Any thoughts on why this trainer / fighter pairing didn't work? Steward was brought in to polish Taylor's style, but it seems like the two had problems almost immediately. Taylor's body language in the corner was often strange, while Steward criticized Taylor publicly quite a bit.
Good topic. I always find topics like this one interesting and a nice break from mythical match ups. This is pure speculation but I wonder if Taylor was already starting to suffer from CTE issues when he was with Steward. I think Taylor's career and behavior somewhat mirror what happened with guys like Riddick Bowe and Leon Spinks who both had reps for being difficult to deal with later in their careers. From what I recall they were only together for the Wright, Ouma, Spinks and first Pavlik fight. He officially went 2-1-1 but he very easily could have lost the Wright and Spinks fights. I thought he did and he should have retired after the losses to Pavlik. A year later he suffered two horrendous KO's to Froch and Abraham. The Abraham one was especially awful and scary to watch live.
Probably a combination of factors. Steward took over Taylor, after the two Hopkins bouts. I suspect that Steward saw unlocked potential but hadn't foreseen a couple of major issues. One being the seeming inability to resolve Taylor's leaky gas tank. The other being Taylor's ego supplanting what was once his mental fortitude. I think Taylor became a bit of a Primo Uomo, without the ability to live up to his self-image and, if anyone was going to highlight the gap between image and substance, it was Manny Steward. For whatever reason, Taylor either didn't or couldn't follow Steward's instructions and deliver on said potential. The scolding Steward gave Taylor and the latter's reactions, during the Spinks bout, told the story. Although, things were apparently good during his camp, according to observers - it was just not translating into top-drawer performances in the ring. Typically, there are at least two versions as to why Steward and Taylor parted company. While Taylor blamed Steward's training regimen for the Pavlik loss, I tend to believe that the Pavlik fight was the final straw for Steward and he decided it was time for him to make an exit - citing tight bandwidth and scheduling conflicts as the reason. Though the early onset of CTE can't be ruled out as a contributory factor, I am not aware of any clear symptoms being perceivable at the time Steward and Taylor were working together. In addition, the proper hammerings Taylor took begun with the first Pavlik bout and his truly odd behavior wasn't apparent until years later. At the same time, there are other, more mundane factors, which can explain the breakdown in the Steward/Taylor relationship.
Stewart would get frustrated at Taylor for not listening to instructions in the corner …Taylor admitted that sometimes he would lose focus…the Cory Spinks fight is the best example
