Jermain Taylor, who earned the middleweight world title in controversial style, kept it in more convincing fashion on Saturday with a unanimous 12-round decision over former champ Bernard Hopkins.
The second fight between the two Americans had been much anticipated after Taylor ended Hopkins’s reign of more than 10 years in July with a controversial 12-round split decision.
In that one, Hopkins won the final four rounds on the cards of all but one judge, but that scoring for Taylor in the 12th made the difference between a Taylor triumph and a draw that would have kept the crown in Hopkins’ hands.
Hopkins (40) had vowed he wouldn’t leave it in the judges’ hands this time, but couldn’t make good on that promise.
It was another close, if hardly action-packed, affair. But Taylor (27) was more convincing than he was in the first fight, and all three judges — Chuck Giampa, Patricia Jarman and Dave Moretti — scored it 115-113 for the fighter from Arkansas, who improved to 25-0 with 17 wins inside the distance.
”The difference in this fight, I think Bernard was stretching me a little more,” Taylor said, although he admitted he again made mistakes.
”He kept catching me with that right hand. I’ve still got work to do,” said Taylor, adding he thought he was better than he had been in the first fight, but still wouldn’t give himself a top grade.
”I give myself a B. It’s not an A because I didn’t knock him out,” he said.
”But I did win it.”
Hopkins, who fell to 46-4-1 with 32 wins inside the distance, didn’t appear convinced.
”I think I did enough to win the fight,” Hopkins said.
”I don’t know how they gave him the last two or three rounds.”
The rematch followed the pattern of the first fight, as Hopkins allowed Taylor to place his jab throughout while sitting back and waiting to land the big blow.
Hopkins again appeared to gain strength as the fight went on but saw his chances at a decision go by the boards when Taylor dominated the 11th.
Hopkins did manage a solid right early in the 11th and a left hook late, but Taylor continued to land the left jab to control the action.
In fact, all three judges gave the final round to Hopkins, a small dose of consolation for a fighter who must question his next move after a lacklustre performance.
Hopkins said he would enjoy a few weeks off and then make some decisions on his future, which he has indicated is likely to include at least one more fight.
”I’m not looking to be around too long,” he said. ”I’ll be 41 in January, I’m pushing the envelope. I’m going to sit down with my team and talk about it.”
On the undercard, International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez captured fellow Mexican Oscar Larios’s World Boxing Council belt with a third-round technical knockout.
Vazquez, who knocked out Larios in the first round of their first match up but was floored in the 12th round of the rematch, was awarded the victory in this one after opening a gash above Larios’s left eye.
It was a stiff right from Vazquez, who entered with his IBF title safe after Larios failed to make weight, that stunned his opponent and created an instant stream of blood.
After a quick glance from a ringside doctor, the referee stopped the fight.
Vazquez (27) improved to 38-3 with 28 wins inside the distance. Larios fell to 56-4-1 with 36 knockouts. – AFP
