So Close Yet So Far

Jermain Taylor lost a close UD to Kelly Pavlik Saturday night. In a fight where both guys looked strong and sharp, Pavlik pulled out the decision. Taylor looked a lot beter in this fight in my opinion. He did not have the nervous energy he did in the first fight, he kept his left hand up a lot better and in the process blocked a lot of right hands from Pavlik. However my issue with Taylor is his stamina. I did not feel like he was fighting the full 3 minutes of each round. He would have his moments but he would lay back for a good portion of each round. By the time the 11th round came you could see fatigue had set in on him and Kelly Pavlik caught Taylor with a good body shot as Taylor went to the ropes for the first time in the fight. I saw some improvements in Taylor that I had been wanting to see but I think he needed to try those improvements on one fighter before he got back in the ring with Pavlik. Pavlik fought a good fight himself though. He was more protective of his chin than the first fight and he kept his jab working very well. Although he did not always land with his jabs, the activity of the jab kept Taylor on the outside for most of the fight. Overall this was a real good competitive fight but in my view it became obvious who the winner was down the stretch. Pavlik who had never been passed the 9th round had enough in the tank to finish strong in the championship rounds of 10,11, and 12. I had the fight 115-113 for Pavlik while the official scores were 117-111, 115-113, 116-112. For Pavlik this win will lead to bigger fights. He is still the Middleweight Champion and his name is being mentioned in many camps for a possible fight. For Taylor he was so close yet he is so far away. He was disappointed he did not win and in his voice he sounded like a fighter who may want to quit. I don't think he should retire but I think he is going to have to get some solid wins under his belt again in order to get back to a championship fight. I truly hope he will take some time off, enjoy his new daughter and think about what he wants in his future. At 29 it is hard imagining Taylor retiring but in life there comes a point when we all say to ourselves enough is enough and I'm done. Only time will tell if that is what Taylor will say.