Not too many years ago Jermain Taylor stood atop of the boxing world. He was the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. With two wins over the legendary Bernard Hopkins, and victories over Cory Spinks, and Winky Wright, Taylor was clearly the king of the hill. Then things changed. He would lose back to back fights Vs. Kelly Pavlik, get a bounce back win Vs. Jeff Lacy, but fall again to Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham.
Just when you would think it’s the end of the road, Taylor would string together 4 straight wins, and land himself another title shot Vs. Sam Soliman. The title fight took place in Biloxi, Mississippi back on October 8th, 2014. Taylor dominated a game but over matched Sam Soliman, and once again captured a world title strap.
Taylor is now scheduled to defend his IBF middleweight title Vs. the very talented and awkward former Jr Middleweight world champion Sergio Mora. These two fighters have a history. Mora left a lot of money on the table when he decided not to take a fight Vs. Taylor some years ago. It was a strategic move on Mora’s part. Some say that it was a costly move. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn’t. If Mora took the fight and lost, would he ever get a title shot Vs. the late Vernon Forrest? Probably not. Hindsight is 20/20.
Sergio Mora will now get his opportunity to grab another world title and it will be against the guy he turned down years ago. The fight will take place at the beautiful Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS on February 6th. It’s the main event on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
