By Scott Gilfoid: #15 IBF Jermain Taylor (32-4-1, 20 KOs) will be looking to upset the boxing odds tonight against the awkward IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman (44-11, 18 KOs) in their title fight on ESPN2 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA.
Taylor’s career was thought to be over 5 years ago following back to back knockout losses to Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham. But after taking two years off from boxing, Taylor came back in 2011 and he’s put together a nice little 4-fight winning streak to get him ranked in the top 15 by the IBF to get tonight’s title shot.
It’s one of those miracle situations that Taylor finds himself in, and he has an excellent chance of shocking the world by making his comeback complete by upsetting the champion Soliman on ESPN2.
Soliman’s team obviously picked the 36-year-old Taylor out because they felt he was a winnable fight for Soliman. Picking an older fighter with a name like Taylor is something that they’re hoping will work out to their benefit, but this could blow up in their faces if Taylor can show the kind of magic that he had a decade ago when he ruled the middleweight division with an iron fist.
As we’ve seen in his last four fights, Taylor still has impressive hand speed, power, and his excellent jab. The only difference that I can see in Taylor now than from a decade ago is he’s a tiny bit slower and not quite as fast on his feet. If I was to estimate how much he’s lost, I’d say perhaps 10% of his game, possibly 15%. But the thing is Taylor was so good back then that even now at 85-90% is still a very, very good fighter in the division.
I’d pick Taylor to beat the likes of Peter Quillin, Daniel Jacobs, Matt Korobov, Billy Joe Saunders, Marco Antonio Rubio and I think he’d give Miguel Cotto fits. The only guy that I see being too much for Taylor right now at 160 is Gennady Golovkin, but that guy is just too good right now.
The key to Taylor beating Soliman tonight is for him to stick with his jab on the outside, move around, and look to nail him with uppercuts each time he comes charging in with his different angles. Soliman is basically a pressure fighter, so he’ll make it easy for Taylor to catch him with shots.
Taylor weighed in at 159.8 pounds on Tuesday during the weigh-in, and he looked in superb shape. For his part, Soliman weighed in at 160 pounds.
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