I honest to god have no clue how JT could win this. Next to having almost every advantage in speed, power and skill Martinez has also shown the ability to adjust on the fly, something Taylor was never able to do. JT came along at just the right time and had just the right attributes to upset a aging champ (although imho he lost) JT is a big overachiever in my book.
Jermain Taylor was manufactured by HBO and some very powerful people in Boxing. Roy Jones has fallen. De La Hoya is a part time fighter who's just gone more seriously into promotion. Shane Mosley is aging. Bernard Hopkins is considered old. Floyd Mayweather wasn't yet the huge star he would become. America needed to create a new face, to keep/put Boxing into relevance in the United States. So they picked a guy who won an Olympic medal, had a good back story (his father walks out, he chooses Boxing over being in a gang etc.) Taylor had a certain charm, he's a nice guy. They match him VERY carefully, with guys like Joppy, and Edouard before putting him in the ring with the afformentioned aged Hopkins. (Bear in mind almost ALL of JT's fights have been on HBO, so he has started a following and gained mass publicity.) Regardless of how you scored the fights, he was given BOTH of them. Jim Lampley says something along the lines of 'We have a new star in Boxing.' Taylor fights Winky Wright, who was considered a smaller guy than JT. Winky was getting recognition after his domination of Tito who it must be noted was an even smaller guy than Wink. It looked like very good matchmaking by DiBella/HBO. Jermain Taylor does not impress and lost that fight in alot of peoples eyes. They cut the hype machine back a little and he defends against Spinks and Ouma, 2 fighters who he should of KO'd, thus restoring his aura of dominance, he looks poor in both fights. Jermain Taylor was a B+ Boxer who achived what he did through politics, IMO.
I don't disagree that HBO wanted him to be their star but he wasn't completely a product of hype. The guy had some substance. Or he would not have fought close fights with Hopkins, Winky and Froch, all elite fighters. He was tall, very athletic, had fast hands, had a good jab and had the ability to throw explosive combinations that kept his opponents weary. He was flawed as hell but he wasn't complete **** either.
My point is that they gave him every oppertunity. Hopkins was killing himself to make 160, they protected Taylor on the cards. Wright was a 154lb fighter, they protected him on the cards. Spinks and Ouma? :verysad I agree with what you're saying, there was some substance there but they took a B level fighter and gave him A* packaging.
This is a closer fight than many now may realize. (looking back through the prism of how their respective careers have zigged and zagged in the last few years) Very tactical. I'd have enjoyed it.