After Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (33-4-1, 20 KOs) suffered consecutive devastating knockout losses to Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham in his one and only appearance during the Super Six World Boxing Classic Tournament in 2009 which he left due to bleeding in his brain, most boxing fans didn`t believe that he would ever fight again, let alone become a world champion for the second time.
Taylor; however, did just that when he upset Sam Soliman for the International Boxing Federation Middleweight Title in October to became my Comeback Fighter of the Year.
Many boxing fans didn`t give Taylor much of a chance to defeat Soliman, so much so that Soliman faced a great deal of criticism for taking such an easy first title defense of the belt he garnered from former three-time world champion, Felix Sturm. Taylor entered this bout facing his first major step-up in competition in his comeback after four consecutive victories which came against weak competition and he didn`t look that impressive in any of those wins. There was also concern that Taylor might bleed again in the brain or get seriously hurt because for the first time since his return to action, he would face a world champion. In addition to all the questions he`d face in the ring, Taylor had to deal with an issue outside of the ring, battery and aggravated assault charges after he allegedly shot his cousin during an altercation.
It appeared through the first six rounds that Taylor`s comeback would be for not because while the bout was close in the early going, it was Soliman who landed the harder and more effective punches and connected on the better exchanges. He was also up on the scorecards halfway through the matchup. Then at the end of the sixth round, Soliman tore his medial ligament and could barely stand on one leg for the second half of the bout. Taylor came back and dominated the later part of the fight. He knocked down Soliman four times, once in the seventh, eight, ninth and eleventh round en route to the unanimous twelve round decision.
Granted, Taylor was without a doubt greatly assisted by the fact that Soliman fought the last half of the fight unable to move or throw a punch and some of the knockdowns that Taylor recorded were from Soliman being off balanced as opposed to being seriously hurt by Taylor`s punches. Taylor, nevertheless, did what he had to do to garner the victory and put himself atop of the middleweight division, several years after his first reign. He`ll make his first title defense against Sergio Mora (27-3-2, 9 KOs) in Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi on February 6, 2015.
Honorable mention for Comeback Fighter of the Year: Two boxers who turned their careers around with an impressive 2014 include: Andy “Irish” Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) and Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs).
Lee failed in his first attempt to become a world champion when Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. defeated him by way of a seventh round technical knockout in 2012. Since then, he rebounded to win six consecutive bouts, three of them this year. Lee defeated Frank Horta in April with a unanimous eight- round victory and then he knocked out John Jackson at 1:07 in the fifth round, with one the best knockouts of the year, in a fight he was losing. Lee received a second opportunity at a world title bout against former undefeated Russian sensation, Matt Korobov in December and he made the most of it. Korobov, the favorite to win the fight, dominated the first five rounds and appeared to be well on his way to victory until Lee went on an offensive onslaught in which he unleashed a nonstop array of powerful punches that Korobov was unable to stop and took a great deal of punishment until referee, Kenny Baylass stopped the bout at 1:10 in the sixth round. Lee with the technical knockout victory garnered the vacant World Boxing Organization Middleweight World Title and finally took his career to the next level, which many boxing fans knew he had the talent for but didn`t think he could achieve after his lost to Chavez, Jr.
Cotto`s career was in disarray as he lead up to his bout against former pound for pound best boxer in the world, Sergio Martinez in June. He lost to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout in back to back fights in 2012 and it appeared his fighting days as one of the better boxers in the sport was gone. Cotto moved up a weight class to take on Martinez who was unbeatable over the last several years. Cotto went right after him as soon as the bell rang and scored three knockdowns in the opening round. He dominated Martinez throughout the bout in a way that no one else has had done to him before. Cotto scored another knockdown in the ninth round and Martinez`s corner stopped the fight with six seconds left in the tenth, giving Cotto the World Boxing Council`s Middleweight Champion belt. Cotto, with the victory, his fourth belt in as many weight classes, let the boxing world know that he`s back and ready to regain his status as one of the best fighters in the sport.
