Jermain Taylor’s “Comeback”

Published

10 years ago

October 10, 2014

There was a time when Jermain Taylor was one of my favorite fighters, in and out of the ring. In his glory years, he fought Bernard Hopkins twice and beat him both times. The fights were close. The decisions could have gone either way; particularly in their first outing. But no one would dispute the notion that Taylor tested Hopkins in ways that no one other than Roy Jones had before.

Then things turned sour for Taylor. Listening to the wrong people, he dumped trainer Pat Burns (who’d taken him from his first pro fight to the undisputed middleweight championship of the world). In 2007, after three lethargic title defenses, Jermain was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik. That ushered in a two-year period in which his ring ledger showed four losses in five fights, including three brutal knockout defeats and a brain bleed that Taylor suffered at the hands of Arthur Abraham in the opening round of Showtime’s 168-pound tournament.

Taylor withdrew from the “Super Six” tournament after his loss to Abraham and spent the next two years away from the ring. During that time, his weight rose to over 200 pounds. There were issues with drinking and women and run-ins with the law that seemed to result from stupidity rather than malicious intent. Pat Burns (who never lost his fondness for Jermain) put the matter in perspective, saying, “He’s furious at the people who he now knows exploited him. And it spills over into how he feels about the rest of the world.”

In December 2011, Taylor returned to the ring. He needed that structure in his life and he needed the money. Burns agreed to train him. Over the next two years, Jermain won four fights against club-fight-level opposition, raising his record to 32 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw.

Then, on May 31, 2014, Sam Soliman of Australia won the IBF 160-pound belt by decisioning a shopworn Felix Sturm. That set the wheels of cynicism into high gear. Taylor’s manager (the ubiquitous Al Haymon) arranged for third parties to pay an outsized purse to Soliman to defend his belt against Taylor. It was an investment, part of an effort by Haymon to wrest control another 160-pound weight class bauble.

Soliman was the ideal beltholder for a diminished Taylor to challenge. The Aussie is one month shy of his forty-first birthday and had lost eleven times. He’s also a light puncher with only 18 knockouts to his credit in 56 fights.

Soliman-Taylor was slated for October 8 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Media reaction to the proposed fight was largely negative.

First, there was a school of thought that Taylor didn’t deserve a title shot. He hadn’t fought at 160 pounds since 2007 and hadn’t beaten a world-class middleweight (as opposed to a blown-up super-welterweight) since 2005.

Second, although Jermain passed a battery of tests at the Mayo Clinic and Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, his prior brain bleed was cause for concern. Team Taylor said that Jermain was at no greater risk for injury than any other fighter. A number of doctors, including Margaret Goodman (former chief ringside physician for the Nevada State Athletic Commission and a foremost advocate for fighter safety) disagreed.

And there was another particularly troubling issue.

On August 26, Taylor was arrested at his home in Maumelle (a suburb of Little Rock) and charged with two felonies — first-degree domestic battery and aggravated assault – after shooting his cousin in the leg.

Lieutenant Carl Minden of the Pulaski County sheriff’s office issued a statement to the media recounting the incident as follows: “Mr. Taylor’s cousin and another individual came to his residence, and there was some sort of altercation. At some point, Mr. Taylor retrieved a handgun and fired several rounds. His cousin was struck multiple times. The cousin is alive and in serious condition at an area hospital.”

Minden further stated that, when the police arrived at Taylor’s home, Jermain was “very cooperative with our investigators. He was very calm, and there were absolutely no difficulties.”

Piecing together information from multiple sources, it appears as though Taylor and his cousin had been at odds, a situation that was exacerbated when the cousin borrowed Jermain’s truck and damaged it in a traffic accident. On the night of the shooting, the cousin appeared uninvited at Taylor’s home with a second man (who a source says had recently been released from jail). Jermain ordered them off his property. They wouldn’t leave, so Erica Taylor (Jermain’s wife) called the police. Meanwhile, Jermain took a gun and fired some warning shots in the air, at which point the cousin said that Jermain didn’t have the guts to shoot him. Taylor, who may well have felt physically threatened by then, shot his cousin three times in the leg.

One day after his arrest, Taylor was released on $25,000 bail. The court allowed him to leave Arkansas to train in Florida and fight Soliman in Mississippi.

Under the law, there’s a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. That said; if Taylor had been playing in the National Football League, it’s unlikely that he would have suited up on October 8. Further by way of analogy, Michael Phelps was arrested in Maryland on September 30 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. One week later, USA Swimming suspended him from competition for six months.

When fight night arrived, Taylor vs. Soliman was a sloppy ugly mess. Jermain fought tentatively and looked older than his 36 years. His timing was off and his punches had no pop. He looked like damaged goods. Fortunately for him, Soliman was damaged goods. The Aussie had hurt his right knee in training and acknowledged after the bout that he’d almost pulled out of the fight. He should have. It would have spared fight fans twelve horrible rounds of boxing.

People who were channel surfing and tuned in to Taylor-Soliman without the audio could have been forgiven for thinking that they were watching two club fighters in a walkout bout. Virtually no clean punches were landed, nor was there much effective aggression or ring generalship. As the rounds dragged on, Soliman’s damaged knee became more and more of an impediment. He kept falling down, occasionally helped on his journey to the canvas by a jab or glancing blow from Taylor. Neither the referee, the ring doctor, or Soliman’s corner had enough sense to stop the nonsense. And Jermain was unable to end it.

Taylor won a unanimous decision. Neither fighter would last three rounds against Gennady Golovkin. Of course, neither Soliman nor the current version of Jermain Taylor would have lasted three rounds against Taylor in his prime.

That brings to mind the thoughts of Pat English, who, at the start of Taylor’s comeback, declared, “As one of the attorneys who litigated the Stephan Johnson wrongful death case, this is extremely troubling to me. These people are taking a boxer with all the classic symptoms of being ‘shot’ and who has had a brain bleed and allowing him to come back. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Stephan Johnson died after being allowed to fight after suffering what the scans showed to be a likely brain bleed. Do we want to repeat that? There are times when one simply should not be silent.”

One might add that medical tests aren’t the only indicator of when a fighter should retire. Just because a boxer passes a “head test” doesn’t mean that he should be in the ring. Muhammad Ali received a clean bill of health from the Mayo Clinic before he fought Larry Holmes. There comes a time when the dangers inherent in boxing outweigh the benefits to be gained from fighting.

Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam is currently the mandatory challenger for Taylor’s IBF belt. But this is boxing. “Mandatory” challengers can be put on hold. And Al Haymon can be expected to maximize his investment.

The most cynical ploy, and possibly the most profitable, might be to match Taylor against Floyd Mayweather. Remember; the sanctioning bodies have already massaged their rules to allow Mayweather to hold 147 and 154-pound titles at the same time. One can surmise that Floyd would love to claim he has duplicated Henry Armstrong’s feat of simultaneously wearing three crowns. Of course, when Armstrong did it, there were only eight world champions.

Meanwhile, Jermain Taylor will soldier on.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Pat Burns said ten hours after Taylor-Soliman. “But Jermain won. He’s the guy getting on the plane and going home with the belt.”

And as for Jermain’s personal future?

“I think he’ll be okay,” Burns answered after a moment’s reflection. “I hope he’ll be okay. But it’s hard to tell.”

Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His next book (The Final Recollections of Charles Dickens) will be published later this month by Counterpoint.

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Thomas Hauser

Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

Results from the Chumash Casino where Akhmedov Gave a GGG-like Performance

Published

5 hours ago

December 13, 2024

David A. Avila

Results-from-the-Chumash-Casino-where-Akhmedov-Gave-a-GGG-like-Performance

Shades of Triple G.

Kazakhstan has another middleweight killer as Sadriddin Akhmedov overran veteran Raphael Igbokwe to win by knockout on Friday evening.

“He’s a tough guy, but I’m a tough guy too,” said Akhmedov of his Texas foe.

Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) excited the crowd at Chumash Casino with a strong performance against a gritty Igbokwe (17-6, 7 Kos). The Kazakh fighter has Gennady Golovkin’s old trainer Abel Sanchez at his side.

It was evident in the first round that Akhmedov wields power, but it was also evident that Igbokwe was not going to quit. Blow after blow was absorbed by the Texas-trained fighter and he continued to press forward.

Akhmedov telegraphed his overhand rights but fired quick and accurate left hooks. Igbokwe withstood the power for round after round.

At the end of the fifth round both fighters continued to fire punches after the bell rang. It angered the two middleweights.

Akhmedov must have still been angry when the sixth round began as he erupted with a 12-punch barrage. Several big blows connected and the Texas fighter was in trouble. Though Igbokwe escaped the first barrage he was unable to avoid the second and the fight was stopped by referee Rudy Barragan at 56 seconds of the sixth round.

The Kazakhstan fighter thanked his fan support and his new trainer Sanchez.

“Every morning at 7 a.m. he wants to kill me,” Akhmedov said of Sanchez.

Other Bouts

A battle between Olympians saw Carlos Balderas (15-2, 13 KOs) knock out Cesar Villarraga (11-11-1) in the sixth round for the win at super lightweight.

A one-two combination found the mark for Balderas at 56 seconds of the sixth round. Villarraga beat the count but once the fight resumed the referee stopped the fight after Balderas connected with another right.

“My coaches told me it was there,” said Balderas of the right cross that finished the fight.

Balderas fought for Team USA in the Olympics and Villarraga for Team Colombia.

Super welterweights Jorge Maravillo (10-0-1, 8 KOs) and Damoni Cato-Cain (8-1-2) fought to a split draw after eight back-and- forth rounds.

Cain-Cato sprinted ahead for the first three rounds behind subtle pressure and focusing on the body then the head against the taller Maravillo. Then, it stopped.

Maravillo stopped retreating and used his long stiff left jabs as a probe and counter punch and became the stalker instead of the prey. It turned the fight around. But Cain-Cato was reluctant to give up too much territory and fought through a damaged left eye to keep the match tight. After eight rounds one judge saw Maravillo the winner, another saw Cato-Cain, and a third saw it even for a split draw.

It was a fitting score.

Angel Carrillo (4-0-1) out-pointed Joshua Torres (0-2-2) with combination punching and in-and-out maneuvers to win by decision. Though 14 years younger, Carrillo wore a protector near his chest. Twice he placed it far above his belly button and was never warned.

Fidencio Hernandez (3-0) was the more polished fighter and used straighter punches and a tighter defense to shut out Laguna Beach’s Josaphat Navarro (1-3-1) and won by unanimous decision.

In her pro debut Perla Bazaldua (1-0) won by knockout over Mollie Backowski (0-4) in a super flyweight contest. Bazaldua fights out of Los Angeles and has long been touted as a one of that city’s best amateur prospects. Now she is a pro.

Photo credit: Lina Baker / 360 Promotions

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More

Published

17 hours ago

December 13, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More

Decades ago, battles between regional warriors were as common as freeway traffic in Los Angeles during rush hour.

Bobby Chacon repped San Fernando Valley, Mando Ramos came from the docks of San Pedro, Danny “Little Red” Lopez lived in Alhambra and Ruben “Maravilla Kid” Navarro hailed from East L.A. And they rumbled repeatedly with each other.

The boxing sphere in California has grown much larger despite the closure of boxing palaces such as the Olympic Auditorium, Hollywood Legion Stadium, Great Western Forum, the L.A. Coliseum and Wrigley Field.

Those were classic venues.

Today in the 21^st century boxing continues to grow.

Golden Boy Promotions presents SoCal regional rivals Santa Ana’s Alexis Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) facing Hollywood’s Raul Curiel (15-0,13 KOs) in a welterweight clash on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. DAZN will stream the main card and YouTube.com the remainder.

Ontario is located in the Inland Empire known as the I.E.

Rocha, 27, has grown into a crowd favorite with a crowd-pleasing style developed by Orange County boxing trainer Hector Lopez. I remember his pro debut at Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. He obliterated his foe in three rounds and the small venue erupted with applause.

Wherever Rocha goes to fight, his fans follow.

“Anyone I face is trying to take food away from my family,” said Rocha.

Curiel, 29, has traveled a different road. As a former Mexican Olympian he took the slower road toward adapting to the professional style. Freddie Roach has refined the Mexican fighter’s style and so far, he remains unbeaten with a 10-fight knockout streak.

“I want to fight the best in the division,” said Curiel who is originally from Guadalajara.

Super welter hitters

Another top-notch fighter on the card is super welterweight Charles Conwell from Cleveland, Ohio. Conwell (20-0, 15 KOs) faces Argentina’s undefeated Gerardo Vergara (20-0, 13 KOs) in the co-main event.

Conwell may be the best kept secret in boxing and has been dominating foes for the past several years. He has solid defense, good power and is very strong for this weight class. Very Strong.

“I got to go out there and dominate,” said Conwell. “This is a fight that can lead me to a world championship fight.”

Golden Boy Promotions got lucky in picking up this fighter who could compete with any super welterweight out there. Anyone.

Vergara, 30, is another Argentine product and if you know anything about that South American country, they groom strong fighters with power. Think Marcos Maidana. This will be his first true test.

“I really hope he (Conwell) backs what he is saying,” said Vergara.

Marlen Esparza vs Arely Mucino

Former flyweight world titlists finally meet, but at super flyweight.

Olympic bronze medalist Marlen Esparza fights Mexico’s Arely Mucino in a fight that should have taken place years ago. Both are both coming off losses in title fights.

Esparza has the “fast hands” as she said and Mucino the “aggressive style” as she mentioned at the press conference on Thursday in Ontario.

It’s a 10-round affair and could mark the end for the loser.

Friday Night Fights

Undefeated middleweight Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0, 12 KOs) headlines a 360 Promotions and faces Raphael Igbokwe (17-5, 7 KOs) in the main event on Friday, Dec. 13, at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. UFC Fight Pass will stream the event.

Akhmedov hails from Kazakhstan and if you remember legendary Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin also hails from that region. Tom Loeffler the head of 360 Promotions worked with GGG too among other legends.

Is Akhmedov the real deal?

Former American Olympian Carlos Balderas (14-2) is also on the card and fights veteran Cesar Villarraga (11-10-1) who has been known to upset favorites in the past.

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0) vs Raphael Igbokwe (17-5).

Sat. DAZN 10:30 a.m. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1) vs Ricardo Espinoza (30-4).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Alexis Rocha (25-2) vs Raul Curiel (15-0); Charles Conwell (20-0) vs Gerardo Vergara (20-0); Marlen Esparza (14-2) vs Arely Mucino (32-4-2).

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Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City

Published

2 days ago

December 11, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Cardoso-Nunez-and-Agitsuki-Bring-Home-the-Bacon-in-Plant-City

Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City

The final ShoBox event of 2025 played out tonight at the company’s regular staging ground in Plant City, Florida. When the smoke cleared, the “A-side” fighters in the featured bouts were 3-0 in step-up fights vs. battle-tested veterans, two of whom were former world title challengers. However, the victors in none of the three fights, with the arguable exception of lanky bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi, made any great gain in public esteem.

In the main event, a lightweight affair, Jonhatan Cardoso, a 25-year-old Brazilian, earned a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Los Mochis, Mexico southpaw Eduardo Ramirez. The decision would have been acceptable to most neutral observers if it had been deemed a draw, but the Brazilian won by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.

Cardoso, now 18-1 (15), had the crowd in his corner., This was his fourth straight appearance in Plant City. Ramirez, disadvantaged by being the smaller man with a shorter reach, declined to 28-5-3.

Co-Feature

In a 10-round featherweight fight that had no indelible moments, Luis Reynaldo Nunez advanced to 20-0 (13) with a workmanlike 10-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Leonardo Baez. The judges had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

Nunez, from the Dominican Republic, is an economical fighter who fights behind a tight guard. Reputedly 85-5 as an amateur, he is managed by Sampson Lewkowicz who handles David Benavidez among others and trained by Bob Santos. Baez (22-5) was returning to the ring after a two-year hiatus.

Also

In a contest slated for “10,” ever-improving bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi improved to 12-0 (3 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of Filipino import Aston Palicte (28-7-1). Akitsugi caught Palicte against the ropes and unleashed a flurry of punches climaxed by a right hook. Palicte went down and was unable to beat the count. The official time was 1:07 of round six.

This was the third straight win by stoppage for Akitsugi, a 27-year-old southpaw who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in LA under Roach’s assistant Eddie Hernandez. Palicte, who had been out of the ring for 16 months, is a former two-time world title challenger at superflyweight (115).

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