On July 16th, 2005, Jermain Taylor did something that had not been done since the early 90s; he beat Bernard Hopkins, thus becoming the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Only there was some dispute, especially from the Bernard Hopkins camp.

    On Tuesday it was announced that Taylor will be taking on Hopkins in a rematch on December 3rd. At their first press conference and conference call for the fight Taylor had a lot to say. He also seemed very frustrated with a lot of things, especially Hopkins. Here's some of what he had to say:

-On his performance on July 16th- Everything that could have went wrong did. I chased him all night expending energy and got tired. There is nothing he can do to offset me, he brought the best Bernard that night.

-On how to beat Hopkins- I know how to beat him. He's a dirty fighter, he has no power, no speed. He has nothing else.

-On Hopkins as a dirty fighter- He's dirty, I knew that going in, but I learned firsthand. This time I'm just going to pound him, I don't have to cheat to win.

-More on Hopkins' tactics- He was head butting, hitting in the back, hitting behind the head, and holding. He was just doing a lot of cheap shots. The ref warned him, but he kept doing it, and he never took any points. Now I know this and I know what to expect. I'm a boxer, I ain't got time to go in there and try to hurt or cut somebody with my head. That's not Boxing, that's another type of sport. If I cut you with my glove then that's OK, but not with my head. That's not Boxing.

-On Hopkins's complaining after the first fight- He's not a true champion. If I would have lost I wouldn't have whined like he did. That's all he's done is cry about it.

-On what he should have done differently the first time- When I watched the tape I was disappointed. I should have cut off the ring, instead of chasing him. I should have jabbed more and picked my spots.

-On Hopkins's head butting in the first fight- I knew he did it on purpose. But, I ain't worried about all that. I don't cry, and I don't make excuses. I take my lessons and go home and study it and do better next time.

-More on Hopkins's complaining about the decision- It just shows what kind of champ he is, he's not a true champion. If I would have lost I would have went home and looked at the tape. I would find everything I did wrong, and get cussed out by my trainers, and come back and do it better the next time. I wouldn't have whined that I got robbed, I ain't got time for that.

-On what he thought of the fight- It was a close fight and I give him that. In the late rounds he did get off, but in those early rounds I did enough to win. Give me my respect.

-On his respect factor for Bernard- I still respect him for holding the belts for so long, and for what he did after he got out of jail. But, as a person and a fighter I don't respect him no more. I feel like if he was any kind of man or champion then he wouldn't cry the way he has.

-What he learned from the first fight- I learned that I can overcome anything. I put everything into that fight and learned a lot about myself.

-On whether he feels Hopkins will fight him differently this time- I feel Hopkins brought his A game the first time. I don't think he can fight any differently. He'll just try to come on a little
earlier this time.

-On whether he was nervous the first fight- Of course I was. I'm not making excuses, but I was nervous. I dreamed about that fight and now it was happening. I ended up making a lot of mistakes in that fight, but it won't happen again.

  Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella on Hopkins and the first fight: From the standpoint of a promoter, I'm thrilled, because I got a fighter who's pissed off, and has a whole lot less respect for his opponent now. I think Bernard is playing into our hands. He spent a lot of time at the press conference just saying, Duane Ford, Duane Ford, Duane Ford. But, how about the guy who had the fight scored 4-4 after eight rounds. There's no way it was 4-4 after eight rounds. Judging is subjective and Jermain won a close fight with no controversy. But on December 3rd, Jermain will put an exclamation point on the fight, and send Bernard into retirement.

    Taylor will defend his new title against Hopkins on December 3rd from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

10-12-2005