Did Taylor gain more respect in his loss vs Pavlik than in all his former victories?

I always gave him some respect because however you scored the fights he held his own against ATG's Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright in back to back fights. However, the way he fought against Pavlick erased the stain on his rep from the Ouma and Spinks debacles.

 

:good Well said. I too always liked Taylor but the Ouma and Spinks fights left everybody with ligitimate complaints. He came out and fought Pavlik exactly how everybody had been calling him out to do.

 

He did in my eyes for actually going ahead to fight Pavlik. Win or lose you gotta give people credit for taking on challenges.

 

I've always been a Taylor Fan - but he gained more respect from me - by taking the rematch. Nothings shows more heart that wanting to get right back in there against the man that beat you.

It's the same reason Shane Mosley is my #1 Fighter - on top of other things about him. He might not have won his rematches - but he took them.

 

Taylor always got credit from me, no matter what. Constantly taking big challenges with tough styles. He gained loads of respect for taking on Pavlik and going out on his shield. He gets treated like dirt by a lot of people, but his willingness to fight anyone makes him a throwback fighter in my books.

 

I've always found it funny that some fans might hate a certain boxer, particularly if he is successful, but if that boxer get's KO'd in a good scrap, they will have earned respect in the fan's eyes. I think that has happened with both Taylor and Judah. They still have their detractors, but I saw a lot of comments like "he earned my respect tonight" after they got KO'd.

 

:yep You have hit the nail on the head. I feel the same with Miranda too, after seeing him get destroyed I now want to see him kick some more ass.