. I think I can correct the mistakes from that fight, not overlooking anything else right now, but just I want to get the chance to fight him again.”
For Evans it was a different circumstance. The upstate New Yorker held the UFC title and was defending it after stopping then champion Forrest Griffin by knockout. Still, many felt Machida was far too technically versed. Evans was stopped brutally in the second round.
“I've made it a point to not – to not get distracted on what I want to do, because you know Thiago (Silva) is a very hungry fighter,” said Evans who has not fought since losing the title to Machida last May. “My focus is just on Thiago so much. You know I don't want to overlook him, you know, not even a little bit.”
Dana White, president of UFC, says the winner of this fight could conceivably fight Machida in the near future. Evans and especially Silva are motivated by the open window.
“I learned a lot from that fight. I think I can correct the mistakes from that fight,” says Silva. “Not overlooking anything else right now, but I just want to get the chance to fight him again.”
What a prize. The winner gets to face the man who beat him: Machida.
Articles of 2009
Ten Boxing Wishes For 2010
As 2009 comes to a close, one reflects on what went well and what went wrong during the year in boxing. There were many highlights. Pacquiao vs. Cotto and Showtime’s Super Six tournament were part of the best that boxing had to offer. But there were some low points too therefore the industry has some work to do in order to keep generating fans. Here are some suggestions for 2010:
10. Better pay per view cards
Paying 40 to 50 bucks to watch the main event gets old real quick. Why do we have to sit through a horrible under-card to get to the main course? It’s like being fed spam appetizers before the Thanksgiving turkey. It seems that the pay per view promoters just don’t get it. Are they watching what they put on or do they only watch the “big fight” as everyone else is slowly being conditioned to do so?
9. Time to make Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight
Okay, I understand he’s the son of one of the greatest fighters that ever lived. But he’s had 42 fights against low to mid level competition and has never managed to look spectacular. It’s time to throw the 23 year old out of the nest to see if he can fly. My suggestion is a fight against Sergio Mora or maybe even Yuri Foreman. Neither of these guys can punch. They may outbox Junior but they won’t totally humiliate him.
8. No more ridiculous Pay Per View mismatches
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez should’ve never been made. It was a ridiculous fight when it was announced and it was more ridiculous when it took place. Unable to bring Manny Pacquiao to the bargaining table for a third match against Juan Manuel Marquez, someone figured that pairing up the 135 pound champion against a natural 147 pounder like Mayweather would be a great idea. The pay per view generated over a million buys but the fact that millions of people were treated to an incredibly boring mismatch is what’s truly worrisome. I can guarantee you one thing about this card. The sport of boxing lost fans once the show was over and done with. Talk about short term thinking.
7. Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola shows up for a fight in amazing shape
It was painful to see Chris Arreola take a beating from the Ukrainian giant, Vitali Klitscho. The champion certainly earned his “Dr. Ironfist” moniker as he plowed his powerful shots into the former #1 WBC heavyweight contender’s face. He reddened and bloodied the young Mexican American with an assortment of weapons and foot movement seldom seen on a six foot seven inch heavyweight. Arreola was brave and unrelenting in battle. He never stopped coming forward and took chances when he could. His work in the ring at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles wasn’t the problem. Where Arreola let himself down was outside the ring. His unwillingness to condition himself into a finely tuned athlete cost him certain immortality as the first ever heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. Arreola has the heart and skills but it was his mental fortitude that broke down. Anyone who’s followed the Riverside fighter knows that his best weight is somewhere in the 230 pound range. It certainly isn’t at the 252 pounds he registered on the scale at the Staples Center. Those fifteen to twenty extra pounds might have made all the difference in the world. Maybe he would’ve been a little quicker, maybe he could’ve sustained a faster pace in order to tire out the champion. In his most recent fight against Brian Minto, Arreola weighed in at a career high 263. It looks like “The Nightmare” isn’t willing to change for anyone. At this pace, the only nightmares he’ll be providing will be to the management of Hometown Buffets all across Riverside. Just kidding “Nightmare”!
6. More respect for the lighter weights
Real boxing fans know that the most exciting fighters in the sport are usually found toiling in weight divisions south of 154 pounds. Pacquiao, Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Edwin Valero, Israel Vazquez, Juan Ma Lopez, Vic Darchinyan, Rafael Marquez and countless others have been the real driving force behind this sport. It’s those great fighters that have made boxing fanatics out of casual fans. The heavyweights may get all the money and glory but it’s the little guys who make the sport shine and it’s time they received greater compensation. It’s dismaying to think that a mediocre heavyweight can make three or four times as much as the great Rafael Marquez.
5. An American Heavyweight champion
Speaking of heavyweights, two Americans tried and failed at dethroning Vitali Klitschko this year. Both Kevin Johnson and Chris Arreola did their best to wrestle the belt away from “Dr. Klitschko” but came up short since they were easily outclassed. What happened to the great American Heavyweight? Where’s our new Joe Frazier or Ali? Even a new Gerry Cooney or a Ken Norton would do at this point. I’ve got a feeling that the only way we’re going to see an American champion is if Klitschko retires. My money is on Arreola. Although undisciplined and rough outside the ring, he’s got tons (no pun intended) of natural talent. He’s without a doubt the most talented American heavyweight on the scene.
4. More ShoBox
The Showtime Cable network gave us the best boxing on TV for the price of a cable television subscription. Their ShoBox series has been a proven hit for Senior VP of Sports Programming Ken Hershman. The concept is simple yet brilliant. Match up two up and comers with great records and let’s see what happens. Sometimes the results are surprising. Many have passed the ShoBox test and went on to bigger and better things. Others have been exposed as having padded records and eventually their careers stall and take a dive.
3. More safety in Mexico so I can attend a show without a gun battle breaking out
Having lived near the Tijuana border all my life I’m dismayed at the war zone that the city has evolved into. Every day there are reports of shootings fueled by the drug war trade. Believe it or not, there was a time when Tijuana was safe and most wouldn’t have thought twice about crossing the border for some seafood and nightlife. No more. Having covered several boxing cards on Revolucion Avenue many years ago, I got a taste of just how important the sport is to Mexican fans. It’s also important to me but not that important. For now I’ll stick to covering shows at the Pechanga Casino and in the less dangerous city of L.A. I never thought I’d say that.
2. Pac Man vs. Mayweather
This is the fight everyone wants to see. Seeing how Mayweather dominated Pac Man’s arch enemy, Juan Manuel Marquez, you have to wonder if the Filipino can handle Lil’ Floyd’s speed and size. One thing is for sure, betting against Pacquiao doesn’t usually work out for me. It never has. There’s no future in it. So if the fight gets done it’s Pacquiao by TKO in ten.
1. And finally
One final wish is reserved for all the readers of TheSweetScience.com I wish you all a healthy and happy 2010. Thank you for your continued loyalty to the site. It’s very much appreciated.
Articles of 2009
A Very Special New Year's Day Column
It has been just over four months since Nick Charles, the play-by-play announcer for Shobox: The New Generation, was diagnosed with stage IV bladder cancer and forced to take a medical hiatus from the monthly show that has aired since 2001.
Since then he has undergone grueling chemotherapy treatments that have resulted in him losing all of his hair as he forces himself to live as normal of a life as possible. Through sheer force of will, as well as the strength and support that he receives from his wonderfully loving family and his strong Christian faith, the 63-year-old Charles has managed to keep his weight up while not falling prey to the always lingering threats of depression, cynicism and negativity.
If one was unaware that he was battling such an insidious disease, you’d never know from talking on the phone to him that he has been to hell and back. He has lost none of the inspiring energy that has endeared him to members of the boxing community and legions of worldwide viewers.
“I’m doing great,” Charles said during a telephone conversation on December 30th. “I’ve been off the chemo for a month, and the doctors have told me that I’m 80 percent in remission. I’m going to see them again in three months. It may come back, but if it takes one year, or two years, or however long, I’m going to make the most of the good time.”
As physically and emotionally wrenching as the grim diagnosis and subsequent treatment has been, even for someone as perpetually positive as Charles, the longtime announcer said a lot of good things have come from it.
Having been married three times, Charles is the father of four children: Jason, 38, Melissa, 34, Charlotte, 22, and Giovanna, 3 ½.
While Charles is not big on regrets, he is the first to admit that he wasn’t always there for his older children. For many years he traveled the world as a CNN correspondent, often putting the demands of his career above all else, including those closest to him. Nowhere was the strain more evident than in his relationship with Melissa.
Having been divorced from Melissa’s mother since 1977, Charles said his relationship with that daughter has been especially “hot and cold, all of our lives.”
His illness has enabled them to forge a relationship that has been “based on a massive amount of forgiveness and understanding.”
“This has had a tremendous healing effect on both of us,” said Charles. “My illness has had a fortifying effect on a lot of things, the most important of which is my relationships with my family.”
That also includes his first wife, with whom he has had an often acrimonious relationship over the past three decades.
“It took a long time for the scab to become a scar, but we had lunch one day and it was so great to once again see the gentle, soft sides of each other,” he explained. “The whole divorce process creates a hardness that doesn’t always go away.”
Charles is also the grandfather to three children, some of whom are about the same age as his youngest daughter. He jokes that he has a “nuclear 21st century family” because of the similar ages of two generations of children. One of the hardest things for him has been the realization that he can’t always play with them in manner in which he would like.
“The hemoglobin is the fuel in your tank, so when it’s low you can’t will yourself to do things no matter how much you want to,” said Charles. “You can’t just sleep it off or work through it. I don’t want the kids to wonder why I can’t play in the backyard with them, or kick a soccer ball, or throw them in the air.”
Particularly difficult is when Giovanna reminds her father of how handsome he is, but then innocently asks him what happened to his hair, eyebrows and lashes.
“You try to keep things on a need to know basis, which is not easy when dealing with curious kids,” said Charles.
While Charles might look like the kind of guy that things have often come easy to, the reality is that his beginnings were far from auspicious. But, he says, his often challenging Chicago childhood blessed him with the steely resolve that has helped him so much during the arduous journey he is now on.
“I had it pretty rough growing up,” he explained. “I remember the lights and the heat being shut off and eating mustard sandwiches. I went to work at 13 and always had insecurities about the future. But I always expected and saw the best in people, so when I got sick, never once did I say 'Why me?”
Since taking a leave of absence from Shobox, the outpouring of support from the boxing community has warmed Charles’s heart. For a guy that is battling for his life, he actually considers himself fortunate to be surrounded by so much goodness in both his personal and professional lives.
“I always hear that boxing people are ruthless, but I couldn’t disagree more,” said Charles. “I’ve probably received about 1,000 e-mails, and people are always following in sending their best wishes. From the relatively unknown people in boxing to many of the more famous people, there has been an outpouring of true affection.”
Charles said that the Top Rank organization has been exceedingly kind and gracious. He was touched beyond description when he learned that officials in Oklahoma got special permission to have a seamstress sew “Keep Fighting Nick” onto their sleeves. He chokes up when talking about cut man Stitch Duran giving up an endorsement opportunity so he could put Charles’s name on his outfit. He never tires of hearing shout-outs from fighters on television.
Charles has always been a people person with an inordinate faith in the goodness of his fellow man. Battling this illness has only made his already strong faith in humanity even stronger.
“Adversity is a great teacher, and it really teaches you who your genuine friends are,” said Charles. “I have a lot of friends.”
He also has a remarkable wife, Cory, a CNN producer to whom he has been married for 11 years. She is the daughter of an electrician, a self-made woman who exudes all of the warmth of her native Brooklyn. She has reinforced her husband’s spiritual base by her love, optimism and strength of character.
“If I get down, she reminds me to not get too caught up,” said Charles. “I believe in eternity, and that has put me pretty much at peace.”
More than anything else, Charles wants to get himself back behind a microphone sooner rather than later, and hopefully on Shobox. He is the first to admit that viewers “don’t watch the series to see Nick Charles,” but he is proud of the fact that he was “part of the identity” of such a popular show.
“And people love comeback stories,” added Charles. “That’s the message I’m getting from the people out there.”
In boxing the word “champion” is often overused because it pertains only to winning belts and receiving worldwide recognition for being the best at your craft. The reality is that life’s real champions have other qualities, such as the innate ability to treat people well and always make them feel better about themselves, especially when the recipients of the goodwill are in no position to give them anything back.
By that standard of measure, Charles is as much, if not more of a champion than all of the boxers he has covered during the nine years that Shobox has been on the air.
I know I speak for scores of others when I say, “Happy New Year, Champ. We hope that you are the comeback story of the year in 2010.”
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