CBC-Sports

Taylor comes to his senses

January 12, 2010 04:04 PM | Posted by   Chris Iorfida  

It would have been great if Jermain Taylor made like hockey’s Curtis Joseph and officially retired on Tuesday, but he did the next-best thing.

Taylor, 31, dropped out of Showtime's Super 6 super middleweight tournament, saying it was the "smart road" after suffering consecutive knockout 12-round losses.

"It's important that I give my body and mind some much needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years," Taylor said in a statement he released to the media.

He had been dropped last month by his promoter Lou DiBella, who worried for his safety.

Taylor did admit on Tuesday he sought to return to the sport at some point, but we can worry about that another day. If he does, it won't be against someone the calibre of what would have been his next opponent, Andre Ward, who hasn't lost a fight since he was 14-years-old.

Taylor's inclusion in the tournament in the first place was clearly due to his name recognition and being American. He was coming off a devastating knockout loss o Carl Froch and he began the tournament in a similar fashion, losing to Arthur Abraham in the 12th in Germany.

That made three KO losses in the last five fights, following a defeat to Kelly Pavlik in 2006.

It was just over four years ago that Taylor was coming off his second decision win over Bernard Hopkins, a remarkable achievement considering Hopkins hadn't lost in over a decade.

But here we are with Taylor done as a serious force and Ol' Man Hopkins, who turns 45 on Friday, still in the mix for another big fight. That's boxing for you.

It's not known who'll replace Taylor, but it figures that DiBella will likely be allowed to use another of his fighters, Allan Green.

Canadian boxing fans would love to see Lucian Bute in the tournament up against the likes of Ward, Froch and Abraham, but that will have to wait.

Rival network HBO has rightly taken a shine to Bute after a packed house and sensational knockout in a rematch with Librado Andrade in November. Bute could be headed down the line for fights against Pavlik, or less likely, Hopkins.

More Mayweather-Pacquiao madness

Speaking of people not coming to their senses, there are some reports indicating that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will indeed each fight on March 13. Just not against each other.

Mayweather could face Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, with Mayweather facing an opponent yet to be named in Las Vegas the same night.

Just what boxing needs when it barely gets mainstream attention to begin with: duelling cards.

I say "could" because until I see the press conferences announcing those stay-busy fights, I won't believe it.

But time is running out after even a mediator couldn't get the two sides to hammer out an agreement on blood test guidelines, the type that have never been followed for a big fight before.

As for Mayweather, Golden Boy Promotions has also floated the idea that he wouldn't fight until May, allowing time for the winner of a bout later this month between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto.

If he can't fight Pacquiao next, the Mosley-Berto winner would truly be a coup for Mayweather, who has been dogged by criticism he hasn't always the faced the best and who seems to have lost the P.R. battle in some quarters over the fractious negotiations.

While Bob Arum has been firebombing with his media comments - interesting to see an ill-informed Canadian reporter basically repeat Arum's talking points on TSN on Sunday - Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach struck a conciliatory note.

To hear Roach speak, you have to think these guys are going to fight sometime this year.

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