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Boxing:

Jermain Taylor’s eyes on next opponent, and scale

Taylor says endurance won’t be the issue after costing him in April

Jermain Taylor

Steve Marcus

Jermain Taylor, of Arkansas, listens to speakers during a news conference at the MGM Grand on February 13, 2008. Taylor will face undefeated Arthur Abraham in the first round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic starting October 17 in Berlin.

Click to enlarge photo

From left, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor and Andre Ward gather at a press conference at Madison Square Garden to announce the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic presented by Showtime Sports. The six super middleweights will face one another in a round-robin tournament format with the finals to take place sometime in 2011.

Over the course of an hour-long teleconference with media members Tuesday, former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor repeated the same three words at least half a dozen times.

No matter what question was asked of him, he usually found a way to slip them in.

“I’m in shape,” the 31-year-old boxer stated again and again. “I’m in shape.”

It may seem like common sense that a boxer preparing for a 12-round war should make sure his stamina is up to the test beforehand.

But in the weeks leading up to his super middleweight Oct. 17 contest with undefeated Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KO) in Berlin, Taylor’s weight and overall physical shape have been of particular focus.

Instead of waiting to drop pounds until just prior to the fight, Taylor’s camp claims he’s already at weight for the opening round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

“A guy can’t keep losing 20 pounds two weeks out and expect to have energy,” said Taylor’s head trainer and father figure, Ozell Nelson. “Jermain looks like he’s in excellent shape, he’s got his weight down. For the first time in years he’s sparring on weight. It’s not like his last fight where he’s losing 20 pounds in a couple weeks.”

Energy and endurance certainly played their part in Taylor’s last trip to the ring, a disappointing 12th-round TKO loss to Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KO) last April.

Taylor dominated the early rounds of the fight, knocking down Froch for the first time of his career in the third round.

However, Taylor became winded in later rounds, eventually forcing referee Mike Ortega to stop the action with just 14 seconds remaining in the fight.

It’s a loss that has followed Taylor to his training sessions in Houston these past few months and motivated him to work harder on that aspect of his game.

“Of course that’s been on my mind. He and I both know that if I would have been in a little better shape I would have won that fight,” Taylor said. “I’m thinking about it all the time — if I had trained harder, if I had lost that weight earlier — every day in the ring that’s on my mind.”

Taylor could get a second opportunity at Froch, who faces Andre Dirrell in the opening round, at some point in the multi-year tournament — an opportunity he’s already keeping one eye on.

“Hopefully we’ll meet again in the tournament so I can prove to everyone I was supposed to win that fight,” Taylor said.

The possibility of a rematch with Froch shouldn’t take any of Taylor’s focus away from the task at hand in Abraham (30-0, 24 KO).

Although it’s widely accepted that Abraham has yet to face a top-tier opponent like Taylor has, the German fighter will have the advantage of fighting in his hometown.

“Obviously, I’ve never been in the ring with a person like Taylor,” Abraham said. “But it’s a big honor and pleasure to fight in front of my home fans. It was great when I heard the news and it doubled my motivation to put on a good fight.”

Abraham, who's well known within boxing circles for defeating Edison Miranda by unanimous decision in 2006 despite suffering a broken jaw in the fourth round, would love nothing more than to use a win over a household-name opponent like Taylor to catapult him to the limelight of the super middleweight division.

“A big fight in America is what drives me, it’s a great country,” Abraham said. “It’s a lot of hard work to get a big fight in America and become a champion like Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya. It’s my goal to make big fights and I think this tournament will help me.”

Making big fights has never been a problem for Taylor, as he’s met the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, Jeff Lacy and Froch in the ring.

Winning the big fights has been the most recent problem, as Taylor has lost three of his last four fights.

The decorated fighter says he’s “not ready to go out yet” though, and he and his camp believe they’ve found a way to move back to the top of their division.

And it starts and ends with his weight.

“He’s started eating good now. Since he’s got the losses he knows what he’s got to do now,” Nelson said. “His head is on right. He’s had his fun, now it’s time to get down to business.

“His weight is down and that tells you a lot right there because Jermain loves to eat. He loves a Big Mac any day. But this kid right now hasn’t had any Big Macs.”

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].

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