How good was Jermaine Taylor in his prime?

Taylor was made to look better than he was. You could tell by how Dibella would match him up as they were bringing him up. Alot of his fights prior to the shop worn Joppy were against complete no-hopers. Guys not even in the top 20.

Taylor coming up should've had fights with guys like Allen, Echols, Council, and Eastman. Lou kept him clear of all those guys. Then after Hopkins, Taylor was matched up with three straight JMW's. Emanuel Steward talked about his frustration in getting Taylor to really commit to training as well.

 

I think Taylor had great skills, He seemed to be stronger earlier in a fight though... I also question how many good shots he can take.. If I am remembering correctly, Hopkins rocked him late in the first fight and looked as if he could of had him out of there.

 

chinny...no

he just took too many shots...chinny fighters don't last 12 with guys like Pavlik, froch, and Abraham....

he liked to work behind his bag a lot, problem is that it was the same combo over and over again....that, and he also loved to counter with huge power shots...right, uppers, hooks...anything !!

I miss taylor, you can tell he gave it his all in every fight...all he wanted to do was please the fans......

 

I felt he could have been HOF worthy I'd say his only real issue he had was stamina, I honestly think part of the reason for his downfall was him switching to Emmaual Steward which altered his fighting style I always said around that time he didn't need him because Taylor does not fight like a tall fighter rather a boxer puncher he really should have picked someone like Freddie Roach he probably could have done wonders with him.

I also think people was too hard on him because he did not look good against Bhop but seriously who has looked great against Hopkins outside of RJJ? even Calzaghe didn't look his best against him

In closing Taylor is a prime example that us boxing fans can be selfish the guy barley ducked anyone he fought Bhop twice Winky Froch (undefeated) Pavlik (undefeated) Abraham (undefeated - Germany) and all because he losses he gets shitted on just my 2 cents

 

Very good in his prime great jab size and good power. I really don't know what happened to him to be honest? It's hard to really figure out what went wrong with him. I don't know if it was bad trainers or he peaked early.

 

a very good fighter that had quite a few weaknesses.

his stamina wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as some people make out.

he had a good chin. it wasn't glass or anything, but if you landed some good shots, it did seem to change Taylor some what. he'd not be as active. he'd become a little negative. but it wasn't usually the one shot and out. he took some big shots in the ring without even wobbling.

concentration seemed to be lacking in quite a few fights. like in the Spinks fight. he should have taken full control over a former Welter and got him out of there, but Spinks came real close to winning that fight. but he, like Jermain, lacked the courage to go for it. it was a strange one.

but yeah, a very good fighter who wasn't able to make up for his weaknesses in other areas like others do. so it all came to a brutal halt against Pavlik, Froch, and Abraham.

 

Hopkins x2...wright..ouma...pavlik...Abraham..froch...lacy..and yes, even spinks :yep

all within 4 years....

 

Boxrec doesn't even list weights anymore does it?

 

his wins over bhop, wright and spinks were all controversial.

 

Agree with this.

I thought the Steward move was a bad one too. Always thought JT needed a nurturing, teacher type (like Virgil Hunter) instead of a 'style'/task master type (Kronk gym/Steward).

Taylor deserves way more credit than he gets. Regardless of outcome, he more than held his own in 36 consecutive rounds against 2 top 5 p4p fighters (Hopkins x2, Wright), and came within some self-discipline from KO'ing the the GGG of his time (Pavlik). If his stamina was better, a faded JT comes within a minute of adding Carl Froch to his resume too.

I've never understood the hate he gets.

 

I hated Taylor for the longest time because he beat Hopkins and was so happy Pavlik whooped his ass

But now looking back I'd say Taylor was a little rushed into the big time and pushed hard by HBO and was given these crazy expectations and a crazy schedule

Taylor vs Pavlik 1 had one of the best storylines of any fight in the last 10 yrs or so with 2 undefeated young guns colliding, the countdown special was incredible maybe my favorite HBO build up

Taylor went to the Pocono camp that Stewards fighters were undefeated after undergoing and Taylor looked to be in fantastic form. After round 2 it looked over. Just imagine if Taylor had blew out Pavlik, say the ref stopped it and he would have been justified for the first 30 seconds or so. Taylor would have been huge if he managed to stay champ a little longer and looking at the field at 160 during Pavliks reign its not hard to believe he wouldnt be champ for longer if he beat Pavlik and it might have been the confidence booster he needed

I think it was a weird case of a fighter dumping his original trainer for a big time trainer and it backfiring. His Steward relationship just didnt work, they didnt gel something didnt click and he didnt improve. He may not have gotten worse but he didnt improve

Interesting but brief moment in boxing history, funny how Pavlik basically had the same reign. Similar time, never recaptured the glory he had in taking the title and fought some guys from the weight below.

always wished Taylor or Pavlik fought Sturm or Abraham

 

Also I dont know how anyone could score the second Taylor vs Hopkins fight for Hopkins. He gave up a **** load of early rounds then lost one late round

 

First couple of rounds he was top knotch, very fast, great reflexes, and good power. But if fight went distance he'd start getting sloppy. Stylistically a nightmare for Hopkins, but won close fights in both, 2nd one might of gone either way. Short of being great had he paced himself and had better defense, but always had a good fighting heart. Chin was decent I wouldn't say glass since he did lose to some of boxings big hitters.

 

I liked Taylor a lot. He had very good skills. Unfortunately, not all guys can take the pounding. I think this was JT's achilles. He just couldn't take the wear and tear on his body, particularly the head shots. Some guys, for whatever reason, are more resilient over time, and can recover and come back.

I agree with KO Kidd, it seemed like Taylor was moved too quickly. The expectations were too high. He didn't seem to get the opportunity to develop at a reasonable pace.

 

He was in America fighting Hopkins, Winky Wright and Kelly Pavlik. What more do you want?