Jermain Taylor back @ middleweight Dec. 30th

[CFH]

I'm surprised to see him back at 160.

Yep, that's what I thought, MW, WTF? Not a great night of boxing, but it'll be some boxing to watch, Friday night, Dec 30th.

How do you think Taylor might do against Julio Jr. or Martinez?

I think both would beat him. Martinez is too good and Chavez is an underrated fighter with good power. I wouldn't be surprised to see Taylor jump out to an early lead against either guy, he's that skilled, but he'll start to slow down and we all know what comes next...

[Hulk]

If Taylor can get back to his former self, or close, then he can be a force at middleweight.

I would not hesitate to pick him to beat Chavez Jr.

Of course I picked Manfredo to beat Chavez

[Master]

Taylor should take his time and build up his confidence by taking a couple of easier fights and then depending on how he does and feels go up in competition. With his chin I think he may not have too much resistance left.

[Rantcatrat]

Taylor should take his time and build up his confidence by taking a couple of easier fights and then depending on how he does and feels go up in competition. With his chin I think he may not have too much resistance left.

We know the end to this story already. Taylor knocks Nicklow out. He fights another Nicklow and beats him too. He'll make believers out of some people that he's a force to be reckoned with. The same people who felt that way about Toney or Jones Jr. So, he earns himself a good money fight and he is knocked out badly. I wish it weren't so, but we've seen it now multiple times.

[Manos de Piedra]

Taylor's done, he will only be beat bums now.
In that case he can become world champ just needs to fight Chavez jr.

[Ant Live]

If Taylor look good on the 30th, I'll start my PayPal account and bet he'll beat Martinez.

[El Kabong]

Who is training JT now? I would think that due to Jermain's tendency to give up his height and reach so easily then someone like Ronnie Shields would help him roll with punches and counter, but he'd have to change up his entire style for that because Taylor is usually a box from the outside pump the jab kind of fighter, that's where he's had the most success.

[Mars_ax]

I'm surprised to see him back at 160.

Yep, that's what I thought, MW, WTF? Not a great night of boxing, but it'll be some boxing to watch, Friday night, Dec 30th.

How do you think Taylor might do against Julio Jr. or Martinez?

I think both would beat him. Martinez is too good and Chavez is an underrated fighter with good power. I wouldn't be surprised to see Taylor jump out to an early lead against either guy, he's that skilled, but he'll start to slow down and we all know what comes next...

Martinez would wreck Taylor, I hope that fight never happens, but i'd give him a shot at winning a fight with Julio Jr, I actually wouldn't mind seeing that fight. Team Chavez and Arum might underestimate Jermain and think they've got another tomatocan, it could get interesting.

[El Kabong]

I don't think Martinez would "wreck" Taylor...he may stop him late, but JT is a good boxer, a good boxer is a bad style matchup for Sergio IMO. Someone Sergio would wreck would be a plodding slow handed power puncher who Martinez could pick apart. Conversely a bad style for Taylor would be a combination throwing pressure fighter that never backs up.

I was a Taylor fan for the longest time, I hope he stays safe and I hope he can get a 3rd match with Pavlik and knock that cunt out!

3 Guys for JT to avoid: Peter Quillen, Genneday Golovkin, Dimitri Pirog (too durable).

3 Guys JT can hang with: Paul Williams (might not be a horrible fight), David Lemeiux, Nobuhiro Ishida

[Mars_ax]

I don't think Martinez would "wreck" Taylor...he may stop him late, but JT is a good boxer, a good boxer is a bad style matchup for Sergio IMO. Someone Sergio would wreck would be a plodding slow handed power puncher who Martinez could pick apart. Conversely a bad style for Taylor would be a combination throwing pressure fighter that never backs up.

I was a Taylor fan for the longest time, I hope he stays safe and I hope he can get a 3rd match with Pavlik and knock that cunt out!

3 Guys for JT to avoid: Peter Quillen, Genneday Golovkin, Dimitri Pirog (too durable).

3 Guys JT can hang with: Paul Williams (might not be a horrible fight), David Lemeiux, Nobuhiro Ishida

I bet Taylor has some kind of plan for getting another shot at a title at middleweight, it might even include a fight with Felix Sturm, who knows. I still think he might do well against Julio Jr., because of all his championship experience.

[johnsebastianmiran]

He will have to work on his stamina and concentration otherwise his performance will cause him to once again be as flat as an ironing board.

[Spicoli]

I think it's a big mistake to rush guys back and have them highlight a major network card. Even more so at middleweight. To me he needs to comeback off air and get loose with a bag boy or two, shake the rust and then have all eyes on and know himself all over again. I don't think he has much left in either case but why not give himself every last chance to be peak as possible. I think he gets marched into a big match on name alone and will have a very tough hill to climb.

[Mars_ax]

I think it's a big mistake to rush guys back and have them highlight a major network card. Even more so at middleweight. To me he needs to comeback off air and get loose with a bag boy or two, shake the rust and then have all eyes on and know himself all over again. I don't think he has much left in either case but why not give himself every last chance to be peak as possible. I think he gets marched into a big match on name alone and will have a very tough hill to climb.

This is a 10 rounder on SHOBOX, which isn't much better than fighting on ESPN FNF. Jermain's opponent, Jessie Nicklow is a 'can who won't last more than about 4 or 5 rounds, depending on when Taylor wants to knock him out. Perfect for "shaking off the rust."

[Tam Seddon]

The problem for Taylor is as we know is that he no longer has stamina and hes no longer a 12 round championship level fighter as proven in his last outings. Going down to 160 I don't see that problem getting any better, i think it will get worse! He will beat mediocre opposition, but put him with any top ranked 160 fighter they would outwork him to a late stoppage. Taylor for the first half of a fight is outstanding, will cause any fighter problems but he just cant sustain the early pace he sets in fights and it costs him. I like Taylor, but I don't like seeing him brutally getting KTFO. I wish him luck , but he was in a bad way after the Abraham fight and that will take a lot mentally and I think quite possibly for Taylor physically. Froch, Pavlik and Abraham did a lot of damage to him.

[Mars_ax]

If anyone is interested this card starts tonight @ 11:00 PM ET or about 3 1/2 hours from now.

Dec. 30
At Cabazon, Calif. (Showtime): Jermain Taylor vs. Jesse Nicklow, 10 rounds, middleweights; Andre Dirrell vs. Darryl Cunningham, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Luis Garcia vs. Alexander Johnson, 8 rounds, light heavyweights