08.06.07 – By Brett Mauren: Before any bells had even rung on May 19, even HBO’s commentators were calling the main event for that night between Jermain Taylor and Cory Spinks a walk out bout, claiming the real show was between middleweight boxing prospects Edison Miranda and Kelly Pavlik. The fact that Taylor-Spinks, a bout close to home for each, was able to draw boos just may have proved them right.
It goes without saying that Jermain Taylor is one of the world’s elite fighters, and is almost impossible to contest that his reign as champion hasn’t included an impressive string of boxing fighters, but harder to contest that any of those fights were enough to write home about.
Jermain Taylor will likely pick apart most any world class middleweight put in front of him, but the manner he does it in keeps his world championship fights away from water cooler conversations the next day.
It wasn’t Taylor’s fault he spent May 19 chasing around the passive aggressive Cory Spinks, but Taylor is quickly losing marketability, and gaining a reputation as a safety mode fighter with no desire to thrill. The best cure for Taylor, is non-other than a man who fought in the same ring that night.
Kelly Pavlik’s ability to have Edison Miranda (who normally fights like an animal) either on the canvas, or backing up for 7 rounds was enough to get a rise out of the disappointingly small boxing crowd at the Fed-Ex Forum. It’s no secret that Pavlik more than earned a shot at a world title, and now it’s looking like September 29 a window of opportunity will be wide open for “The Ghost”.
Lou Dibella and Bob Arum have reportedly come together with HBO to put the fight together for September. Both sides claim there should be no problem sealing the deal.
It’s hard to say an undefeated middleweight boxing champion of the world needs a rejuvenation, but in the fan’s eyes nothing could be better for Taylor. Neither of his Bernard Hopkins bouts were anything spectacular, his draw with Winky Wright was entertaining but just that, a draw. Then came two consecutive bouts with true Junior middleweights Kassim Ouma and Spinks that did nothing to silence the critics.
The message to Jermain Taylor from the fans, media, and promoters is simple: The best thing for you, Dibella, and the middleweight division itself will go down in September. Get out of Memphis, get out of Arkansas, go to Vegas, go to L.A. and fight the best middleweights in the world. Jermain, we have seen you put people down with your jab, so with that kind of power please don’t go in with a 12 round UD on your mind.