[Nay_Sayer]

Did Hopkins ruin Taylor or was Jermain just another protected fighter who got exposed?

Pavlik, Froch, and Abraham are not on Hopkins' level but all three own KO victories over "Bad Decisions".

Thoughts??

[The CEO]

He didn't take any real punishment in the Hopkins fights AND got the wins....if anything, I think that would have charged him up...having TWO big wins in a row like that.

I think it was Pavlik who cut his prime short and sent him downhill with that brutally devastating come from behind stoppage in their first bout...he did to Taylor what Tyson did to Marvis Frazier...thumped him and slumped him.

Gave 'im the ole Thump 'n' Slump...lol

[ezdoseit]

Did Hopkins ruin Taylor or was Jermain just another protected fighter who got exposed?

Pavlik, Froch, and Abraham are not on Hopkins' level but all three own KO victories over "Bad Decisions".

Thoughts??

No...... Not even close a ruin fighter would not be competive. jermain taylor had a chance to win every time he was in the ring......bernard hopkins is a fraud every big fight he won he was the bigger man except taver who is shot as a top fighter.....

[King Eugene]

Nah he didn't ruin him. His lack of conditioning and elevation of skill level did. He is always a threat to win the fight until late in the fight when he tires out. He wouldn't have been stopped by Pavlik the first time had he been in good condition.

[thehype]

Actually, it was Lou DiBella who ruined Jermain Taylor.

Truth be told, physically, Jermain Taylor can still fight. Despite being stopped by Abraham, Froch and Pavlik, he was actually doing pretty good and in every one of those fights...he was never dominated from pillar to post. In my opinion, I don't even think he needs to "retire" because, outside of the last one, none of those knockout losses were really that brutal.

Jermain Taylor's mental state of mind, however, is what was ruined by DiBella the minute he put him on the fast track to a world title. You gotta have the mental state of mind to go with your physical attributes, and sadly, that's just not something that Taylor was ever given the opportunity to develop. Some guys are born with that kind of mental toughness...others have to develop it. Taylor, obviously, was one of those who had to develop it and the minute he was finally starting to put it together (around the time of the Joppy fight), DiBella decided to put him with one of the most cerebral fighters in the game. Dumb, dumb, DUMB move! Taylor may have "won" those fights against Hopkins, but you can tell at the end of those fights that mentally, the doubts were creeping back in to Taylor's head. His next couple of fights (Spinks, Ouma and Wright) only added to the unraveling of his mental state of mind. With each of those fights being close and so many people saying the other guys (mainly just Wright and Spinks) deserved the victory, it's no wonder that Taylor began to seriously doubt his abilities. It all came to a head in the Pavlik fight, when he was able to put Pavlik down, but not away...from there, it was just a fast track all down hill.

But it wasn't just one particular fighter that "ruined" Taylor...it was a combination of all of those fights that basically killed Taylor's mental state of mind. But if you have to put the blame on one person, it would be his promoter, Lou DiBella, who's only job is to guide his career and build him up the right way. That's just not something that Lou DiBella knows how to do. Whatever he wants, the man wants it fast and now and that's how DiBella treats his fighters. And don't think that Taylor is the only one. Paulie Malignaggi is another fighter that Lou did that too (i.e. the Miguel Cotto bout)...and Andre Berto will likely suffer the same fate as Jermain Taylor if he himself is not wary of any offers made by DiBella.

Just my two cents on the whole subject, but I'm quite sure there's going to be a lot more revealed about Lou DiBella in the very near future on the front page of FightHype.com.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[mexi-cutioner]

Taylor is still among the best in the division imo, he was highly competitive in alll those losses and i thought was winning the majority of those fights when going into the second half of the fight. His conditioning is definitely suspect, but if anything, I think Taylor suffers from Zab Judah syndome lol. All the talent and athleticism in the world but lacks mental toughness and has a vulnerable chin

[Snoop]

I was just surprised that it took Jermaine this long to realize that a good diet affects your conditioning.

[Nay_Sayer]

and Andre Berto will likely suffer the same fate as Jermain Taylor if he himself is not wary of any offers made by DiBella.

Hmmmmm....

You make a good point.

I thought Berto was in over his head against Mosley and I feel the same way with Quintana.

Quintana is going to give Berto the business...

[Lil-lightsout]

Hmmmmm....

You make a good point.

I thought Berto was in over his head against Mosley and I feel the same way with Quintana.

Quintana is going to give Berto the business...

I think Berto stops Quintana. I think it is a good much easier fight for Berto. Quintana is decent, but Cotto destroyed him and walked right threw him, and PW did the same in the rematch. I just do not see Quintana dealing with Berto too well. Just my take.

[D-MARV]

I don't think Hopkins "ruined" Taylor... Taylor won both fights and has been competitive in EVERY fight he's been in. I think he needs to be matched up better before he tries to win another title.