Bernard Fernandez’s (Philly.com) latest column Fernandez catches up with Bernard Hopkins and gets the retired Champs feelings on Taylor vs Wright. Hopkins said he has no axe to grind with Taylor, but he can understand Winky’s point of view that Taylor gets preferential treatment.
Hopkins is quoted by Fernandez as saying: "I was hoping a clear winner would emerge. I have no ax to grind with Jermain Taylor or anyone else. The middleweight division, and all of boxing, needs clarification as to who the real champions are. It’s not about who holds the titles. It’s about who’s the best. Everybody’s telling me Winky deserved to win. I saw the fight. There were a lot of close rounds. I’m not upset that it was a draw. But you knew they were going to give (favorable treatment) to Jermain because he’s supposed to be the next big thing. Boxing politics are all on his side. And, to a degree, I can understand that. Jermain Taylor or somebody like him needs to step up and be recognized as the top dog. There has to be an order to things so that they make sense.
Hopkins added: “But right now I don’t think anybody, even in Arkansas (Taylor’s home state), can say Jermain is a superstar based on his last three fights. There are people who will swear he lost all three of those fights. There are some who say he won all three, too, but you’re talking about a lot of unanswered questions. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? It’s not Jermain’s fault, but that’s the million-dollar question.”
Source of Quotes - Bernard Fernandez - Philly.com.
Well damn… I hate to hear that, but really only because I believe it to be true. I’m a big fan of Taylor’s, as well as a resident of Little Rock, but I still think he has a lot to prove. Even he admits that. But in his defense, I think he has still done a great job so far. I suspect he will hone his skills a bit more and continue to show us everything he’s got. Personally, I would love to see such a good kid become a success.
Yeah…I hated him after the 1st B-HOP fight then I heard him speak and I saw some of the boxing specials of/on him…man… He is one gracious, humble, well mannered, great person…he won me over as a fan but I would like to see some fights without the controversey…
Very much agreed. But damn, as long as he’s fighting the elite like BHOP and Wink, there will be controversy! I think he’ll get back into the swing of things (pun intended), and start knocking mofo’s out again. If you’ve ever seen any of his fights prior to BHOP, you’ll notice that he was quite the aggressive fighter to the point of overwhelming his opponents. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in fights to come.
He’s got tremendous potential though, especially when you consider that at only 27 he has by far superseeded what Winky and Bernard had achieved at this stage in their careers.
It seems to me that most of the best middleweights of recent years took time to mature into the great champions they would become, Hopkins, Hagler, Monzon etc.
To be aged only 27 and to have had 3 career defining fights behind you already is pretty impressive.
I expect him to be the dominant force in the middle weight division for a good 5 or 6 years if he applies himself.
Maybe so, but just because you are brilliant, it does not make you a superstar IMO. I say a Superstar, is a non British fighter my old dear has heard of.
Agreed…but notice I said star caliber…not Super Star.
I think that alot of the fighters that will be GOATs are going unnoticed or highly scrutinized right now.
Take Barrera for instance…he is one of the greatest of my gen. No doubt…but the Pac loss…the one TKO loss has RUINED him in the eyes of many fans…don’t you see that as being a bit bullshittish or fickle?
I do.
I just can’t write off one of the better boxers of the last 5-10 for one or two losses especially when he’s got 67 fights under his belt with 2 wins & 42 of those he’s won by knockout.
Yourself, like myself, are being pretentious, because we know a lot about boxing, we can tell the chaff from the real deal. A Tyson is a boxing superstar, but a Ricardo Lopez, Roy Jones Jr, Pernell Whitaker and Oscar de la Hoya are finer fighters IMO…
Jermain is good but he’s not a superstar.
