Erislandy Lara is a Contender, Jermain Taylor Isn't

Photos by Craig Bennett/Showtime

by Gautham Nagesh

Cuban junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara (below) steamrolled Detroit native Ronald Hearns in just over 90 seconds, but former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor (above left) had considerably more trouble with Caleb Truax en route to a unanimous decision win on Friday’s edition of ShoBox from Biloxi.

Lara opened up the show in sensational fashion, blowing out Hearns with a series of left hands in the first round. The southpaw Lara caught Hearns with a straight left counter early that dropped the Detroiter with authority. Hearns rose, clearly hurt, and was unable to defend as Lara peppered him with lefts in the corner. Another count came quickly, followed by Lara landing two more lefts against the ropes before the ref waved it off.

Hearns may boast the name and physique of his father, the legendary Hitman, but he is a poor facsimile. The win confirms Lara is a class above Hearns, but tells us nothing we didn’t learn about the Cuban after he pummeled Paul Williams last July, a fight he inexplicably lost on the scorecards. Lara deserves a big money fight at 154 lbs, but a rematch with Carlos Molina would be our first preference.

Taylor won a clear victory on the scorecards against Truax, who had previously fought mostly in his home state of Minnesota, but also showed some worrying signs. After losing four of five fights, including three by knockout, Taylor took a hiatus of more than two years before returning to stop Baltimore’s Jesse Nicklow in December. Truax was supposed to be the next step on his climb back to the big-time, but the Minnesotan may have exposed Taylor as well beyond rebuilding.

Taylor stuck to his bread-and-butter early by pumping his superlative jab, following it up occasionally with some sharp combinations. Truax was content to stay on the outside and jab himself, avoiding Taylor’s biggest shots but allowing his opponent to bank rounds on the scorecards. Like the Nicklow fight, Taylor started out looking good if not great against limited opposition. Caleb’s unwillingness to engage could be blamed for the fight’s lack of fireworks.

Both men opened up a bit more in the middle rounds and began to land some power shots. Taylor continued to take the lead, thanks to his sharp jab and combinations, but Truax also found home on Taylor’s body and with a few right hands. That would prove to be the prelude to the later calamity that befell Taylor in the 9th round. Jermain showed some signs of fading in the 7th, but he rallied in the 8th and looked to be in good position entering the 9th, when disaster struck.

Taylor uncorked a lazy jab and Truax responded with a perfect right hand to the point of his chin, sending the Razorback down and clouding his senses considerably. To his credit, Taylor rose and managed to tie up and hold for the remaining two minutes of the round. He fought smartly to survive the 10th, and won a fair decision on all three cards. Afterward he was elated, arguing that his performance was proof that his newfound conditioning has increased his resilience.

But the truth is that Truax was no puncher, and looked nervous throughout the night. The last two rounds looked more like a shot fighter desperately clinging to his career than a former champion on his way back to the top. Any fighter that regularly appears on television could have landed the punch that floored Taylor, and most would have been able to close the show.

Perhaps Taylor really is in better shape, and could potentially rise from a knockdown in a future world title fight. It seems more likely that he’s seriously endangering his future health by continuing to fight. Friend of the blog David Greisman appears to be in agreement with us on this point. Jermain Taylor has had an excellent career, but our hope is that Friday night was the last time we’ll see him in the ring. Of course if it isn’t, he wouldn’t be the first boxer that held on too long and paid the price later as a result.