Having
vacated the WBC and IBF titles, Jermain Taylor lost the remainder
of the unified and lineal middleweight championship to Kelly Pavlik
in 2007, in what was his first professional defeat. A move up to super
middleweight for a rematch against Pavlik the following year was also
unsuccessful. In 2009, Taylor challenged Carl Froch for the WBC super
middleweight title, but was stopped with seconds remaining in the
final round. At the end of the year he participated in the Super Six
World Boxing Classic tournament, but was again knocked out in the
closing seconds of the final round by Arthur Abraham.
Subsequent neurological
issues would force Taylor out of the ring for the next two years.
He returned in 2011, winning five consecutive fights and defeating
Sam Soliman in 2014 to claim his second IBF middleweight title. Later
that year, Taylor was arrested and detained on gun charges but would
avoid a prison sentence in 2016.
Taylor vs Hopkins II
On December 3,
2005 Taylor defeated Hopkins by unanimous decision in a rematch at
the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. In order for the
rematch to occur, Taylor vacated his IBF Middleweight title on October
11, 2005. Days before the fight, tensions rose after Hopkins mocked
Taylor's speech impediment and called him a "phony champion." Taylor
responded by bringing a doll with Hopkins' name on it to the final
prefight press conference to suggest that he was a "crybaby." In a
similar situation to the first fight, Hopkins started slowly and began
pressuring Taylor in the later rounds. Hopkins ended the fight with
a 101-60 advantage in power punches, while Taylor had success with
his jab, outlanding Hopkins 64-29. All three judges scored the bout
115-113 for Taylor. After the fight, Taylor said that he would welcome
a challenge against the winner of a fight between former Undisputed
Light Middleweight Champion Winky Wright and Sam Soliman. On December
10, 2005, Wright defeated Soliman by unanimous decision to retain
his number one position in the WBC and WBA Middleweight rankings and
take over the number one spot in the IBF Middleweight rankings.
Taylor
vs. Pavlik
In his next bout, Taylor fought Kelly Pavlik on September
29, 2007 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Pavlik began
rising in popularity after an upset victory over Edison Miranda in
a Middleweight Title Eliminator to determine the number one contender
to fight Taylor. During their amatur careers, Taylor had defeated
Pavlik on February 9, 2000 in the opening round of the United States
Olympic trials. In the second round of the bout, Taylor landed a right
hand and followed up with several more punches which resulted in the
first knockdown of the fight. Pavlik got up and managed to make it
to the end of the round. Entering the seventh round, Taylor had a
commanding lead on all three judges' scorecards. With less than a
minute remaining in the round, Pavlik landed a right cross that sent
Taylor into a corner. Pavlik closed in and threw a left uppercut followed
by a left and right hook and right uppercut.
Two more left hooks dropped
Taylor to the canvas as the referee stepped in to halt the fight.
It was the first time Taylor had lost in his professional career and
the first time he had ever been knocked down. One month later, Taylor
exercised a rematch clause in his contract with Pavlik. The rematch
took place at a weight of 166 pounds (76 kg), six pounds higher than
the middleweight limit. Due to disappointing performances, Emanual
Steward was fired as Taylor's trainer and replaced with Ozell Nelson.
Fighting at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on February 16, 2008, Taylor
lost the rematch to Pavlik by unanimous decision.
Super middleweight
