There was a time when Jermain Taylor was on top of the world. He had an unblemished record, back to back wins over boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, he was recognized as the king of the middleweight division. 2007 to late 2009 was a not good time; his twenty-seven consecutive win streak came to a screeching halt from the hands of Kelly Pavlik. He went 1-4, with three of those losses being knock outs. It seemed as if he was a cooked goose. But, in 2011 he got back on track he pounded out four consecutive victories, and his past October, with a unanimous victory over Sam Soliman, Taylor was once again a title holder.
But, rewind to this past August, two months before his title fight, the former undisputed middleweight champ, shot his cousin multiple times during an altercation at his home in Arkansas. Out of that he was charged with two felonies, and is scheduled to go to trial this upcoming June. If convicted, he could see some serious jail time.
Now, it has been reported that Taylor has been accused of throwing a brick at a women near his home. Although there were no arrests, or charges filed at this time, the woman did suffer some injury and damage to her vehicle. Pulaski Sheriff’s Department is reporting that Taylor claims self-defense, because the woman was driving towards him. What is not clear, is why the lady was trying to run the champ down.
In October, just prior to his title fight against Soliman, Taylor posted a weird video of him proclaiming, “I will never lose to another white boy.” As well as him playing the drums, attempting to sing, and shooting off a firearm.
This is not the first time a fighter has seemingly gone off their rocker. We all remember Oliver McCall having some sort of mental breakdown in his rematch against Lennox Lewis, Tommy Morrison had a slew of odd comments after he was forced out of boxing for several years after testing positive for HIV. Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear, Andrew Golota had a few mental breakdowns, Kelly Pavlik skipping out on paying his cab fare, and the list goes on.
But, to me it seemed as if Taylor was a poster boy for good behavior, a father of two children, husband to a loving wife. It just baffles me on how trouble has found its way to Jermain in just four short months, one serious trouble, with the shooting, and the second, charged or not, does not look good on Taylor.
A real question, did those knock outs knock something lose in Jermain’s thought process?
I am just wondering, what is up with Jermain Taylor?
