"After his second straight razor-thin conquest of Bernard Hopkins, WBC/WBA/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor is eying a tune-up fight in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. "It would be a crime to put Jermain in another tough fight without a breather after going 24 rounds with Bernard Hopkins," promoter Lou DiBella said. "We expect a fight with Winky by next summer, but Jermain deserves a rest. I'm going to line up something so his fans in Arkansas can come see him."

See? This is one of the problems with professional boxing; these guys are so coddled and protected today. Can you imagine if today's fighters had to follow the schedules that the fighters of years gone by followed? Sugar Ray Robinson fought Jake LaMotta twice in six weeks, and Marvin Hagler followed the war with Tommy Hearns with a fight against 25-0 (with 25 stoppages) John 'The Beast' Mugabi.

Jermain deserves a rest?

Let me see if got this right, so he will fight a professional fight but it will be considered a rest fight? Sounds like a can't miss TV happening there, huh? He deserves a rest? The fights were too tough? He deserves an easy fight so his hometown fans can see him bop out some overmatched opponent so he can look good in front of them?

Here's a thought: Jermain is the middleweight champion of the world and that automatically means he is supposed to, better yet  it is his obligation, to defend his titles against the roughest, toughest, baddest, meanest 160 pound men in the world. If you feel the grind and pressure of holding that spot are too much for you, then why don't you just give the title back and fight some off-TV fights down in Little Rock, you know, "for the fans," and let two guys have an opportunity, two men who would give their left arm for a chance to hold that supposedly precious belt.