Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson has found former two-time world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor sane?
?We plan on boxing again, if that tells you something.??Taylor attorney Hubert Alexander
?Nobody who saw Taylor go down in Berlin [against Arthur Abraham] ? his third knockout in five fights ? needed an MRI to know he should retire while he could still speak coherently.??Carmen R. Thompson (ESPN the Magazine)
Shockingly (at least to me), Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson has found highly troubled and former two-time world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor sane following evaluations predicated on a long string of irrational behavior and alleged multiple crimes outside the ring. This means ?Bad Intentions? can prepare to train and make still another comeback having been released from prison on $25,000 bail and granted permission to travel to Florida apparently for a training camp, although future trials loom.
One of the more recent alleged crimes involved his being accused of battering (as in second degree) a fellow resident at the Oasis Renewal Center in Little Rock, where the boxer has been locked up via court order since earlier this year. Photos of the alleged victim are shocking and can be seen on TMZ SPORTS and are reminiscent of Irish Billy Collins after his fight with Luis Resto. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette?s Gavin Lesnick, Taylor pleaded innocent to the battery charge ?by reason of mental disease,? but Taylor?s attorney says the allegations are completely frivolous.
Taylor?s last appearance in the ring came in an October 2014 unanimous-decision victory over awkward Sam Soliman, which moved his record to 33-4-1 highlighted by two wins over Bernard Hopkins.
In a recent BoxingScene report by Edward Chaykovsky, Taylor?s longtime trainer, Pat Burns, was said to be instrumental in the boxer?s release and spoke highly of him to the court. Burns told Judge Johnson that he believes Taylor is ?emotionally prepared to abide by camp rules? and that Taylor ?got caught up with drugs and alcohol and made some stupid mistakes.? Burns said Taylor wants to get ?his career back on track.?
What part of warning signs don?t those around Jermain acknowledge or get? Based on a review of the pending charges, there is no way Taylor should be back on a professional fight card anytime in the near future.
Let?s hope and pray that the Arkansas officials and those caring for the recently divorced Jermain know what they are doing (according to Bad Left Hook, Taylor and his wife recently divorced, and their estate in Little Rock was sold). Let?s hope that those around him are not increasing the risks. Let?s hope someone can explain to them that where there is smoke, there is usually fire.
And above all, let?s hope someone can understand that Jermain Taylor wants to continue boxing if he successfully wins his case(s)?one(s) in which he argues that he suffers from a mental defect brought on by?boxing.
Ted Sares is one of the world?s oldest active power lifters and holds several world and state records. He enjoys writing about boxing. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
