Former Champ Jermain Taylor Takes Sabbatical,
Plans To Return
by Jim Harris

Team Taylor huddled inside the dank, dark and cold Berlin hospital last fall while a woozy, bloodied Jermain Taylor was examined by doctors. Quentin Tarantino could have set the stage that surrounded Taylor's trusted Little Rock-based entourage. All Team Taylor heard was German, no subtitles available. Finally, a limo driver translated for them.

A little earlier, Taylor had taken maybe the worst beating of his professional boxing career at the fists of German Arthur Abraham, the ending coming with a crunching right cross in the final round. He remembered little if anything about the fight, or where he was, or that it was his first of three fights in the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Kelly Pavlik was the only other fighter to put Taylor on his duff and suddenly end a bout. In his previous fight before the Abraham beat-down, Taylor had out-boxed Englishman Carl Froch throughout but allowed himself to be knocked down in the 12th round, then had no gas in the tank left even to raise his arms to protect himself before the referee stepped in and ended it.

Now, Team Taylor was left wondering as they waited in Berlin, "Is this how it all ends?"

What a wild ride it had been.

Their boxer, four years before, had shocked perhaps the most vicious street fighter to come through the game, Bernard Hopkins. Taylor paraded atop a convertible through Little Rock holding every gleaming belt of the middleweight division. And just in case no one believed the judges� split decision in his favor that summer of 2005 in Las Vegas, Taylor convinced everyone, and this time all three judges, in the December rematch with Hopkins.

Taylor held on to the belts until a late September night in 2007, when he couldn�t put away Pavlik though he had him down early. Taylor then tired and opened up for the hard-hitting Ohioan to deliver a sudden seventh-round destruction. A rematch at 168 pounds with no belts on the line went in a decision to Pavlik.

Early last year, Taylor, ahead on two of the three judges' cards, was seconds from regaining a world championship against Froch before the shocking TKO. "It was [Clint] Stoerner in Knoxville in 1998, all over again," Taylor's business manager Andrew Meadors said, referring to a not-to-be-forgotten Arkansas Razorback football loss to then No. 1 Tennessee.

Now, Taylor appeared to be a finished fighter, pummeled in another boxer's hometown before partisan fans. He had the most losses (three) of any of the boxers entering the Showtime Super Six, a playoff of sorts for maybe the best 168-pounders in the world. Taylor was facing a most strenuous uphill climb back. "We've got to come back and do this again in April?" was the thought among Team Taylor, as well as Taylor's wife, Erica, and his mother.


-----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-----
JERMAIN TAYLOR
STATEMENT REGARDING HIS BOXING FUTURE

"I'm going to take some time off from the sport of boxing and take myself out of Showtime Sports World Boxing Classic tournament. It's important that I give my body and mind some much needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years."

LITTLE ROCK, January 12, 2010 - Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17KO's) former undisputed middleweight champion has made a decision regarding his future boxing career. Taylor, who was a participant in SHOWTIME Sports World Boxing Classic last fought on October 17th in a losing battle against Arthur Abraham in Berlin, Germany.

"I'm going to take some time off from the sport of boxing and take myself out of SHOWTIME Sports World Boxing Classic tournament. It's important that I give my body and mind some much needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years," said Taylor. "I plan on keeping myself in shape and making a return to the sport sometime in the future. This was not an easy decision for me, having discuss it with my family, trainer, friends and my adviser Al Haymon, because I'm a very competitive person-but I know this is the smart road for me to take. I want to thank SHOWTIME Sports for everything and I wish the best for my 5 counterparts who will continue on in the Super Six tournament. Most of all, I want to thank the many fans for their continued support."

July 2009

 

NEW YORK (July 21, 2009)-SHOWTIME Sports® Super Six World Boxing Classic

July 15, 2009

NEW YORK (July 21, 2009)-SHOWTIME Sports® Super Six World Boxing Classic, the groundbreaking six-man super middleweight tournament announced last week, will debut with two Group Stage 1 matchups on Saturday, Oct. 17, with the third Group Stage 1 bout taking place on Saturday, Nov. 21. All three world-class matches will air on SHOWTIME®.

 

The initial dates in the unprecedented, celebrated tournament were formally announced Tuesday by Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. Venues will be announced soon. The Super Six World Boxing Classic will be contested on both American and European continents.

In a battle of unbeatens on Oct. 17, Carl "The Cobra" Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) title against 2004 Olympic Games medalist Andre "The Matrix'' Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich.

On the same night, undefeated former middleweight champion "King" Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) of Berlin, Germany, will face former undisputed middleweight titleholder Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark.

The third fight in Group Stage 1 competition will take place on Nov. 21 when Mikkel "Viking Warrior" Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Copenhagen, Denmark, risks his World Boxing Association (WBA) belt* against unbeaten 2004 Olympic Games gold medalist Andre "S.O.G." Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif.

*Kessler will face WBA mandatory challenger (16-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday, Sept. 12 for the title.

The tournament will continue in 2010 with Group Stages 2 and 3 with Semi-Finals and Finals in Spring 2011.

For more information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic and all SHOWTIME Sports programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from boxing, mixed martial arts and INSIDE THE NFL, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com

 

 

 

 

July 2009

 

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC - The Super Middleweights - NEW YORK CITY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

What the executives, fighters and promoters had to say on Monday:

 

 

KEN HERSHMAN
"Throughout my career, I have been involved with some of the most major and historic events in the sport, including the legendary Corrales vs. Castillo fight which in my opinion is the best fight in history, the Tyson/Holyfield ear biting incident, and the Tyson-Lewis fight. But never have I been more proud then I am of this tournament or prouder of the work we have done. Getting five promoters together is a herculean task in itself -- plus six of the best fighters in the division. That is a staggering accomplishment."

"(IBF champion) Lucien Bute was not invited (to participate). He's a great champion but this tournament works. Not one promoter or fighter objected to the first-round draw. They all said 'put me in front of anyone.' Each promoter feels their guy is ready to take this tournament."

ARTHUR ABRAHAM
"I'm very happy to be in New York for the tournament. I want to win. I came here to participate and win. Each fighter, they are all exceptionally good, one better then the next. But I am here to win."

 

 

ANDRE DIRRELL
"Thank God and my Savior Jesus Christ. My heart is going 100 miles per hour. It is beating like hell. This is the biggest stage of my career. It is not because it is the hardest. I know I am in a blessed position and the position to be the best of all-time."

"I thank SHOWTIME, Al Haymon, the three Europeans and my grandfather. I am ecstatic. I have this tingling feeling. I had that feeling when I came through the curtains today. I had that same feeling at the Olympic Games each time I entered the ring. I know it is my time. It is my time to shine."

"I love being the underdog. I am going to be in the finals. Whoever is there, that is who it will be (on predicting who he will meet in finals). I guarantee you I'll be there. I have been hungry for a long time. I just want to get it on. I am the only one here not wearing a suit. I want to wear a suit."

(On Froch) "I begged for that fight. Froch is tailor-made for me. He hasn't showed me anything. I think this will be my easiest fight. If he can beat me, then he's a true champion. (But) I will be victorious."

"I'm focused on getting the WBC title. Then, I'll get the WBA and leave the tournament with both belts. Kessler stands out the most. He has only one defeat and has the most experience. My concern is not getting cut. I am naturally gifted and I will let the world know who I am. It's a big plus that everyone knows they have three fights. I'm super hungry. All these are top guys and it's going to take the best to beat the best. But I'm in a beautiful position. I've had only 18 fights. I'll be unbearable. Everyone's a world champ. It's a one-man game, every man for himself. I don't care about the USA vs. Europe. Ward has the most prestigious position having won the gold."

CARL FROCH
"Thanks to all the promoters, and especially Ken Hershman for having the vision to put this together. I will remain the WBC champion throughout this tournament. All the fighters deserve to be here. We mean business and we are taking this seriously."

"I'm going to be the last man standing. I'm a world champion and I've worked so hard to get here that I'm not giving my belt up for anyone."

"This is what boxing is supposed to be about with the best fighting the best. These are the kind of challenges I've always wanted and I'm really fired up for this tournament."

"It forces the best fighters in the division to all face each other and that's something that has been missing from boxing in recent years. You've got established champions like Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham, a former undisputed world champion like Jermain Taylor, who I already know all about, and then you have the two rising stars from the U.S., Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell."

"Right now Andre Dirrell is something of an unknown quantity for me because I haven't seen very much of him. He's coming into this tournament on the back of a lot of hype and he certainly talks a good fight. It's in the ring that it will count though, that's where he will have to back it up. But he's big at the weight, he's got that great amateur pedigree, he's unbeaten and he's some good scalps on his record."

"So he's definitely a dangerous opponent for my first fight."

"Ultimately I believe the series will come down to myself and Mikkel Kessler in the final. He's a reigning world champion just like me and I believe the experience of being world champ gives you that extra edge."

"He's an excellent fighter but I believe I'm the best of the bunch and it's just about going out now and proving that."

MIKKEL KESSLER
"Thank you to all the promoters and to SHOWTIME. This is a big opportunity for me to test myself. I never thought this would happen but when I got the call I said, 'of course, I want to be a part of it.' This is a big opportunity for me and all the fighters. A big thank you to all, and may the best fighter win."

JERMAIN TAYLOR
"I don't really care who I fight, with me there's always plenty of action in the ring."

"Arthur Abraham is a brawler. I'm going to box him. That's the key to winning the fight and beating a brawler. Who wants it more........we will find out soon."

"A fighter's power will be key in this tournament; everyone has power. There will be KOs in most of the matches, but I will outbox Abraham."

"I'm glad to be a participant in this tournament SHOWTIME has put together. It's good for boxing and the fans."

LOU DIBELLA
"DiBella Entertainment and Jermain are thrilled to be a part of this historic and creative tournament. It's a clean slate for Jermain and every one of these great athletes begins this tournament 0-0."

"The round robin nature makes this an unprecedented contest. We look forward to competing with the best in the world."

DAN GOOSSEN
"I apologize for Andre Ward not being here, but he is in Mexico and he has a case of the flu and is on antibiotics."

"I think this tournament will deliver great ratings and media support, but it will really be great for the boxing fans."

"When this concept was brought to our attention, I saw the greatness in it for the fighters. I believe the fans have always insisted on something like this. No gimmicks. No give and take on the weight. Everything is there before you. The best are fighting the best. Real champions. Real Olympians."

"I believe the winners will become stars. Not one star, but I think this tournament will create two or three stars. I think it will take these fighters to a whole different level."

"When Ken Hershman met with me -- instead of Ken giving me the contract, I gave Ken the contract to get this started. There are great champions among the Europeans. Ward is the last gold medalist. You are going to see his great talent as he challenges these fighters."

"I think he will be achieving his greatness in the tournament and he will be the winner of this tournament."

"This brings boxing to the levels of the other major sports. With the tournament format the fighters now have the chance to not only win the division championship and their conference championship but to take it to the Super Bowl. That I believe is what has driven these fighters to put it all on the line for supremacy."

"Andre has been on the biggest world stage as any of these athletes. It doesn't get any bigger than the Olympics and he overcame all of the odds on becoming the only Gold medalist for the U.S."

"And we believe that he is ready to go front and center on the professional world stage and be able to do what Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya did after winning gold."

MICK HENNESSY
"I'd really like to thank Ken Hershman and everyone with SHOWTIME. Sometimes it's hard to get excited when you are promoting event after event, but I am excited for what's coming up."

"This has got me very excited. Six incredible athletes, six warriors, will put everything on the line and agree to fight each other. This is something to congratulate them all for."

"I believe Carl Froch is the best pound-for-pound fighter coming out of the UK and by entering this tournament he'll be able to prove that."

"I'm very proud of him, he's up against the best of the best, but I believe he'll come out on top."

 

KALLE SAUERLAND
"This is a great turning point for the sport, especially in Europe. There are many questions right now in boxing, where the sport is going, who are the champions and others."

"But this tournament aims to clear it up."

WILFRIED SAUERLAND
"When we first thought about this, we weren't sure it would happen, but they worked very hard and we owe it to all the other boxers and promoters and Ken Hershman."

"From what I've seen here and what I've heard from Europe, this will be great."

GARY SHAW
"I just received some ground breaking news. (Shaw reads a telegram from WBC President Jose Sulaiman). Sulaiman offered his deepest congratulations to the six great fighters and SHOWTIME while giving them the WBC official authorization and support of this great tournament. There will be no mandatories. The WBC will give its full support. This is most important to this tournament."

"Dirrell is one of the youngest in the tournament. He isn't a world champion, but he will be. I think he is the most athletic in this tournament. He can fight southpaw or orthodox. He's always switching during a fight."

"Andre has fought the toughest fighters in Anthony Hanshaw and Victor Oganov, who was 26-1 with 25 KOs. Oganov can really punch. I believe Andre is going to win the tournament with his lighting speed. That will take him a long way in the tournament. I think the experience that Andre, Jermain Taylor and Ward had in the Olympics will certainly help them in this format."

"It's America vs. Europe."



For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com.

 

 

 

June 2009

 

Taylor selected as 1 of 6 fighters Showtime's Super-Middleweight Championship Tournament!

SHOWTIME SPORTS® To Present Arthur Abraham, Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor and Andre Ward

 

NEW YORK(July 13, 2009)- SHOWTIME Sports and six of the best super middleweight boxers in the world converged in New York City on Monday to announce an unprecedented new boxing tournament to be presented by SHOWTIME in the United States and throughout the world on various television networks.

The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a round-robin, six-fighter tournament featuring the class of the Super Middleweight division from home and abroad.

The world renowned fighters have a staggering combined record of 161-4-1 with 117 knockouts. There are four undefeated fighters, two current world champions, two young, unbeaten, world-ranked contenders and one former undisputed world titleholder.

The field is comprised of International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs), of Germany, who will move up to challenge at 168, U.S. Olympic medalist and top-ranked contender Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight champion Carl "The Cobra" Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of England, World Boxing Association (WBA) 168-pound champion Mikkel "Viking Warrior" Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Denmark, former undisputed 160-pound world champion Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark., and U.S. Olympic gold medalist and No. 1-ranked contender Andre "S.O.G." Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif.

"The stars have truly aligned," said Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports, who was instrumental in pulling the fighters, managers and promoters together. "It began as an intriguing concept, and through a tremendous amount of hard work on everyone's part, we are going to pull off one of the most exciting events in boxing history.

"The 168-pound division is the most talent rich in boxing right now. And the Super Six tournament structure will deliver one compelling matchup after another. And to deliver all of this directly to our subscribers on SHOWTIME is a fight fans dream come true. I can't wait to get started."

In another unprecedented occurrence, five of the world's top boxing promoters have collaborated with SHOWTIME Sports to facilitate this epic tournament. Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, Mick Hennessy of Hennessy Sports, Wilfried and Kalle Sauerland of Sauerland Event, and Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions, LLC will promote the tournament which begins in October 2009 and runs through spring 2011.

The dangerous and talented six fighters have signed on to fight any, and potentially all, of the five other contestants in the tournament. All bouts will be scheduled for 12 rounds. Froch's WBC title and Kessler's WBA championship will be on the line at the start of tournament competition.

In the first three Group Stages of the tournament, each fighter faces three different opponents over the next 12 months in a points-based competition.

Scoring will be as follows:
Win - 2 points (with a 1-point KO/TKO bonus)
Draw - 1 point
Loss - 0 points

Group Stage 2 and 3 matchups will be announced.

For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com.