Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Is Kelly Pavlik Jermain Taylor’s Perfect Storm?
Date: February 16, 2008
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: Previewing the rematch of Pavlik/Johnson…for some reason.

Tonight, Jermain Taylor’s career is on the line. It is not a Loser Leaves Town Match, a Retirement Match, or any other such stipulation. In fact, it seems unlikely that Taylor would even retire if he lost. Regardless, Taylor’s career, Taylor’s legacy, is on the line tonight against Kelly Pavlik.

If you’re not familiar with Jermain Taylor, watch Rocky Balboa. He is, essentially, Mason “The Line” Dixon, an incredibly talented and dominating champion who can’t get any respect from boxing pundits because he is the beneficiary of a weak division. Taylor doesn’t have marquee wins (though he beat Bernard Hopkins twice and Winky Wright once, all three victories were uninspiring and were close calls) but until recently was undefeated. At 27-0-1, Taylor put his undisputed Middleweight Championship on the line against 31-0 fan favorite Kelly Pavlik on September 29.

Taylor fought well and knocked Pavlik down in the 2nd, almost getting a fight stoppage, and Taylor lead on all scorecards heading into the 7th round. And then the impossible happened, as Pavlik knocked him out decisively.

Undefeated Jermain Taylor had lost. Cue the haters.

The boxing world had always given Taylor a modicum of respect, just enough for him to be regarded as a legitimate champion. Most media types ignored Taylor, and his title defenses against Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks went largely unpublicized. When he was talked about, it was mostly to argue his decision win over Winky Wright or argue his Ring Magazine ranking as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world (2005).

Now that Taylor had lost, the boxing world had the green light to start tearing his legacy and boxing style apart. He was never a great defensive fighter. He has poor technique and form. He stands lazily at times. His formerly unrivalled punching power has faded. He was only undefeated because he never fought a great fighter in his prime (for my money, Hopkins was still in his prime when Taylor beat him twice in 2005, but I digress). There was no way he would get his title back. He had always been overrated.
But Taylor, with a demeanor similar to Dixon from the sixth Rocky installment, would take any fight to solidify his reputation. He gave Bernard Hopkins an immediate rematch. He took on Winky Wright instead of taking a few fights off against paper challengers. And now, he has envoked his rematch clause immediately against Pavlik. You’d be hard pressed to find a boxer eager to get back into the ring with someone five months removed from having their face punched in by them. You’d be hard pressed to find a boxer who wants a shot at a 32-0 middleweight machine that has the crowd behind him everywhere he goes. You’d be hard pressed to find a boxer eager to step into the ring with the 2007 Fighter of the Year.

But this is bigger than a title or a knockout for Taylor. This fight is his legacy on the line. If Taylor loses in convincing fashion again, it becomes a little clearer that Taylor is not the best middleweight of his era. If he wins, though, the first Pavlik fight looks more like a blemish on an otherwise spotless career.

It is for that reason that Kelly Pavlik, as an opponent for Taylor, is the perfect storm.

The critics were right about some things. Taylor had gotten sloppy over his title reign. He did develop some bad habits. And yes, like most unchallenged superstars, he lost a bit of motivation, unable to win over experts and fans regardless of his record. But now Taylor has found the motivation that has been so sorely lacking since he became the undisputed Middleweight Champion. His name has been slandered, his legacy smeared. The time for redemption is now.

Can Taylor beat Pavlik? It’s unclear. Pavlik has no obvious weaknesses, and you can’t simply believe Taylor when he says that he is better than ever right now. If Taylor loses, he is out of the pound-for-pound discussion and probably heads into the Winky Wright zone of taking fights at different weights against anyone with name value (think de la Hoya, Wright, Hopkins, etc., at this point – by the way, de la Hoya just signed a tune-up fight in May to get ready for a second Mayweather fight in September, siiiick!). But if Taylor can win, he avenges the one loss on his record and sets up a potential rubber match, maybe with his middleweight title on the line.

If he wins, still just at age 29, he has a few years left to firmly entrench his name in the annals of boxing history. 27-1-1 is nothing to brush off right now. 27-2-1 with back to back losses signals a declining career nearing the scary boxing age of 30. But what does 28-1-1 with your only loss avenged say?

Late tonight in Las Vegas, while I’m watching the Slam Dunk competition and 3-point competition, Taylor and Pavlik will square off a second time with nothing but pride on the line. Pavlik is a popular, respected, and dominant opponent. He is not regarded highly enough (yet) that you can ignore two losses to him, but he is respected enough that holding the only victory over him would look significant on a resume.

Kelly Pavlik holds the power tonight. He has the upper hand in confidence, record, and probably skill, if you want to get analytical. But Pavlik really holds the power because in his hands is Taylor’s legacy. Tonight, Kelly Pavlik is the Jermain Taylor’s perfect storm.