Taylor still fighting in the super six leaves me with a bad feeling in my stomach....

Taylor had faster hands than Hopkins, that was his main asset in those fights and through his career. He won't have faster hands than Ward. Taylor was an undefeated, confident contender and then champion against Hopkins, now he is a fighter with four losses in five fights. Taylor is mentally damaged, he was never the fighter with a high ring IQ to begin with but nowadays, he is thinking about losing way too much when he enters a ring.

 

the problem then becomes "where do you draw the line"

Alot of journeymen get knocked out several times and come back to fight over and over again. Actually these kinds of fighters are the cornerstone of the sport. They get hit repeatedly by hard, flush shots and in fact they go into the fight knowing that this is the most likely scenario. Should the more elite fighters get preferential treament? or should we prevent all fighters from fighting again after they've had a poor sequence of fights.

IMO, the bottom line is that boxing comes with risks and that although the commissions have the responsibility to protect the fighters from themselves to a certain extent, if a fighter is aware of the risks and the doctors give him a green light then its his choice.

 

i hear ya...and i'm w/ boo...i'd like to see him leave. i'm not saying he's beating ward. however, i do expect him to be more competitive than kessler for the reasons i gave. kessler looked completely lost fighting someone like ward. kessler couldnt fight on the inside, fight out of a clinch or deal w/ someone leading in w/ their head (intentional or not isnt the point). taylor knows how to throw an elbow and play rough and he can fight on the inside. not saying its going to get him a win but it will be a better fight than ward/kessler.

that being said...i'd like to see him not go on w/ the tourney. he's a favorite of mine and always has been.

 

I'd love to see Jermain "Bad intentions" Taylor kick the living **** out of Ward. That would be one of the most stunning career revivals of my life time.

However, I do not expect that to happen, and the thought of JT ending up with serious health issues bothers me a lot.

 

OK, maybe I don't know enough about lower ranked boxers. I doubt that there are too many in the 160 - 168 pund range who lose by viscious knockouts ( not giving up/TKO stoppages) three times in two years. Heavyweights maybe, but middle/supermiddleweights? How often do you see absolutely crushing KO's,like Taylor - Pavlik or Taylor - Abraham at these weights? Besides, lower ranked fighters fight shorter bouts with less damage. If Taylor had been in 8 round fights, he would be in very good shape.

 

you dont know how ward feels, you dont even know him.

**** that if the doc says he can go then its a go. He gets another concusion then he can think if he wants to fight on and whatever his desion he gets respect from me.

 

I'd frankly say the only danger from Ward is being headbutted repeatedly on full purpose while the ref is looking the other way on full purpose too. If Taylor is smart enough to avoid this danger, he will most probably win by a wide margin...

Who did Ward KO anyway? Never heard of any of his opponents short of Miranda and Kessler. Miranda got KOd by Abraham and Pavlik, and all Ward managed against him was a debatable UD. Without his constant headbutting you don't really think Ward would have won against Kessler?

Taylor should fight Ward and win if he can, it's his best chance to stay in the tournament and if he wants to take the chance, so be it.

 

As I said before, those of us thinking he should walk away would be very happy to be proven wrong but devastated to be proven right.

 

There is a reason his promoter walked away. I wouldn't be surprised if it were for legal reason for just the reason you bring up.

 

Jermain's not punch drunk, he was KO'd almost instantly by three of the biggest punchers in his weight class. Yet before the Froch and Abraham KO's his reflexes looked fine. He looked good against Lacy too, who in my opinion was someone physically damaged and should've been stopped from fighting a long time ago. Mentally Taylor probably lacks a little confidence in himself, but physically I don't think he's any worse than alot of other boxers. You never hear about the guys who get knocked out in sparring (like Lacy). If so, alot of you might be calling for alot of your favorite fighters to hang it up.

If Jermain checks out ok with the doctors, then I advise him to fight Ward, cause I think he can definitely win that fight.

Above all else, I trust Ozell Nelson's decision.

 

I agree with most of you. He should leave the turney. I hope to be wrong but this decision to continue might leave a big scar in his life.

 

I have no problem with Taylor to go on. Ward = no power.

 

I dont want to see Taylor get hurt but its up to him and like a someone said above if he clear to fight by the doctor then I guess is fine by me. You have to understand Taylor is taking this fight due to the fact hes getting paid and also hes fighting for a world title despite losing by ko. Andre ward is not a hard puncher but he has great boxing skills and this fight should be pretty good to watch. But right now its hard for me to root for Taylor despite losing 4 out 5 fights !!!

 

Taylor's a big boy and knows the pitfalls of his chosen profession. Let him fight if he wants to fight.

However, if I were Taylor I'd be not only pulling out of the super 6 but possibly retiring after the humiliating loses he's taken recently.

4 losses in his last 5 fights! He was knocked out in 3 of those and his only win was against the ghost of Jeff Lacy!!!

Time to pack it in.