Taylor: Bad champion or great opposition

[ICB]

A lot of talk has been made about Taylor's reign. Now that it is over, give me your honest opinion.

I'll give mine later.

How can you be a bad champion fighting great opposition and be undefeated ?? ok so they were close decision but still Taylor was not a bad champion at all yes he wasn't crowd pleasing but he was not bad champion.

[Mr. Cosell]

Well I for one got caught up in all the emotion last night and did quite a bit of bad mouthing of JT, which I kind of regret. He wasn't at all a bad champion, but he reminded me a lot of the Tyson that showed up in Tokyo against Douglas the last few fights. He was on top and it was almost like he felt he was so good that it bored him and working to stay there just didn't really interest him. I think that's why it seemed like he didn't have any heart or that warrior spirit to finish people. He came out a bit sharper last night and maybe this loss will motivate him to really bring his game to another level now.

[EastonAssassin]

Lets look at his last few fights


Hopkins
Hopkins
Wright
Ouma
Spinks
Pavlik

And only one loss

I thought eh lost a majority of them but stiull respect is respect so I refuse to call him a bad champion.

Tell me one "top p4p" fighter who fought that kind of opposition back to back to back to back to back recently.

Hopkins - many believe he lost one and one was a draw
Wright - a blown up super welterweight with no offense
Ouma - a blown up super welterweight who had no business fighting for the MW championship and now is going all the way down to 147 to fight
Spinks - a blown up super welterweight with no offense
Pavlik - alegit middleweight contender and now THE NEW CHAMP
only reason Taylor ever got the belt is because HBO and the powers that be didn't want to deal with B-Hop anymore. he's over-rated in every possible way.

[Dark Lord Al]

Lets look at his last few fights


Hopkins
Hopkins
Wright
Ouma
Spinks
Pavlik

And only one loss

I thought eh lost a majority of them but stiull respect is respect so I refuse to call him a bad champion.

Tell me one "top p4p" fighter who fought that kind of opposition back to back to back to back to back recently.

Hopkins - many believe he lost one and one was a draw
Wright - a blown up super welterweight with no offense
Ouma - a blown up super welterweight who had no business fighting for the MW championship and now is going all the way down to 147 to fight
Spinks - a blown up super welterweight with no offense
Pavlik - alegit middleweight contender and now THE NEW CHAMP
only reason Taylor ever got the belt is because HBO and the powers that be didn't want to deal with B-Hop anymore. he's over-rated in every possible way.

Yes you are spot on there mate.
JT was a poor champ who should never have been given the verdict over Hopkins,
Im glad hes gone , hes boring one paced , and has no stamina

[Pugilistic]

his opposition was pretty good . hopkins, wright.thats good

[badgershands]

Certainly don't think he was the most skilled champ or the most exciting but he didn't duck anyone so I respect him for that.

[BoomBoom]

Hes been competitive at the top level. but he was never dominant there. He was a lucky and decent champion but unfortunately for him also a forgettable one.

[tiger]

He always fought at the level of his opposition. He never seemed to have the heart. He had the skills but not the heart.

anybody who's stepped in the ring against the likes of hopkins and pavlik needs too have heart. his got plently of it

[dcR-Reckless]

i feel bad for taylor
he's been in with the best.....and now he cracked

[Mikkel_K]

Hes been competitive at the top level. but he was never dominant there. He was a lucky and decent champion but unfortunately for him also a forgettable one.

That is exactly my opinion as well.

You got to hand to Taylor that he has had great opposition. Probably better than anyone else in the last couple of years actually. And win-lose-draw he was competitive with these people (including Pavlik). In short, he deserves praise for his results, and he deserves kudos for even taking on these fights.

But, when speaking about his reign as middleweight champ, the problem is he never actually beat a MW contender convincingly and comprehensively. And certainly that should be part of being a great champion as well.

[The Boxer]

i think taylor has fought decent fighters every fight since hopkins. yeah some of the guys were smaller but they were worthy opponents.

[zhubin]

Wow, Some of you are pretty harsh. I think he is a very good fighter with the POTENTIAL to be great. For him to have fought who he has...without cream puffs in between...speaks volumes about what kind of a champion he is/was. Most fighters who have people gush about them early will take the easy route and mostly fight easy fights that make them look good. No matter what you think about his results against Wright, Hopkins, Spinks, etc...he never embarrassed himself against fighters who most people would do anything to duck. I think he came out against Pavlik trying to prove all the naysayers wrong by going all out too soon. It was a great fight. I will wait to see how he responds from this loss before i pass judgment. I thought it was important for him to come and let his hands go against Pavlik...which he did...but a combination of Pavlik's heart and Taylor punching too much...cost him the fight. You can tell a lot about a fighter by how they respond after such a loss. If this fight forces him to train like a madman and really dedicate himself to getting back on top....he has the skill to do it. He definitely has to work on some things and try and relax in the ring. But i think he will come back strong.