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JERMAIN TAYLOR
SETS HIS SIGHTS ON CARL FROCH FOR
WBC WORLD SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
APRIL 25 / MGM GRAND THEATER / FOXWOODS RESORT
AND CASINO
This time, Jermain Taylor is training for one
thing, and one thing only. He wants his championship belt
back. Taylor, who held the Mddleweight Championship
from 2005 through 2007, will get his shot at the WBC
Super Middleweight belt when he faces current WBC
titleholder Carl Froch on Saturday,
April 25, on Showtime Championship Boxing
from MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort
and Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.
The telecast will air live at 9
p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
The fight card is being promoted
by DiBella Entertainment in association with
Hennessy Sports. Tickets are on sale now and priced at
$200, $100, $75 and $50. Tickets
are available at
www.mgmatfoxwoods.com
your local Ticket Master and MGM Grand Box Office
866-646-0649.
Taylor (28-2-1, 17KO"s) said the knowledge that he could be
champion again is the only incentive he needs to train like he
never has before for this fight. He has a new perspective and
appreciation for boxing after more than nine years as a
professional fighter.
"Every time I get up in the morning, I say to myself, let's
go get that belt back," Taylor said. "Every fighter wants to
be world champion and have a belt. I have a sense of purpose
and motivation to be a world champion again."
It will be Taylor's first action in the ring since a unanimous
victory over Jeff Lacy on Nov. 15, 2008, a
near-flawless performance that rejuvenated Taylor's career and
vaulted him back to boxing's elite. Taylor first won a title
on July 16, 2005, when he beat Bernard Hopkins.
He held the title until Sept. 29, 2007, when current
titleholder Kelly Pavlik took the belt away.
"I'll be honest, I didn't know what I had until I lost it",
Taylor said. And now I want it back. I'll do the hard work
that it takes to get it back. I know now what it takes. I know
if you get comfortable, you'll lose. There's nothing
comfortable about this camp. I'm very focus on what I have to
do for victory. I'm bringing a lot of fire power and
explosives with me when I enter the ring on April 25th."
Taylor is training in his familiar locale of Miami, Florida
where he has worked out of and on since turning professional
in 2001. Taylor said this camp has a renewed sense of energy
from all of Team Taylor. They know what is on the line, and
everyone is working to get Taylor back to the top of the
boxing world.
"This camp is a lot more focus and intense because there is a
championship title on the line," Taylor said. "It's a totally
different camp. I can see it in everyone's faces. They want
the title back as much as I do."
Taylor is once again working with his longtime mentor and head
trainer, Ozell Nelson. Both said the pairing
is working as well as it ever has.
"Ever since we started training camp, we've talked about it,"
Nelson said of the quest for the super middleweight crown. "It
means a lot to Jermain to become world champion again and we
plan to take full advantage of the opportunity. Jermain knows
what he has to do and he's hungry for the title. It's about
putting the work in, staying focus and executing the game
plan. This is a camp full of confidence."
“I’m confident that a re-focused,
dedicated Jermain Taylor will take the belt from Carl Froch’s
waist,” said Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella.
Taylor has said that he took Kelly Pavlik
lightly when he first lost his title in 2007. But it is a new
Taylor fighting Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) now, one that is hungry
for a title like he never has been before. Taylor is going
into April 25 with a sense of urgency unseen in his career
before now.
"Here's why," Taylor said. "I'm the one wanting the title not
him. He's trying to keep the title and make a name for himself
by fighting me. He has never fought on this level or anyone
like me before. I'm going to take him in deep water and I
hope he can swim."
Taylor has never been a boxer to trash talk. Froch doesn't
seem to have a problem opening his mouth, and it is making for
an exciting buildup to the highly-anticipated fight.
"I've been hearing he's talking a lot of trash," Taylor said
of the Englishman Froch. "If that's what he feels he has to do
for this fight, so be it. I don't expect him to be talking
nice."
Taylor certainly isn't about to be nice when he enters the
ring on April 25th. Not when the WBC Super Middleweight belt
is on the line.
3-26-2009 |
