I wonder how Jermain Taylor felt on Sunday morning, aside from being bruised and sore all over. No, the question is how was his mental disposition after fighting what was arguably his best effort in three years, then having to face the reality that he had come up short for the second time in less than five months to his greatest rival?
The word redemption is being thrown around quite liberally to describe Taylor’s performance. It was even used on the HBO PPV broadcast by analyst Larry Merchant. Yet here he is, sitting on two straight losses as his record dips to 27-2-1 (17). He hasn’t scored a knockout in three years. He won two controversial decisions over Bernard Hopkins to win the undisputed middleweight championship, yet many remain unconvinced that he did enough to take the title in the first fight, a close split decision, and others believe that his first defense in the rematch was questionable as well.
Taylor then drew with Winky Wright, another debatable decision. He beat the smaller jr. middleweight Kassim Ouma by unanimous decision, and still didn’t set the world on fire. He won a split decision over jr. middleweight titlist Cory Spinks in a fight in which the dissenting judge saw him losing nine rounds. And there were plenty of critics on that one too. At the very least, all could agree that he didn’t look very good in winning.
With his stock plummeting faster than a dead satellite returning to earth, he took on the decidedly blue collar Kelly Pavlik, 33-0 (29).
Pavlik just made his HBO debut on “Boxing After Dark” just 13 short months ago against Jose Luis Zertuche. Despite an undefeated record and an impressive knockout record, it wasn’t until the knockouts of Zertuche and slugger Edison Miranda that Pavlik’s name fully came into prominence.
But when the two met last September, Taylor literally snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. After flooring Pavlik in round two and being one punch away from a sensational knockout victory, Taylor couldn’t finish his quarry and ended up being starched in the seventh round himself. For Jermain, who was ahead on all scorecards, it was a devastating turn of events.
Having suffered his first defeat, Taylor chose to invoke his contractual right for a rematch to be fought at a 166 pound catch weight. Pavlik’s newly won title was not on the line, but Taylor’s pride and future certainly was. Surprisingly, despite the first fight knockout victory, Pavlik was only an 8-5 favorite.
Jermain fought well with heart and courage and he seemed to land the harder punches as well. But even at his best, it was not enough. I saw it 115-113 for Pavlik, with Kelly winning the final two rounds. The judge’s scores were 117-111, 115-113, and 116-112, all for Pavlik. The judges agreed on the scoring in only three rounds, an indicator of how difficult a fight it was to score.
At the end of the fight, Taylor’s right eye was almost closed and he seemed to be hurt in round 11. Jermain seemed to fade in the championship rounds, apparently a still unresolved problem with stamina.
Consequently, if there was a significant difference, it was in the work rate. Kelly fought three minutes of every round while Jermain picked his spots and fought for a minute of each round, a tactic deployed apparently to conserve energy.
The Compubox stats bear this out. Taylor landed 178 of 456 total punches, 39%, while Pavlik was 267 of 845, 32%. That’s an impressive 70 punches thrown per round, 389 more than Jermain. For Taylor, that was too much to overcome.
Pavlik out jabbed Taylor, 144-484, 35%, to Taylor’s 102-292, 30%. The big edge statistically was in power punches. While Taylor landed some good, sharp, heavy shots, he was only 76 of 164, 46%. Pavlik, meanwhile, landed 123-361 of his power shots, 34%.
It would seem to be a fair assessment that both men were actually improved in many ways from the first fight. It may not have had the drama of knockdowns and knockouts but, aside from the stamina factor Taylor brought a better, more cerebral game this time. He didn’t just stand in front of his opponent, he didn’t lean on the ropes, and he appeared to be more focused than in recent outings.
For his part, Pavlik showed patience as he methodically boxed, not punched, his way to victory. Pavlik deserved the victory for his work rate, but the fact that he out boxed Taylor in a hard fought, technical, thinking man’s war of attrition is to his ultimate credit, particularly since he had never been past nine rounds.
Pavlik has come a long way in a short time. He’s put boxing on the map in the Midwest. He’s not just the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, anymore; he’s a hero to hard working lunch pail carriers all over the country.
To his credit, he’s made strides not only professionally, but in personal maturity. In December 2005, Pavlik pled “No Contest” to a reduced assault charge in a plea agreement for punching a deputy sheriff outside of a Youngstown bar at two a.m., according to the Youngstown Vindicator website. Charges of felonious assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct were dismissed. Faced with six months in prison and a $1,000 fine, he received community service.
Today his entire life is a community service for Youngstown.
Now, the world is his oyster. Reportedly, he plans to return to 160 to face John Duddy, who seems to have the inside track, or possibly Felix “Tito” Trinidad. And I wouldn’t rule out Winky Wright just yet either.
As suggested in our opening, Taylor’s future may depend largely on his psychological recovery from the two Pavlik losses as much as anything. Everyone assumes that his next stop will be at 168 and there are big fights there for him if he is in the right frame of mind.
The fact that he hasn’t scored a knockout at 160 in three years is another concern at the higher weight. He’s at a crossroads of sorts. He just fought at 164, but four pounds South he’ll find Pavlik, and four pounds North is Joe Calzaghe territory. He’ll always be better than most, but can he ever again be the best?
Strategically, a couple of tune-ups to build confidence might be a good move. A fighter like Peter Manfredo Jr. comes to mind here. Even Jeff Lacy beat him easily. The names are out there if he wants them. Potential opponents include Roy Jones Jr., Mikkel Kessler, Chad Dawson, Allan Green, Lacy, and Edison Miranda to mention a few, and a big win over a top contender might land him a Calzaghe shot. Now that I would call redemption.
But, here’s the problem — If Taylor fights a big name and loses, his career is toast after the Pavlik losses. Right now he might be as marketable as he will ever be but one more loss and it’ll be a long, long road back to the top of the mountain.
UNDERCARD RESULTS:
* In the co-feature, WBO super flyweight titlist Fernando Montiel, 36-2-1 (26), knocked out former WBA belt holder Martin Castillo, 33-3 (17) with a body shot in round four. Castillo was decked by a left hook in round one and was never in the fight.
*In a battle of southpaws, WBC super flyweight belt holder Cristian Mijares, 34-3-2 (13), won an odd split decision over Juan Navarro, 26-4 (12). The scores were 115-113 and 117-111 for Mijares, and a laughable 120-108 for Navarro, rendered by Judge Doug Tucker. I saw it 118-110 for Mijares who boxed beautifully. Somehow I fear that a member of Judge Tucker’s family must have been held hostage.
* In the opener scheduled for eight, Ronald Hearns, 18-0 (14), stopped Juan Astorga, 11-2-1 (6), by TKO in round eight in a jr. middleweight fight.