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A Country Boy Can Survive
SUN July 8, JERRY CASAREZ, Ringside - Saturday night before a nearly sold out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, Jermain Taylor became the new undisputed middleweight champion of the world by upsetting Bernard Hopkins over 12 rounds.
As the 26-year old Taylor, 24-0, entered the ring that night to Phil Collins, "In the Air Tonight", you could see the focus in his eyes, making his way down the aisle. Sure Taylor was a +150 underdog going in, but he was on a mission that wouldn't let down the thousands that had made the trip from Arkansas.
Hopkins, 46-3-1, on the other hand was looking for his 21st defense of his middleweight title, ready to push his 40-year old body to the limit. The IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO titles Hopkins had earned against all odds and wasn't going to let go of without a fight.
Hopkins charged out of his corner at the first bell, looking for a fight, but as the round settled, Hopkins' game plan became clear; make this a tactical fight to wear down the youngster.
Hopkins was very economical with his punches in the first handful of rounds, but what he did throw landed. Taylor started a bit slow himself, looking unsure of what to expect from the middleweight great. Taylor didn't work his piston like jab to begin the fight, but as the rounds went on, he focused more on his plan of working the jab and landing rights. Taylor's top trainer Pat Burns wanted his young star to charge, but it would take a couple minutes of posturing before Taylor would get going.
Taylor, of Little Rock, Arkansas, would have a busy second round that saw him throw 39 total punches of which 22 were jabs. Surprisingly, only 4 jabs landed, however this was a round in the eye of the judges that would see Bernard pushed back and at one moment fall into the ropes by what appeared to be at the effect of a punch. Rounds like these in the first half of the fight lead judges to give Taylor the advantage. More credit for what Taylor appeared to be doing, which in my opinion was too much shadow boxing.
Hopkins, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to his credit never appeared "out" of the fight and showed he wasn't turning old. Hopkins may have looked as if he was starting off slow by not being the more aggressive boxer, but fight fans, when has "B-Hop" been a pressure fighter? What makes Hopkins a different breed is that he works his fights like a tactician. Round by round laying out a blueprint on what must be done to breakdown a bigger, stronger fighter in Taylor.
The crowd may have cheered for Taylor early with chants of "JT, JT, JT" that echoed the arena but momentum of the fight so go the fans. By the sixth round, Hopkins started landing counter right hands, making this a rougher inside fight than Taylor would have wanted. When they fought close, Hopkins used his experience to position his hands and feet to where he could fire sneaky punches before the referee had a chance to break the two. This would become the rhythm of the fight for the next couple of rounds.
Hopkins would stagger Taylor with right hands, as Hopkins would work him until there was a clinch. In the trenches Taylor would be hit to the body and head as Bernard used every one of his tricks to make his mark on the later rounds.
Even Taylor's most die hard fans knew the momentum had changed and that included plenty of my fellow journalists that had picked Taylor to win.
Entering the tenth round Bernard was looking to put an end to the night by throwing over 40 power punches. Most of which were right hands to the head of Taylor. At this point Taylor jab was no longer a factor as he was visibly tired, hurt and was struggling to make the finish line. But he wouldn't go quite into the night. Every time it looked like Hopkins was ready to close the show, Jermain would shoe shine flurry to the best of his ability to keep the attack from continuing.
The twelfth and final round was Hopkins' most exciting, as he finished strong and more aggressive than any fight since the Felix Trinidad fight in 2001.
Hopkins would out-punch the younger Taylor and looked to be a punch away from knocking down Taylor.
As the crowd stood on there feet and cheered with chants of "Hopkins!!!!Hopkins!!!!!" it was clear who the majority of those in attendance thought had won this fight.
As both fighters awaited the decision to be read by Michael Buffer, it was evident that Bernard thought he had won. He played to the four corners but looked at his team and expressed that they were taking too long to read the decision. During this same time Lou Dibella and Team Taylor surrounded what looked like a beaten Jermain and tried to console him.
The judges had it as follows, Duane Ford 115-113 for Taylor. Jerry Roth 116-112 for Hopkins and Paul Smith 115-113 for Taylor.
The look of shock and displeasure was apparent on both men as Hopkins, who looked at his business partner Oscar De La Hoya in utter disappointment and Taylor, who had a look of disbelief that he had done enough to win.
On a personal note, I learned a couple of things Saturday night, sitting press row. First, Hopkins didn't turn old overnight. Second is that "ring generalship" doesn't win you rounds even if you're the Pound for Pound king. And lost but not the least is that "A country boy can survive".
In an action packed undercard bout, WBC super-bantamweight champion Oscar Larios defeated Wayne McCullough by technical knockout, when ringside physician Dr. Margaret Goodman stopped and called the fight after the 10th round.
"I'm disappointed, but the doctor made the right call," McCullough said. Freddie Roach, who trained Wayne, was quoted earlier this week, "Wayne's so game that sometimes he scares me."
Like the great Freddie Roach, I know lots of tough guys but none as tough as 'the Pocket Rocket'.
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