"Jermain is a hardworking and well-disciplined kid when he's put into the right structure, and with a week until the fight, he was sitting at about 163 or 164. He felt really well and his diet was great. He made the weight perfectly...He passed with flying colors....we want to fight right away. Al Haymon, Lou DiBella, and I and Jermain are looking to fight in the middle of April. And as far as opponent, we are looking to step up the caliber of opponent; a tougher opponent. We would like to fight somebody in the top 15, and we know that Lou DiBella is working on it, and Al Haymon and I and Jermain will put our heads together. I didn't hold his hand for 25 fights. He fought tough all of the time and we're not going to babysit him. He is a world-class fighter and he is probably gonna already be considered one of the top guys in the middleweight division just one fight back," stated world-class trainer Pat Burns, who talked about Jermain Taylor's successful return to the ring last December, their future plans, and much more. Check it out!
PC: How are you doing?
PB: Everything is going well, thank you.
PC: How is the talent pool out there in Miami?
PB: We have a lot of good, young fighters coming up, a good amateur program that's developing these kids, so we got a lot of talent coming up.
PC: You are a strict disciplinarian. There are plenty of distractions out there in Miami. What do you do or say to keep these kids in the gym and away from the distractions?
PB: Well, first of all, there is nothing I can do. It's entirely up to them. There are distractions here, you're right, and if a kid wants to get distracted, he's going to get distracted. He's not going to go anywhere. He's not going to become a world champion or an Olympian or anything else if the distractions are too strong, so it's up to him. I can only tell him and advise him that if you're not living the life of an athlete or living the life of a boxer and a guy that really wants to make it in this sport, then you're not going to make it.
PC: It was great to see you and Jermain Taylor back working together again. What were some of the things you were looking for in Jermain's comeback, and were you satisfied with what you saw?
PB: Well, obviously the first thing that we wanted to do was move him down to the weight class that he needed to be at and that was the 160-pound division. He had gone up to the 168-pound division and it just wasn't the right division for him. Jermain is a hardworking and well-disciplined kid when he's put into the right structure, and with a week until the fight, he was sitting at about 163 or 164. He felt really well and his diet was great. He made the weight perfectly, so that's one of the things I wanted to see, whether he can get back down, and he did it effortlessly. The second thing I wanted to see was working out the cobwebs, if he still had hand speed, and if he was able to react and see punches. He passed with flying colors. I don't think he got hit once in the fight. He got hit in a spot behind the head, but other than that, he did everything that I was looking for. He had good speed, good defensive skills; he was a little rusty at first, and then he started ironing out the bugs and by the 6th or 7th round, everything seemed to come right back to what I expected from him.
PC: You made Jermain a champion and helped him defend his title. When you go that long without working with someone, is it a situation where you guys picked up where you left off or was it a re-adjusting phase for you guys?
PB: No, there was no re-adjusting phase. I'm the same guy that I was before. I'm not going to change for anyone. I am what I am. I am a disciplinarian and I preach hard work; don't let me outwork you. And Jermain walked through that door and it was kind of weird. It was a weird feeling. We were apart for quite some time, but within a minute, it was like we were never apart. It worked out perfectly. We gelled perfectly.
PC: Being that you had such a history with Jermain and you were undefeated with him, was it tough for you to watch him losing and being knocked out at 168, considering you knew he never belonged there?
PB: I really didn't sit at home watching it. I put it in the rearview mirror as fast as I could. I've always wanted nothing but the best for Jermain, but he chose to go off in that weight division and it wasn't a whole lot that I could do. I was disappointed that his team was doing that. I thought they knew better, but it didn't work out that way, and it took Jermain awhile to figure out that he was in the wrong division and some other things that he had that only he could figure out. It was a little disappointing because he was a great fighter. After all, he beat Bernard Hopkins twice, and that's one of the greatest fighters in the middleweight division ever. To see what happened was disappointing. I never expected to get back with him. I simply put it in the rearview mirror and I was moving on.
PC: How did you reconnect with Jermain? Do you recall?
PB: It was just one of those things. I always asked about him and how he was doing. I was more concerned about his personal life and the kid himself and making sure he was okay, because he had a couple of tough defeats, and I was concerned and making sure he was okay and things like that. But it just kind of happened. I don't really know how it happened, but it just kind of happened, and next thing I knew, we were back together and it just seems to be working out really well.
PC: What caliber of opponent would you like to see him fight next, and being that he did barely get hit, how soon would you like to see him fight?
PB: Well, we want to fight right away. Al Haymon, Lou DiBella, and I and Jermain are looking to fight in the middle of April. And as far as opponent, we are looking to step up the caliber of opponent; a tougher opponent. We would like to fight somebody in the top 15, and we know that Lou DiBella is working on it, and Al Haymon and I and Jermain will put our heads together. I didn't hold his hand for 25 fights. He fought tough all of the time and we're not going to babysit him. He is a world-class fighter and he is probably gonna already be considered one of the top guys in the middleweight division just one fight back. But I would like to see him fight regularly, to be honest with you.
PC: The timing of him returning to the middleweight division seems to be perfect because the division is wide open and in need of stars.
PB: Well, the timing is good, however, you can't be fooled by that because there are a lot of guys that the public just don't know about out there, up-and-coming guys, and on any given day, especially in this division, anybody can win. Again, this is the time for him. He is at his physical peak and will be for a couple of years, so timing is good from that sense.
PC: Jermain did get his claim to fame by defeating Bernard Hopkins on two occasions. Did you think, at 47 years of age, Bernard would not only still be competing, but doing it at such a high level?
PB: Yeah, I always knew that Bernard was going to last a long time in this sport. Bernard Hopkins is one of those guys that fights on HBO on Saturday night, goes home on Sunday, kisses his wife and family, and on Monday, he's back working out and in the gym. He's the consummate professional, a hell of a fighter, and he lives the life and that's the result of him winning so many championships. So no, it doesn't surprise me at all about Bernard Hopkins.
PC: Before I let you go, are there any fighters that you look forward to seeing or any fights that you are looking forward too?
PB: Well, I would surely like to see Mayweather/Pacquiao. I would like to see that fight happen before it gets too late. I just want Floyd to get his act together out of the ring. He's a great fighter and there are an awful lot of people that think Pacquiao would win that fight. I personally think that Mayweather wins that fight and I think he wins it fairly easy personally. But anyway, that fight I like. There are a bunch of young, up-and-coming guys that are tough though and I follow them to see what they are doing in the sport. That's about it at this point.
PC: I appreciate your time. I know doing interviews is not something you preferably like to do, so I really appreciate it and if you need anything, feel free to hit me up.
PB: No, I really don't, but thank you. Good luck to you, you hear.
PC: Thanks, I appreciate that a lot.
PB: You're welcome, and thanks again.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]