Jermain Taylor's Good Intentions and Bad Habits

Jermain Taylor had a lot of promise and expectations to fill when he successfully dethroned the great future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.

Honestly, this makes me feel bad for him, as I do not think that he will be able to sustain his intensity, power, and zip for a full championship fight. His losses have all come to guys with power, as he is only able to outbox them for first half of the fight before his stamina slowly begins to decrease. 

I do not question the refereeing in his last fight; Taylor was going to go down or get hit for the last 14 seconds, so I have no criticism for the decision. And even if Taylor would have won the fight with more favorable officiating, what he really needs is to realize his problem, and a win last night would not have allowed him to do that. 

Let's look at his major weakness, which is in fact his greatest strength: the left hand.

He wins fights when he snaps the jab to set up the straight right hand. However, defensively, he drops the left, making it easy to get countered and set up for right hands.

Kelly Pavlik found a home for it all night in their first fight. Now, can someone fix this deficiency?  

Taylor probably should hire Freddie Roach or Floyd Mayweather, like everyone else. Who knows what would result, but with just one more year to prove himself before calling it a career, he should act now. 

Mayweather and Roach have shown the ability to teach and improve skills of fighters such as Ricky Hatton and, more notably, Manny Pacquaio. Taylor needs a teacher and really should switch his focus to being a student of the game.

This model has been successful in sustaining longevity in the sport. Just ask Sugar Shane Mosley or Bernard Hopkins.