Jermain Taylor

Jermain Taylor was a professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014 across the middleweight and super middleweight classes. Throughout his career, he fought a total of 38 times, winning 33 fights with 20 of these wins coming by KO. Taylor had a draw and suffered four losses with three of these losses being via KO.

Born on August 11, 1978, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jermain Taylor began boxing officially at age 13, and he earned numerous accolades throughout his amateur career. He started with his achievement of the 1996 Under-19 Championship, followed by winning a pair of Police Athletic League (PAL) Championships and National Golden Gloves titles. Taylor finished second and third at the 1997 and 1998 United States Championships, respectively. In 1998, he competed at the Goodwill Games and won a bronze medal. In 2000, he earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, becoming the first-ever boxer from Arkansas to compete in the Olympic Games. In the 2000 Olympics, Taylor won a bronze medal in the light middleweight division.

Jermain Taylor's professional debut took place on January 27, 2001, against Chris Walsh, which he won via 4th round TKO. Taylor went on to win 24 more consecutive fights after the debut, including wins over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy that got him noticed.

Taylor had his first world title fight on July 16, 2005, against Bernard Hopkins for the middleweight WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles. He defeated Hopkins via 12 round split-decision to become the undisputed middleweight champion. By winning the fight, Taylor became the first and, to date, only male boxer in history to claim each title from all four major boxing sanctioning organizations in a single fight. He successfully defended the WBC, WBO, and The Ring middleweight titles against Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks in 2006 and William Joppy in 2007.

Jermain Taylor had some of the finest moments of his career in 2008, but he would also face one of the toughest setbacks of his life in that year. He fought Jeff Lacy on November 15, 2008, defeating him via 12th round unanimous decision. But in the same year, Jermain's career came crashing after a knockout loss to Arthur Abraham.

Jermain Taylor's boxing career spanned more than 13 years, from 2001 to 2014, during which time he fought a total of 38 times. Jermain was a fierce and relentless fighter in the ring, with exceptional footwork and a punishing right hand. He was known for his complex combination of athleticism, power, and speed, making him a dangerous opponent for anyone who dared to step into the ring with him.

Throughout his career, Jermain Taylor had some notable victories, including a split-decision win over Bernard Hopkins to become the undisputed middleweight champion. He also won a hotly contested split decision against an accomplished fighter like Cory Spinks whom he defeated via 12 round split-decision, Raúl Márquez via 9th round RTD and, William Joppy via 12th round unanimous decision.

Jermain Taylor also had some crushing defeats in his career, but none more painful than his knockout loss to Kelly Pavlik, which left him unconscious in the center of the ring. Taylor lost his WBC and IBF middleweight titles in the defeat against Pavlik, just as he lost the remainder of the unified and lineal middleweight championships to Kelly Pavlik in 2007. A move up to super middleweight for a rematch against Pavlik the following year was also unsuccessful. In 2009, Taylor challenged Carl Froch for the WBC super middleweight title, but was stopped with seconds remaining in the final round.

Jermain Taylor had a total of four losses in his professional boxing career, two of them in title bouts and two in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Kelly Pavlik via 7th round TKO on September 29, 2007, which ended his 27-fight win streak. Taylor retired from professional boxing with a record of 33-4-1, which included 20 knockout wins and three losses via knockout, and six title wins.

Jermain Taylor was an exceptional athlete who displayed the three major pillars of E.A.T. (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in his boxing career. His in-ring expertise and boxing dominance won him the accolades and esteem of his supporters and other boxing enthusiasts. His poise and athleticism assured his status as a reputable fighter throughout his boxing career while his ability to come back from setbacks showed resilience and character that endeared him to his supporters as well.

Jermain Taylor Fight Record