LAS VEGAS, NEV.– Boxing’s two best middleweights -- undefeated world champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK (32-0, 29 KOs), from Youngstown, Ohio, and former undisputed world champion JERMAIN “Bad Intentions” TAYLOR (27-1-1, 17 KOs), from Little Rock, Arkansas -- hosted separate media conference calls this week.
Promoted by Top Rank and DiBella Entertainment, the 12-round Pavlik-Taylor II battle will take place Saturday, February 16, at MGM Grand, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
This is Norman Horton. On behalf of Team Taylor and DiBella Entertainment, we would like to welcome and thank you for your participation today.
On the line we have Jermain Taylor, his trainer Ozell Nelson, and his promoter, Lou DiBella. We will have an opening statement from Lou DiBella, and then we will open up for questions. I present, Lou DiBella.
Lou DiBella: Thank you everybody for joining us. On Saturday night the 16th, I think we have a historic night of boxing, and really one of the most justified and competitive and exciting main events that I can remember.
I was thrilled to be involved in the first fight. While the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, it was a great night for boxing, and a terrific, explosive seven rounds of boxing.
On the 16th there’s a terrific undercard it features Ronald Hearns and his toughest fight to date. It features two great title fights at 115 pounds, Fernando Monteil against Martin Costillo, and Cristian Mijares, who might be the best young 15 pounder in the world, against Jose Navarro. Those are two terrific appetizers to what’s going to be a great main course.
I listened in a little bit yesterday to the phone call that Jack Loew, and Arum and Kelly Pavlik had. They’re very confident -- I understand their confidence, but it seemed a little bit to me like they bordered on cockiness and maybe a little bit of insulting, sort of undertone. They’re entitled to do that, but I think maybe if they look back on that last fight, they’ll remember a second round where the fight could easily have ended, and we’d be talking very differently on this phone call.
Kelly deserves all the credit in the world for ending that fight in the seventh round, but that fight could have easily ended in the second. I believe then that I promoted the better fighter in the contest. I believe now that I promote the better fighter in the rematch. And it’s my firm belief that on February 16, that last fight’s going to be erased and the result is going to be different. I also think - I anticipate that there’s going to be some questions, which I’d like to nip in the bud right here, about the election of the rematch immediately. But I think that that is one of the reasons why I am so proud to have promoted Jermain Taylor from his first fight through his career.
He has never run away from a challenge; he has never lost confidence in himself. He has never been anything but a great champion and a great competitor, and I fully expected him to elect that rematch -- it didn’t surprise me in the least. I know why he elected it -- because he knows he can win. And on February 16, he will win.
Ozell - and Ozell’s back in the corner in the lead trainer. That’s a place he’s used to being; that a place he was throughout Jermain’s amateur career, and he has never been out of Jermain’s corner -- not as an amateur; not as a professional.
I had the chance to go camp and watch these guys work, see how hard they’re working, see how well they’re working, and I’m thrilled to be involved in this event. I’m thrilled that I’m going to be there on February 16, when Jermain Taylor, once again, establishes his supremacy in the middleweight classes. And, you know, Ozell and Jermain -- there’s no need for little speeches -- they’re going to do most of their talking on the night of February 16. But we’ll open it up right now for questions and get right to the meat of things and what you guys want to hear.
So, we’ll open it up for questions. Go ahead Norm.
Norm Horton: Thank you Lou. We’ll take the first question now.
Chris Givens: Hey Jermain, Lou, Norm, everybody.
Lou DiBella: Hello Chris.
Chris Givens: Jermain, I know that you always have a lot of anticipation before you fight as it gets close -- we’re only ten days away now. I’m wondering if this time it’s a little bit of a different sense of anticipation based on the circumstances of this fight. Is it different now than it is normally about ten days before a fight for you?
Jermain Taylor: Yes, it’s very different, it’s all about revenge now. I’m just going in there getting back everything this man took from me.
Chris Givens: What is training like right now as we’re getting this close to it? I mean, you’re not having to leave Vegas this time, but what - where are you right now?
Jermain Taylor: Just the other day I did about 18 rounds in the gym. I’m in great shape and it’s been a great training camp here in Las Vegas. I’ve got to give it to Ozell my trainer, he stepped up, and everything’s going perfect.
Chris Givens: This time a lot of the early betting lines are out, and I think this time you’re going to be a rather heavy underdog, a position that you’re not used to. Does that change your approach to anything, knowing that you’re not going to be the favorite fighter in this one?
Jermain Taylor: Oh no, it doesn’t make a difference at all. I’m going in there and take care of business. Fights that have me as the underdog are the fights when I look my best.
Chris Givens: Ozell? Are you on the line Ozell?
Ozell Nelson: Yeah, I’m here Chris.
Chris Givens: I want to ask you a question. Jack Loew, he’s made this comment to the media several times recently, and he mentioned it again yesterday on the phone. When the question was asked about his thoughts of you being in the corner that his standard response has been that, “Jermain makes a lot of amateur mistakes. He’s brought a lot of mistakes with him.” You’re the one who taught him those mistakes so he’s happy that you’re back in the corner because you taught him those mistakes.
Wondered if you had a response for that and what your feeling on that comment is?
Ozell Nelson: Well, I would say they are the same bad habits that kept Kelly from making the Olympic team so Jack can say what he wants to say. I’m not going to get into a tick for tack with Jack. Years ago there was a hit movie “Ghost Busters” on February 16th we will be looking to bust the Ghost.
Chris Givens: Okay, and are you pleased at this point, with where Jermain is in training?
Ozell Nelson: I’m very pleased with Jermain. Jermain been working hard, he’s been doing everything that I asked him, and we are just ready for this fight.
Chris Givens: All right, thanks guys. I’ll let somebody else get in now. Thank you.
Dan Rafael: Thanks. Hi Norm, Ozell, Lou, Jermain. How are you guys today?
Jermain Taylor: Hello Dan.
Dan Rafael: Quick question Jermain. You mentioned in some of your opening remarks about, you know, now it’s about revenge, getting everything back that the man took from you. One of those things that you can’t get back -- win or lose -- is the middleweight championship.
Did you give any thought to taking the fight at middleweight, even though I know your contract said you had the option to do it at 160? There’s been a lot of debate about - or rather the contract said you could do it at 166. Did you think about maybe (unintelligible) and trying to do it at 160, and making it for the championship?
Dan Rafael: And how important, and what - and how important is that to you?
Jermain Taylor: It’s not important to me at all, but, I just want the fight to begin. I don’t care what weight or whether it’s for the belt or not. I just want to get in there and get back what I lost with Kelly, because I know I can beat the guy.
Dan Rafael: Do you think it detracts at all from the match? I mean it’s a great fight -- we all know that -- but does it detract in any way, shape or form, maybe from the public interest that it’s not a championship fight?
Jermain Taylor: I don’t think so. I think that here’s a guy who beat me. He beat me for the championship, but you know, can he do it again, or was it just - or did he just get lucky? People want to see good fights and that’s what me and Kelly are going to give them.
Lou DiBella: I want to pop in here for a second.
Dan Rafael: Sure Lou.
Lou DiBella: If Jermain wasn’t such a great champion, the first fight probably wouldn’t have happened because guys like myself and Al Haymen were saying, “JT, the weight’s been a problem for you. You don’t need this now. Go up at 68, there’s plenty of guys in the higher weight classes. Take your first fight at 68 here.” And what JT felt strongly about was, you know, Pavlik was there, people were saying they wanted to see the fight, and he was going to suck it up and make the weight in that first fight, no matter what to make that fight happen. And that’s because he’s a great champion. He probably shouldn’t have fought that fight at 60, and there was no way this one was going to be at 60.
So I mean, I think people got a sensational night of boxing the first time, one of the best middleweight fights I’ve seen since Hagler/Hearns. Arum and I have talked many times about that and he’s seen them all, and we agree on that one. And you’re going to see, you know, more of the same. This fight continues now -- this epic continues into the eighth round, I think that’s what the public cares about. You know, there was no way in the world this rematch could have been at 60.
Dan Rafael: Okay. Jermain let me follow-up with what Lou was saying there. How many times have you gone over that second round in your mind, and how many times have you kicked yourself, or you know, punished yourself emotionally, mentally, for now being able to finish it when he was so clearly in trouble?
Jermain Taylor: Well, I think about it all the time. What comes into my head is how I could have trained harder or finish him off in the second round.. And all the should haves, could haves in the world is not going to change anything.
Dan Rafael: Do you watch it at all or do you just don’t even bother looking at it?
Jermain Taylor: I have watched it a couple of times, but not a lot. It’s not something I like looking at.
Dan Rafael: Okay. What would you do differently if you have him in trouble in the rematch? You know, you get him hurt or you have him knocked down -- how would your approach change? You know, I can appreciate the fact you were trying to finish him off, but you know, a combination of you being unable to certainly, Kelly, his heart and his will, had something to do with that. But if it happens again, and you’re in a similar situation with the way you punch, certainly a possibility, what will you do differently if you have him in that kind of condition again?
Jermain Taylor: If I get him in that position again, I’m going to finish him. That’s what I’m training for. I just felt like I wasted a lot of energy. I threw a lot of stupid punches and I should have put them together, gone to the body, uppercuts, I could have done a lot of things I didn’t do.
Dan Rafael: You know Jermain, a lot of people would look at it say it’s the second round of a fight, you’re a well conditioned professional athlete; you are a reigning world champion. How is it conceivable that somebody of your youth and experience wouldn’t have energy in the second round of a fight?
Jermain Taylor: I underestimated him just a little bit and paid the price for underestimating him. Kelly was in great shape for the fight and I should have been in better conditioned for the fight, my mindset wasn’t right.
With this training camp, it’s all work. I’m talking about every day; I’m talking about getting up doing what I’m supposed to do every day. And it wasn’t like that last camp, I’ll be honest with you.
Dan Rafael: Ozell, could you address that for a minute about, you know, what you guys have talked about or gone over in your training camp? That if Jermain does put him in a position where he’s got him in trouble the way he did in the first fight, how to approach going after him to finish him off, and to still have energy, whether it’s the first round of the fight, second round, or the tenth round?
Ozell Nelson: Well, in this training camp right here, we’ve been doing a lot of hard digging work, lot of bag work, lot of gut-checking work. I mean like we do 12 rounds - all right were not done in 12 rounds, we going two more.
And so, I want to make sure this time around if Jermain gets him hurt in the seventh, eighth, ninth, he’s out of there. Jermain is going to have the stamina, the wind, and he’s got the experience to get him out of there. And he will get him up out of there this time.
Dan Rafael: One more thing for you Ozell. When you went through the first training camp with Emanuel, and you were watching the way things were going, did you have a notion that maybe Jermain was taking him a little bit lightly, or he wasn’t in the great shape? Because, you know, again, you know, it seems sort of surprising that he would run out of gas in the second round.
Ozell Nelson: Well, I wanted to add a little bit more core work to it, but you know, as Emanuel Stewart being a Hall of Famer, great trainer, we both looked at Jermain in training and thought he was looking great. And so, as I guess, as we all kind of took Kelly a little lightly. We thought that Jermain was going get him out of there, but he didn’t. So now, we know that Kelly comes to fight; he knows that he’s in great shape, and this time that we are turning over all stones -- we are not leaving no stones unturned. Jermain will be prepared for grudge fight, toe-to-toe, we will be able to do that.
Dan Rafael: Okay. Ozell, thank you. Jermain thank you. Good luck to you guys next week.
Jermain Taylor: Thank you.
Franklin McNeil: Hi guys, how you doing?
Jermain Taylor: All right.
Franklin McNeil: My first question is for you Jermain. It has to do with, you know, a lot is being talked about - a lot is being said about knock downs and knock outs, but when I look back at this fight, you were leading on all three judge’s score cards by a relatively large margin. And you were doing that using your speed and elusiveness, for the most part. Is that something that you’ve looked back - when you look back at that fight and say, “I was beating this guy.” Do you take anything from that?
Jermain Taylor: I do. I mean I was beating this guy half-ass. I wasn’t even all the way there. I mean, to be honest with you, in those later rounds, I went into a survival mode.
I was tired, and I just felt like I didn’t do what I was supposed to do in training camp. And this time I’m doing exactly what I’m suppose to do… I feel like I lost what it took to become world champion and that’s why I’m not world champion anymore.
Franklin McNeil: And leading in to that fight, Manny for the most part, was talking about you having to look spectacular, knock-outs, things of that nature. Is it more important, at this point, to look spectacular or to do what Jermain does best, and just win this fight using all your tools? What’s more important now?
Jermain Taylor: Just go in there and win this fight. I should have been more relax in this fight. I wasn’t even trying to feel him out. I caught him with something that I didn’t even know hurt him. Preparation is important and I will be well prepared for this fight and come away with a victory
Franklin McNeil: And also in the previous fight, a lot was made of people’s perception of you, that you had to look good again. Is that something you’ve put behind you? Is this about, just Jermain Taylor or this again, trying to prove something to fans and people even in your hometown?
Jermain Taylor: I’m not trying to prove nothing to nobody. I’m not trying to prove nothing. It’s all about me this time. It’s all about going in there and just making Kelly look like nothing. I was beating him on just half-ass stuff, so imagine what’s going to happen this fight.
Franklin McNeil: And one more question. You have to go to the catch weight. Kelly Pavlik’s perspective is that he’s big or he’s stronger -- that the catch weight of 166 is going to be advantageous to him. Why is it advantageous to you? Why is coming in heavier going to be advantageous to you in this fight?
Jermain Taylor: It’s just easy. I mean, it’s easy I’m making the weight, and I was moving up one way or another. I have been fighting at 160 since I turned pro and it was time.
Franklin McNeil: Okay, thanks guys. Thanks a lot.
Tom Pedulla: Yeah, hey Jermain. I wanted to ask you about the decision to make Ozell the lead trainer. Can you just talk about what went in to that and what was, I guess, the dissatisfaction with Manny Stewart?
Jermain Taylor: I can’t speak nothing bad about Manny Stewart. He’s a Hall of Fame trainer and a friend of mine. The chemistry just did not flow over from training camp when it came fight time. He taught me a lot and I learned a lot from him. I still use some of the things he taught me in the gym, right now.
And, as far as me and Ozell, he’s been with me from the start. He built the engine. Ozell is much, much more than a trainer to me in the ring and out. He knows me and knows what buttons to push to get the best out of me.
When I started boxing it was all about hard work -- all about hard work and dedication. And if you put 100% in, you get 100% out. I just feel like these last few fights I haven’t been doing that. I haven’t been going 12 rounds in the gym like I used to go. I haven’t been getting up every morning and doing my five miles of road work. I haven’t been doing it.
In this training camp, that’s exactly what it’s back to. It’s back to Ozell, its back to hard work; it’s back to getting up every morning and doing what I was supposed to do. In which I know what I’m supposed to do, I just wasn’t doing it.
Tom Pedulla: So in other words, he just has the ability to get that out of you?
Jermain Taylor: He does and I know everything will turn out just fine. I want to please him and I know he wants me to look good. I want to go in there and do exactly what I’m suppose to do.
Tom Pedulla: Ozell, could you maybe address why you feel you’ve been able to get to Jermain in that way, and bring out the best in him?
Ozell Nelson: Just like Jermain was saying we’ve been together forever. I know him and he know me, and he know that when I took him on a brick job, I let him look at me -- watch me work -- everything. I worked hard all day, and he saw the effort that was put in. I was teaching him hard work and dedication and I let him know I was expecting the same thing out of him. Hard work and dedication -- do what you suppose to do.
So, on that note, we work real good together, and he knows that it’s back to hard work and dedication, and that’s what it takes.
Tom Pedulla: Thank you.
Tim Smith: Good afternoon guys. Jermain, just sort of listening to what you were saying and the questions about the training in the previous fights and in particular, this previous fight with Pavlik. It sounds like maybe you knew the things that you should have been doing, but you were not doing them. And you didn’t feel like maybe you were getting - you were being motivated to maybe get out of bed and run at, you know, 5 o’clock in the morning and do the five miles?
I’m wondering if you - if maybe you began to just sort of, you know, take things for granted that you were still the champion. That, you know, even though you had a couple of lackluster fights, that maybe you didn’t feel like you needed to push yourself as hard? I mean, can you sort of speak to that a little bit? I mean, I don’t know whether that was the case or not, but I’m asking you.
Tim Smith: Did you just sort of take things for granted a little bit maybe?
Jermain Taylor: Yes, that’s exactly what happened. I took it for granted. In the sport of boxing, you can’t take things for granted. Because in boxing, anything could happen in the ring. And it’s all about being in shape. A person can win a fight just by being in shape, and Kelly proved that. I know what it took to get there, and I wasn’t doing it. So yes, I took it for granted.
Tim Smith: At what point in the fight with Pavlik did you say, “Oh boy, I’m in trouble here?” in terms of just your physical conditioning?
Jermain Taylor: I would say somewhere around the sixth, seventh round where I started getting real tired. And then I started going into a survival mode, backing up to the rope, I just wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do. But I knew that I was still in the fight and one punch can change anything and I knew I had enough of a punch to take him out.
Tim Smith: Looking back at that fight, you said you’ve only watched it a couple of times, but I’m sure you picked up on some of your mistakes. Other than just the physical conditioning, what do you think, strategy wise, was perhaps one of your biggest flaws in that particular fight?
Jermain Taylor: Strategy wise, I couldn’t tell you. With Kelly you know how he’s going to fight, he comes right at you, he got a good punch and he comes to fight.
Tim Smith: Okay. Would you be satisfied winning a decision in this fight? Will that satisfy you?
Jermain Taylor: Well, first I want to win the fight, if it’s a knockout, decision, TKO, I will take it, but I would like to put something on him sending a big statement.
Tim Smith: Mmm-hmm. Okay. All right so; we’ll see you next week, and success to you. Thanks a lot.
Eddie Goldman: Thank you. Hi Jermain, hi Lou, hi everybody. How’s everybody doing today?
Jermain Taylor: How you doing?
Eddie Goldman: Good, thank you. Jermain, at the pre-fight press conference for the first fight, you may remember Emanuel Stewart got up and gave a very impassioned speech, saying that you were still a better athlete than Kelly Pavlik. You had better amateur credentials, better pro credentials, had fought much better fighters than he had. Do you think any of that contributed to you in under-estimating him before that fight?
Jermain Taylor: I don’t know. A lot of things could havecontributed to that.. Just by me being world champion, beating the guys that I wasn’t supposed to beat. Going to the Olympics, a lot of things. I got too comfortable. I could sit here and make excuses all day, but it really dosen’t make a difference. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do and he capitalized on it.
Eddie Goldman: What’s going to be going through your mind differently this time, as you approach the fight? And what was going through your mind as you got in to that fight?
In other words, how mentally, you’re going to be looking at him -- also, since you fought each other, you each traded punches, and you know his power and his strengths.
Jermain Taylor: I know that I’m in tip-top shape now. I know that I can go 12 rounds easy. I thought in that last training camp, I didn’t know that I could go 12 rounds, and I’ll be honest with you, because I didn’t go 12 rounds in the gym it show in the last fight. I’m much better prepared for this fight physically and mentally.
Eddie Goldman: So that’s what your training is focused on now?
Jermain Taylor: Going into this fight, I know that I’m in tip-top shape. Knowing you are in shape mentally and physically is a good feeling to have going into this fight. I have something to prove to a lot of people.
Eddie Goldman: Do you want to make a prediction for this fight or just see what happens?
Jermain Taylor: I’m not going to make any prediction about this fight, it all business and I have to take care of my business and that’s victory
Eddie Goldman: We’ll do that. Okay, good luck on the fight.
Jermain Taylor: Thanks.
Michael Woods: How you doing? Thanks for taking the time. First question is for Lou, and then I’d like, after Lou speaks, to get Ozell, and then Jermain to weigh in on it.
Lou, I’m wondering what were some of the things that you heard in the conference call that led you to label Loew and Pavlik bordering on cocky, and you referred to the insulting undertones. What did you hear?
Lou DiBella: I think I heard the same things all of you did, and a couple of guys made reference to it. There were pot shots taken at, you know, Jermain’s quote-unquote, amateur style, you know, Ozell teaching him his mistakes. Well, if Ozell taught him his mistakes, he also taught him enough to beat Bernard Hopkins twice to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, and to have been in a position where he was seconds away, and one punch away from having Kelly flat on his back.
So I found that a little bit insulting, and frankly I’ve always respected Jack Loew and I thought he’s been a class act. I felt that there were a lot of comments on that call that were, you know, derogatory. But you know the truth, I liked it. I liked it because if they’re that cocky, they’re making a big frigging mistake. And I hope they are that cocky.
Michael Woods: Mmm-hmm.
Lou DiBella: If they’re that cocky, I’m confident that the next time he’s doing the chicken dance, he’s not going to finish the round.
Michael Woods: Mmm-hmm. Ozell, what about what Lou just said? Are you seeing them as being over confident?
Ozell Nelson: Well, I don’t really know Jack that well, but, people say a lot of things and they won the fight and if he wants to talk the talk…..so be it. I’m not concerned about anything that Jack is saying.
Michael Woods: Mmm-hmm.
Ozell Nelson: They call Kelly Pavlik the ghost, well Jermain’s gone be the ghost buster come February, just like the hit movie “Ghost Busters”..
Michael Woods: Mmm-hmm.
Lou DiBella: So you’re going to be calling us the ghost busters after the 16th.
Michael Woods: All right. I’ll be calling you the ghost busters after the fight. JT, what about it man? Are those guys being insulting and derogatory? Is this getting you pissed off?
Jermain Taylor: Have you notice the only person really talking is Kelly’s trainer, not Kelly. Jack’s not in the ring, Kelly knows what happen in the second round and that fight should have been over. His ass was beaten and he knows it, but I give him credit, he got up and did what he had to do to win the fight.
Lou DiBella: I mean one thing to be clear about…
Michael Woods: Yeah.
Lou DiBella: We’re not losing sleep over it. No one’s upset here.
Lou DiBella: If that’s how they’re walking into this fight, then they may have a much longer night than they’re anticipating -- or maybe a much shorter one.
Michael Woods: Mmm-hmm. And last thing JT; is there a possibility that this loss was maybe the best thing that happened to you because it worked you up out of a malaise?
Jermain Taylor: I know what it took to get here, and I know what took in my life. It was a wake-up call for me and sometimes we that in life. Yes, it made turn out to be the best thing that happen to me.
Jermain Taylor: Because right now, I feel like I’m at the top of my game. I feel like I’m in shape, I’m going 12 rounds with no problem. I’m doing all kind of hard work; I’m doing whatever I want to do in the ring. I feel very good mentally and physically.
Michael Woods: Yeah. It’s funny, after the call yesterday I thought those guys were doing a really good job, like psychological preparation, everything. Kelly sounded great, and I’m like, damn, I’m leaning towards them. And then I’m hearing you guys today, and I’m leaning towards you, and so I’m feeling like it’s a 50/50. Good luck. Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.
Jermain Taylor: All right, appreciate it.
William Trillo: Thanks for taking my call Jermain. Jermain, you just said a few minutes ago that you had lost something over your last three fights. And there’s no denying, even your own trainer there, you know. We’re all going to agree than Emanuel Stewart is a world-class trainer, and there’s no denying that you’re a world-class, top of the rung, fighter.
How is it that that combination didn’t work, and how -- bottom line -- how did you lose the fire in those three fights?
Jermain Taylor: I don’t know about the combination of things that didn’t work. I mean, me and Manny are friends and I still talk to him today. You know, he’s a great guy, I love him to death. I think it was more me. It was more of my mindset than anything. I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t thinking the way, how I used to think. I get up in the morning and run. You know, just because this is what I do, I’m a boxer, this is what I do. Like I said before, it was a wake-up call for me.
William Trillo: Did you know back then that you were cutting corners, or did it take that loss for you to finally realize that the corners were being cut?
Jermain Taylor: It took that long. It took me getting my butt kicked -- and just like I said on the call, it was just a shame to say that, but that’s the truth. And you know, if you know anything about me man, I’m going to keep it real with you whether it hurt me or help me, whatever. I’m going to keep it real with you. You know, it’s a shame to say that, but that’s what it took. It took a butt kicking to get me back on track and now I feel like I’m back on track and can’t nobody beat me when I’m at the top of my game.
William Trillo: Lou, back during those fights where Jermain was winning, but was winning with criticism -- I’m sure you won’t deny that -- did you see the fire was lost? Was there a concern in you? And going into the first Pavlik fight, did you feel that the fire that Jermain possessed when he beat Bernard was no longer there?
Lou DiBella: You know, I - you know it’s easy to say that kind of thing with 20/20 hindsight, but whatever you say about Jermain and however he’s looked at in the ring when he’s had a bad night or - he’s a professional. He always conducts himself like a professional so, I never walked in thinking, “No he’s unprepared, no he doesn’t have the fire.”
And in fairness to him also, a couple of those fights that we made for him -- and I’m talking about the business people, and people around him -- because Jermain would fight anybody, were not the kind of fights you’re going to walk in and look great in. I mean, try looking great against Winky Wright or Cory Spinks.
William Trillo: Agreed.
Lou DiBella: So, you know, there was that aspect. In the Pavlik fight, I got a little worried when there were all the prognostications of, “we’re going to knock him out in two or three rounds”, etcetera. And you know, as Jermain said, Emanuel’s a great, great trainer, and there’s no pointing to where the problem lied, but there’s also no question that there was some issue with communication. There was some issue with that corner gelling during those fights.
And maybe also as Jermain, you know, like said, he keeps it real. You know, it’s an athlete himself -- he’s the guy that gets into the ring, you know. I don’t get into the ring and no matter how much, you know, Ozell Nelson or Manny Stewart had to do with helping him prepare, the guy that walks into that ring is Jermain Taylor.
So, you know, I’m confident now. I hear the hunger again, I hear the desire, and I hear the fire that, you know, it’s hard to hear when you’re already sitting at the top. When you get knocked down, and you got to be man enough to get up, that’s when you want to hear what you’re hearing right now, and I’m very confident right now, that this is the best of Jermain Taylor and that he’s going to walk into that right and take care of business, you know. I…
William Trillo: Well…
Lou DiBella: …think it’s human nature that when you’ve had fights after - you know, when you go back-to-back with Bernard Hopkins, and follow it up with Winky Wright, that at some point there’s going to be a letdown. It’s also human nature that when you work your whole life to get out of poverty, and all of a sudden you’re sitting on millions of dollars, there’s going to be a letdown. Sometimes you need to be kicked in the ass to get motivated again. So, you know, Jermain Taylor is always be - is always going to be, you know, has always been a professional. He’s always been a terrific athlete; now he’s a motivated, hungry athlete again, and I think you’re going to see something special on February 16.
William Trillo: Great answer Lou.
Jermain, you’ve always been stand up with us. Good luck next week, we look forward to the fight.
Jermain Taylor: Okay, thank you.
John Whisler: Hey Lou, how are you doing?
Lou DiBella: Good John.
John Whisler: Well, you touched on it kind of already, you know, with Manny. I think there was some sense that under him, that, you know, it wasn’t clicking with Jermain and Manny, it wasn’t working. And some had even said to me that almost looked like Jermain had regressed a little bit. You know, through his career, it may not have been fair, but even in winning, people would say, I think, kind of the consensus was, “he’s a great athlete, a good fighter, but he has just not put it all together yet.” Is that fair, and is that accurate at all?
Lou DiBella: Well, if you watch Hopkins 1 and 2, I don’t think it’s fair or accurate. I mean, I think, look at Bernard Hopkins’ career and look at those two fights. You know, I don’t care how close you thought the first one was, Jermain fought him second-to-second, round-for-round. You know, I thought we won the fight, but as even as you can be, and I didn’t think there was a question in the world that we won the second fight. So…
John Whisler: Mmm-hmm.
Lou DiBella: …this is a young man that walked in there and beat a guy that’s going to go in to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and beat him twice as a young fighter. No, I don’t think that there’s been a - that Jermain’s career’s been a disappointment by any means.
Do I think that you’ve seen the best of Jermain Taylor yet, no? But I’m going to emphasize “yet”, you know. I think that after those Hopkins wins, to put him in a situation that we put him in -- and I’ve, you know, I’ve been with Jermain since he turned pro so I take some of this responsibility. You know, to make a Winky Wright fight where it’s impossible to look good, to make a Cory Spinks fight when it’s impossible to look good. I mean, to some extent, we set him up for some of the criticism he had.
And with respect to the Kelly Pavlik fight, well you know, Jermain’s taken all the responsibility himself, and that’s because he’s a man, and a champion. When he gets in there and he beats the you-know-what out of this kid on February 16, I think that a lot of these questions will stop.
And I’ll also remind you he’s still - this is not a thirty-something year old athlete, this is still an athlete in his 20s, and I expect to see -- I think the best is yet to come.
Jerry Glick: Hello everybody, I hope I find everybody well.
Jerry Glick: Jermain, when you had him hurt in the first fight……I know you chased after him and you kind of ran out of gas, but what do you feel you did wrong technically, as a finisher? Could there have been anything else that you could have done at that moment? And did you do anything in training to rectify that?
Jermain Taylor: I could have did a lot of things different. You know, hit the body and make him bring his hands down, and then go back to the head. I could have done a lot of things different. And what I’m doing in the gym is I’m working the body, I’m throwing a lot of punches to the body and using my jab the way I’m suppose to.
Jerry Glick: Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking to Lou at the Broadway Boxing press conference, and he mentioned that you’re a 175 pound body, who was in a 160 pound division, and now 166. Can you comment on that, on your - on that you’re really more of a light heavyweight or are you not?
Jermain Taylor: I’ve heard that a lot and fighting at 160 for my entire career was hurting me. I glad to be fighting at this weight. I was moving up anyway.
Jerry Glick: All right, thank you very much and I wish you luck.
Jermain Taylor: Thank you.
Norman Horton: We’re going to take one more questions then we’re going to be closing this teleconference. Next question..
Norman Horton: Last question.
Rizwaan Zahid: Hey Jermain, how’s it going?
Jermain Taylor: Going good. How you doing?
Rizwaan Zahid: I’m all right man. Just a quick couple of questions. It’s like, I guess - I’m not sure if it’s been asked yet, but if you win this fight with Kelly, will there be a third fight?
Jermain Taylor: When I win this fight with Kelly, I don’t care. Like I told you man, like I told everybody, I don’t care. Whoever they put in front of me, that’s who I fight. If they bring them to me I will fight whoever; it doesn’t make a difference.
Rizwaan Zahid: Okay. And, just another one. Okay, well after Pavlik, let’s say you beat him, what - I mean with Calzaghe moving up, is there any other one, I mean anyone specifically at least, you want to try to hit in this middleweight division?
Lou DiBella: I’m going to have to jump in right here.
Rizwaan Zahid: What’s that?
Lou DiBella: We’re focused on February 16, and it’s my job to go to Jermain with the biggest opportunities and the biggest stuff that’s out there. I’m already starting to look in to it, but I’m not discussing with him or…
Rizwaan Zahid: Okay.
Lou DiBella: …or with anybody else, what follows Kelly Pavlik because we have business to take care of on February 16, and it’s serious business.
Rizwaan Zahid: Okay, fair enough.
Lou DiBella: When Jermain, when Jermain beats Kelly Pavlik, then frankly we’re going to have every opportunity in the world to fight whoever we want, from Joe Calzaghe to Roy Jones, to anybody else out there. The only thing I can tell you with certainty is we will never fight at 160 pounds again.
Rizwaan Zahid: Okay, fair enough. Just one more quick one if you don’t mind? What would you say, just to sum it up quickly, what you say was your weakest point in the first fight, and like, maybe not necessarily what you lack in skill or what you didn’t do. What would you plan to do in the second fight a little differently?
Jermain Taylor: Just train a lot harder. That’s all I can tell you man. Just train a lot harder than what I did in that first training camp. Just train, go in there with the mindset of knowing that you in the best shape of your life. And not just talking it, actually being in the best shape of your life.
Rizwaan Zahid: Okay. Okay, great man. Anyway, just good luck next week, and we’ll see the fight, and good luck.
Jermain Taylor: Thanks.
Norman Horton: I’d like to thank everyone. And in closing, Ozell, Jermain, or Lou, do you have any closing remarks?
Jermain Taylor: I don’t have any.
Lou DiBella: Just from my standpoint, be there on February 16, because you’re going to see history, you’re going to see one of the best pay-per-view fight cards in recent years, and you’re going to see a rematch that’s going to live up to all the hype. And you’re going to watch Jermain Taylor regain middleweight supremacy.
And thank you all for joining us and I look forward to seeing you on February 16.
Norman Horton: Thank you Lou, Jermain and Ozell. This will close our conference call.
Tickets also are sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000 or MGM Grand at (800) 929-1111. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com
Contact Your Local Cable or Satellite Provider
To Order
This Pay-Per-View Telecast
