Are Jermain Taylor's wins over Hopkins underrated?

Taylor NEVER beat Hopkins LEGITIMATELY!!. Watch Di Bella & Taylor at the final bell of fight 1. Heads down Dibella looked ready to :|:|. Then the decision was announced the two most surprised people in that arena were Taylor & Di Bella. Bernard Hopkins couldn't believe it. The only fighter Ive seen more surprised was Evander Holyfield when they read out Eugenia Williams ludicrous scorecard giving Vander the win over Lennox Lewis. Then O'Connell's "DRAW" BS card
Williams still judged but under the name Gene Williams

 

What wins???

 

:rofl

 

Taylor gets alot of heat but he fought everyone to name some:

Hopkins
Pavlik (Undefeated)
Abraham (Undefeated)
Froch (Undefeated)
Wright (Nobody was really lining up to fight him)

respect to him and to the homie Paul Williams for taking on all comers regardless if they won or not

 

Yeah, probably.

 

:good

It's still a shame how people that were supposed to be his fans and supporters turned on JT after he started losing.

 

Underrated wins/fights/performances indeed.

 

Although Hopkins was drained and still a bit green (his prime was 2007-2010), and I thought he won, they was good wins, yes.

 

If you call those wins

 

Yea very underrated. Taylor's wins over Hopkins are only considered a fluke becaue he didn't go on to become a ATG. I still enjoyed most of his fights and am a fan.

 

Still a bit green? He had already broken the record the record for the most middleweight title defensesyep. Question for you: how could Bernard Hopkins be weight drained at 160 for Taylor when he weighed in at 156 upon hammering DeLaHoya just 10 months before?

 

Good post, but the fact is overrated Hopkins always had problems with fighters that were as big as he was and quicker than him: Dawson, Taylor, Calzaghe, Jones.

 

You thought Bernard won both? I think the 1st fight could have been a draw.

 

NO - if anything the opposite is true, as both of these "wins" are bogus, the product of HBO's influence over the sport and Hopkins' unpopularity with the boxing establishment.

Taylor, at the time, was HBO's latest up and comer, being pushed hard by the biggest network in sports. Hopkins, as champ in the first fight, did more than enough to win, and in the second fight won even more clearly.

Taylor was given two GIFT DECISIONS, and as such, these "wins" are not rated very highly but most boxing fans - nor should they be.

 

Taylor was given way too much kudos for these wins, at the time. This, depite them not being, in the scheme of things, particularly great fights. Taylor wasn't in great fights or even particularly good ones; except, perhaps ironically, those in which he suffered defeat.

Once the dust settled and reality set back in, post-Hopkins, those bouts were assessed for what they really were: close, questionable decisions. This might give the impression they are now underrated.

Taylor's performances, after Hopkins, indicated he had probably reached his ceiling, in that he was unable to change what he was doing and was not going to improve; relying more on favourable judging than on an ability to adapt. This also underpins the idea of how fortunate he was against Hopkins.