The Maniac
04-12-2005, 09:38
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 3rd - The promotional title to tonight's middleweight championship rematch between Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins was "No Respect" but after 12 low-action rounds that went pretty much like the first fight that title could be changed to "Too Much Respect". This much-hyped return match, which was won by Taylor via another close decision, was not Hagler-Hearns. Heck, it wasn't even Thomas Tate vs. Michael Olajide.
See More MaxTV Videos
It's good to be a member
Taylor, who improved to 25-0 (17) and retained the undisputed title he won from Hopkins by controversial split decision in July, won by unanimous scores of 115-113 from all three official judges, but he didn't exactly electrify the crowd inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center (or those watching on HBO Pay Per View) with his performance.
Taylor acknowledged this fact after the fight and placed the blame, or credit if you will, on the crafty style of his near 41-year-old opponent.
"He is a clever fighter," Taylor said of Hopkins, who dropped to 46-4-1 (32). "It's hard to hit him. You got to throw everything in the book at him just to hit him."
It would have been entertaining if Taylor did throw everything in the book at Hopkins throughout this bout, but after the former champ tried to jump on him early in the first round (and Taylor was warned by referee Jay Nady for retaliating with rabbit punches), it looked as though the young champ was content to wait for his older foe to make another brash move so he could attempt to counter. However, Taylor was fighting the 40-year-old version of Hopkins, not the 25- or even 35-year-old version. As has been his habit isnce entreing his late 30s, Hopkins would not take any chances until the second half of the bout.
For six rounds, Hopkins feinted Taylor and ocassionally attempted to land his overhand right, while Taylor waited on the older man to throw a punch, stepped back and then shot a few jabs followed by a hook or a right hand. It wasn't scintilating stuff, but Taylor did enough to win most, if not all, of these rounds in the first half of the fight. Just by rushing into Hopkins once per round, even if he didn't land any clean punches, it was enough to make a statement in comparison to Zen-like approach to boxing that Hopkins exhibited.
It was clear that Taylor, who often loaded up and missed with monster haymakers in thier first fight, was being ultra-economical with his punches in the rematch in order to save his energy for another typical Hopkins late-round surge.
And as if on cue, good ole reliable "Nard" finally put his foot on the accelerator in round seven, landing a few well-timed lead rights and a left hook to take the round, perhaps his first on the scorecards of many ringside observers.
In the eighth round, Hopkins continued to find a home for his overhand right, while Taylor's technique appeared to break down a little bit as his punches became sloppy and he missed with most of them. He landed a big right hand with seconds left in the round, backing Hopkins into a corner, but it was too little too late, not enough to earn the "10-9".
In round nine, Hopkins appeared to be the fresher and looser of the two fighters. He landed a pair of hooks followed by another one, promting chants of "B-Hop" from the crowd for the first time in the fight. Taylor returned fire with a solid one-two combination sparking chants of "JT!", but the old man was not done in this round. Hopkins swung and missed with a wild right hand but somehow carried his momentum into a left hook that found the mark. He landed a one-two to punctuate the round and began the 10th with a series of counter punches that followed sluggish missed shots from Taylor.
At this point Hopkins was as animated as a toddler, he had found his rhythm and appeared to be in complete control of the fight. The rematch was following the same script as the first bout.
"This is not a sequal," MaxBoxing.com columnist Steve Kim quipped at the end of the 10th round, "it's an equal."
Maybe not.
Taylor flipped the script with a strong start to the 11th round. The desperate champ landed two hard right hands and a stiff jab to bring his supporters to their feet. Taylor followed up with a pair of hooks and seemed on the verge of turning the tide before Hopkins landed a short inside right hand that may have stunned him. Still, Taylor's effort was enough to win him the round on all three official judges scorecards, which was enough to give him the fight even though Hopkins won the 12th round by landing just enough right hands on the tired young man.
"I still have work to do," Taylor said, admitting that he made some technical mistakes throughout the fight, "but I did my best."
Against a veteran as wily and experienced as Hopkins, Taylor's best effort will always earn him a razon-thin and disputed decision. Let's see how his best looks against fellow young middleweight guns such as Felix Sturm, Kelly Pavlik and the winner of the up-coming Kingsley Ikeke-Arthur Abraham bout. Taylor does not appear ready for the likes of Winky Wright, a strong and crafty veteran who is as experienced as Hopkins but still in his physical prime. However, to the Arkansas native's credit, he's willing to take Wright on. Whether who you think he won both fights with Hopkins, lost both, or split them, that's what being a champion is all about.
In the co-featured bout of the evening, Israel Vazquez became one of boxing's few unified champions when he added Oscar Larios' WBC 122-pound title to his IBF junior featherweight belt with a one-sided third-round technical stoppage of a bout that was thought to be the best matchup on tonight's card. Acting on the advice of the ringside doctor, referee Tony Weeks waved the junior featherweight showdown off at 2:52 of the third round after Vazquez, who improved to 39-3 (28), landed a right cross followed by a crisp jab that opened a nasty cut over the left eye of Larios, who dropped to 56-4-1 (36). It was the third bout between Larios and Vazquez.
Both fighters owned a KO victory over the other coming into tonight's bout. Vazquez stopped Larios in one round back in '97 when both Mexican fighters were young prospects. In the rematch staged five years later with the WBC title on the line, Larios stopped Vazquez in the 12th round of a barnburner.
The Mexico City native must have had revenge on his mind because he started the rubbermatch quickly, dropping his old foe with a hook-cross in the middle of the first round. Larios got up and acquitted himself well for the remainder of the round, but his punches were telegraphed and lacked their usual snap.
In rounds two and three, Vazquez patiently stalked Larios behind a nice jab and accurate counter-right hands. Larios returned fire, but his punches were wide and looping and he didn't stand his ground enough to get any decent leverage on the shots.
It could be that Larios was weakend from making the junior featherweight limit one time too many. The tall and lanky Guadalajara native weighed in at 120 and 1/2 pounds, which many insiders thought was too light for a guy who has the frame of a lightweight. When Larios refused to take part in an IBF-mandated second weighin the afternoon of the fight (the U.S.-based organization will not sanction a fight in-which one of the participants has gained more than 10 pounds from their weight limit -- and thus, had he won the fight he would not have picked up the IBF title), some wondered if he took too much weight off for the fight and then put too much back on.
Following his 2002 WBC title win, Larios fought 12 times coming into the rubbermatch with Vazquez, including nine title defenses; six 10- and 12-round distance fights. In other words, the 29-year-old veteran had a lot of milage on his "fighter's odometer" and all the wear and tear may have caught up with him in this fight, which shouldn't take anything away from the classy performance of Vasquez, who looked sharper and more accurate as than usual. The IBF/WBC champ will now look into futher unifying his titles by fighting WBO 122-pound title holder Daniel Ponce-DeLeon or weigh his options in the 126-pound
division.
In the opening bout of the HBO PPV broadcast, former WBA welterweight titlist Ike Quartey got close to 10 rounds of solid ring work in with Carlos Bojorquez, stopping the out-classed but game veteran with 48 seconds left in the 10-round junior middleweight bout.
Quartey, who was engaging in his third comeback bout after taking a nearly five-year layoff from the sport, improved to 37-2-1 (31) by administering a steady pounding to the leathery face of Bojorquez throughout the fight, which was entertaining for much of the first half but slowly degenerated into a one-sided showcase for the former champ from round six on. Bojorquez, who fell to 25-8-6 (21), was never knocked off of his feet, but the fringe contender's face was badly lacerated from the fifth round on.
"He was suffering," Quartey said of Bojorquez and the stoppage by referee Joe Cortez. "I feel like I've gotten better in each one of my comeback bouts."
Bojorquez was competitive in the first five rounds, landing hard body shots and ocassional overhand rights while pressuring Quartey to the ropes, where a lot of the bout's bst action occurred. Rounds three and four featured good back-and-forth action between the combatants, but Quartey landed more punches and by far the more accurate shots.
From the seventh round on, the bout was merely target practice for Quartey, who landed his jab and counter lefts and rights at will.
THE UNDERCARD
Welterweight contender Joshua Clottey improved 29-1 (20) and picked up the WBC Continental Americas 154-pound title with a pedestrian 10-round decision over Marcos Primera, who dropped to 19-12-2 (12).
Junior welterweight prospect Demetrius Hopkins looked impressive in improving to 22-0-1 (9) with a fourth-round stoppage of the usually durable Jesse Feliciano, who dropped to 13-5-2 (8).
Junior middleweight contender Kofi Jantuah improved to 30-2 (19) with a three-round stoppage of Donny McCray, who dropped to 13-3-1 (9).
Welterweight propsect Larry Mosley improved to 15-1 (6) with a second-round stoppage of Jeremy Yelton, who dropped to 18-4 (9).
2004 Hatian Olympian Andre Berto improved to 9-0 (8) with a one-round stoppage of Taronze Washington, who fell to 8-3 (4), in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.
2004 U.S. Olympian Rock Allen improved to 4-0 (4) with two-round technical stoppage of Calvin Pitts, who dropped to 3-5-1 (1), in a welterweight bout scheduled
for six rounds.
See More MaxTV Videos
It's good to be a member
Taylor, who improved to 25-0 (17) and retained the undisputed title he won from Hopkins by controversial split decision in July, won by unanimous scores of 115-113 from all three official judges, but he didn't exactly electrify the crowd inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center (or those watching on HBO Pay Per View) with his performance.
Taylor acknowledged this fact after the fight and placed the blame, or credit if you will, on the crafty style of his near 41-year-old opponent.
"He is a clever fighter," Taylor said of Hopkins, who dropped to 46-4-1 (32). "It's hard to hit him. You got to throw everything in the book at him just to hit him."
It would have been entertaining if Taylor did throw everything in the book at Hopkins throughout this bout, but after the former champ tried to jump on him early in the first round (and Taylor was warned by referee Jay Nady for retaliating with rabbit punches), it looked as though the young champ was content to wait for his older foe to make another brash move so he could attempt to counter. However, Taylor was fighting the 40-year-old version of Hopkins, not the 25- or even 35-year-old version. As has been his habit isnce entreing his late 30s, Hopkins would not take any chances until the second half of the bout.
For six rounds, Hopkins feinted Taylor and ocassionally attempted to land his overhand right, while Taylor waited on the older man to throw a punch, stepped back and then shot a few jabs followed by a hook or a right hand. It wasn't scintilating stuff, but Taylor did enough to win most, if not all, of these rounds in the first half of the fight. Just by rushing into Hopkins once per round, even if he didn't land any clean punches, it was enough to make a statement in comparison to Zen-like approach to boxing that Hopkins exhibited.
It was clear that Taylor, who often loaded up and missed with monster haymakers in thier first fight, was being ultra-economical with his punches in the rematch in order to save his energy for another typical Hopkins late-round surge.
And as if on cue, good ole reliable "Nard" finally put his foot on the accelerator in round seven, landing a few well-timed lead rights and a left hook to take the round, perhaps his first on the scorecards of many ringside observers.
In the eighth round, Hopkins continued to find a home for his overhand right, while Taylor's technique appeared to break down a little bit as his punches became sloppy and he missed with most of them. He landed a big right hand with seconds left in the round, backing Hopkins into a corner, but it was too little too late, not enough to earn the "10-9".
In round nine, Hopkins appeared to be the fresher and looser of the two fighters. He landed a pair of hooks followed by another one, promting chants of "B-Hop" from the crowd for the first time in the fight. Taylor returned fire with a solid one-two combination sparking chants of "JT!", but the old man was not done in this round. Hopkins swung and missed with a wild right hand but somehow carried his momentum into a left hook that found the mark. He landed a one-two to punctuate the round and began the 10th with a series of counter punches that followed sluggish missed shots from Taylor.
At this point Hopkins was as animated as a toddler, he had found his rhythm and appeared to be in complete control of the fight. The rematch was following the same script as the first bout.
"This is not a sequal," MaxBoxing.com columnist Steve Kim quipped at the end of the 10th round, "it's an equal."
Maybe not.
Taylor flipped the script with a strong start to the 11th round. The desperate champ landed two hard right hands and a stiff jab to bring his supporters to their feet. Taylor followed up with a pair of hooks and seemed on the verge of turning the tide before Hopkins landed a short inside right hand that may have stunned him. Still, Taylor's effort was enough to win him the round on all three official judges scorecards, which was enough to give him the fight even though Hopkins won the 12th round by landing just enough right hands on the tired young man.
"I still have work to do," Taylor said, admitting that he made some technical mistakes throughout the fight, "but I did my best."
Against a veteran as wily and experienced as Hopkins, Taylor's best effort will always earn him a razon-thin and disputed decision. Let's see how his best looks against fellow young middleweight guns such as Felix Sturm, Kelly Pavlik and the winner of the up-coming Kingsley Ikeke-Arthur Abraham bout. Taylor does not appear ready for the likes of Winky Wright, a strong and crafty veteran who is as experienced as Hopkins but still in his physical prime. However, to the Arkansas native's credit, he's willing to take Wright on. Whether who you think he won both fights with Hopkins, lost both, or split them, that's what being a champion is all about.
In the co-featured bout of the evening, Israel Vazquez became one of boxing's few unified champions when he added Oscar Larios' WBC 122-pound title to his IBF junior featherweight belt with a one-sided third-round technical stoppage of a bout that was thought to be the best matchup on tonight's card. Acting on the advice of the ringside doctor, referee Tony Weeks waved the junior featherweight showdown off at 2:52 of the third round after Vazquez, who improved to 39-3 (28), landed a right cross followed by a crisp jab that opened a nasty cut over the left eye of Larios, who dropped to 56-4-1 (36). It was the third bout between Larios and Vazquez.
Both fighters owned a KO victory over the other coming into tonight's bout. Vazquez stopped Larios in one round back in '97 when both Mexican fighters were young prospects. In the rematch staged five years later with the WBC title on the line, Larios stopped Vazquez in the 12th round of a barnburner.
The Mexico City native must have had revenge on his mind because he started the rubbermatch quickly, dropping his old foe with a hook-cross in the middle of the first round. Larios got up and acquitted himself well for the remainder of the round, but his punches were telegraphed and lacked their usual snap.
In rounds two and three, Vazquez patiently stalked Larios behind a nice jab and accurate counter-right hands. Larios returned fire, but his punches were wide and looping and he didn't stand his ground enough to get any decent leverage on the shots.
It could be that Larios was weakend from making the junior featherweight limit one time too many. The tall and lanky Guadalajara native weighed in at 120 and 1/2 pounds, which many insiders thought was too light for a guy who has the frame of a lightweight. When Larios refused to take part in an IBF-mandated second weighin the afternoon of the fight (the U.S.-based organization will not sanction a fight in-which one of the participants has gained more than 10 pounds from their weight limit -- and thus, had he won the fight he would not have picked up the IBF title), some wondered if he took too much weight off for the fight and then put too much back on.
Following his 2002 WBC title win, Larios fought 12 times coming into the rubbermatch with Vazquez, including nine title defenses; six 10- and 12-round distance fights. In other words, the 29-year-old veteran had a lot of milage on his "fighter's odometer" and all the wear and tear may have caught up with him in this fight, which shouldn't take anything away from the classy performance of Vasquez, who looked sharper and more accurate as than usual. The IBF/WBC champ will now look into futher unifying his titles by fighting WBO 122-pound title holder Daniel Ponce-DeLeon or weigh his options in the 126-pound
division.
In the opening bout of the HBO PPV broadcast, former WBA welterweight titlist Ike Quartey got close to 10 rounds of solid ring work in with Carlos Bojorquez, stopping the out-classed but game veteran with 48 seconds left in the 10-round junior middleweight bout.
Quartey, who was engaging in his third comeback bout after taking a nearly five-year layoff from the sport, improved to 37-2-1 (31) by administering a steady pounding to the leathery face of Bojorquez throughout the fight, which was entertaining for much of the first half but slowly degenerated into a one-sided showcase for the former champ from round six on. Bojorquez, who fell to 25-8-6 (21), was never knocked off of his feet, but the fringe contender's face was badly lacerated from the fifth round on.
"He was suffering," Quartey said of Bojorquez and the stoppage by referee Joe Cortez. "I feel like I've gotten better in each one of my comeback bouts."
Bojorquez was competitive in the first five rounds, landing hard body shots and ocassional overhand rights while pressuring Quartey to the ropes, where a lot of the bout's bst action occurred. Rounds three and four featured good back-and-forth action between the combatants, but Quartey landed more punches and by far the more accurate shots.
From the seventh round on, the bout was merely target practice for Quartey, who landed his jab and counter lefts and rights at will.
THE UNDERCARD
Welterweight contender Joshua Clottey improved 29-1 (20) and picked up the WBC Continental Americas 154-pound title with a pedestrian 10-round decision over Marcos Primera, who dropped to 19-12-2 (12).
Junior welterweight prospect Demetrius Hopkins looked impressive in improving to 22-0-1 (9) with a fourth-round stoppage of the usually durable Jesse Feliciano, who dropped to 13-5-2 (8).
Junior middleweight contender Kofi Jantuah improved to 30-2 (19) with a three-round stoppage of Donny McCray, who dropped to 13-3-1 (9).
Welterweight propsect Larry Mosley improved to 15-1 (6) with a second-round stoppage of Jeremy Yelton, who dropped to 18-4 (9).
2004 Hatian Olympian Andre Berto improved to 9-0 (8) with a one-round stoppage of Taronze Washington, who fell to 8-3 (4), in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.
2004 U.S. Olympian Rock Allen improved to 4-0 (4) with two-round technical stoppage of Calvin Pitts, who dropped to 3-5-1 (1), in a welterweight bout scheduled
for six rounds.