The pugilistic pride of Little Rock puts his career on the line against Kelly Pavlik in Las Vegas tomorrow night. For Jermain Taylor, it will be more than a rematch against the man who took his middleweight belts back in September in Atlantic City. Entirely at stake for JT this time: reputation, respect and a boatload of potential future earnings.
Hustle back in your mind to late September on the Boardwalk of the Jersey shore . . . Jermain Taylor comes out aggressive after the opening bell, punch-jab-punch sequences rattling Pavlik's cage . . . Then in the second round, Taylor sends Pavlik crashing to the canvas, only to have him stagger back up to his feet, barely surviving a ten count. For whatever reason, JT just didn't have enough left in the energy tank to seal the deal right then and there. And it most definitely came to back to bite him when Pavlik rocked Taylor's jaw with a series of punches in the seventh round that left "Bad Intentions" bloodied, battered and down for the count for the first time in his career.
That fight was at 160 pounds. The rematch will be fought at 166, with no middleweight title belts at stake. The lack of "championship" billing shouldn't matter. Boxing nowadays is about the marquee names and the big paydays in a given bout, and that's it, plain and simple. Unlike the first fight, Taylor/Pavlik II will not be shown on HBO; it costs $50 on pay-per-view. And if Taylor wins the fight, there's no doubt a third contest between the two would be worth even more.
Should Jermain have fought another opponent before going right back at the man who left him dazed and confused last time out? Maybe. But the bottom line is that Taylor could have fought ten other fights before stepping back into the ring with Pavlik and there would still be no possible way to fully block out the beating he took from him last time. JT has to be smarter: he knows now that Pavlik can level him with just a couple of punches at any given moment, so he has to keep his hands up and use his jab regularly to keep his opponent at bay. Letting Pavlik fire away freely would be another recipe for disaster.
And so, the night of reckoning has come for the man from Little Rock. Jermain Taylor has both everything to gain and everything to lose in Vegas tomorrow night. Was Pavlik's upset just a flash in the pan? Was it a fluke? Or is Taylor finally on the other side of that oh-so-fine hill that separates contenders and pretenders in the world of boxing? We're about to find out.
Prediction: Pavlik wins by TKO in Round 10
-JAB
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