Jermain Taylor earns another middleweight title

Jermain Taylor earns another middleweight title

Jermain Taylor became the new IBF World middleweight champ by defeating Sam Soliman by unanimous decision in the main event on ESPN2.

The fight was a surprise in itself let alone the outcome. Taylor, fighting with a previous brain injury and currently involved in a shooting incident, should not have been cleared to challenge the title holder for the IBF championship.

Soliman used his awkward fighting style to frustrate Taylor in the early rounds. Often coming in low, Soliman (44-12) attacked the body, only then to immediately hold and hang on to Taylor.

When Taylor (33-4) shortened his punches, he was effective, landing punches with precision and power. It wasn’t until the second half of the fight that Taylor found his groove

The seventh round served up the first knockdown of the night from Taylor with a good right to Soliman. Taylor used good pressure to overwhelm Soliman, knocking him down again at the end of the round. During an exchange in the eighth, Taylor delivered a right that sent Soliman back to the canvas with his leg buckling underneath him. Soliman was able to survive the ten count, but as he rose his right leg seemed to deliver major problems.

With a wobbly stance, Soliman saw the canvas often, with more slips than knockdowns. Soliman’s right knee was the clear issue and his corner threatened to stop the fight. The championship rounds were fought with all heart by Soliman, while Taylor gave him toomuch respect, resulting in good exchanges.

The judges scored the fight 116-111, 115-109, 116-109 to give Taylor back the title he once held when he beat Bernard Hopkins in 2005. Taylor is now expected to face Hassan N’Dam, who was in attendance, for the IBF World middleweight title.

The co-main bout featured Andre Dirrell defeating Nick Brinson by TKO in the fourth round.

Dirrell (23-1, 15 KOs) established a good, strong round early in the southpaw stance. When switching to orthodox, Brinson (16-3, 6 KOs) was more effective, but Dirrell would switch stances again. At the end of round three Brinson caught Dirrell with a good cross but with time not on his side, it just wasnt enough.

Dirrell stunned Brinson with a good left hook, sending Brinson stumbling into the corner. Keeping him in the corner, Dirrell applied tremendous pressure. Brinson was unable to respond and the referee stopped the fight at 2:12 of the fourth round.

Dirrell giving all glory to God, said he hopes this win will put his career back on track, from the downward spiral it was facing before Wednesday night.

– Leann Perez