Barring upset, Taylor likely to turn down title shot
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Little Rock’s Jermain Taylor rarely attends live boxing matches and doesn’t even watch much boxing on TV.
Tonight will be an exception.
When Jeff Lacy faces journeyman Epifanio Mendoza tonight on ESPN 2 ’s Wednesday Night Fights, Taylor will be a very interested viewer. The outcome of Lacy’s fight likely will determine Taylor’s immediate fight future.
If Lacy (23-1, 17 knockouts ) wins — and he is expected to do so handily — a Taylor-Lacy fight in November is “probably” going to happen, according to Lou DiBella, Taylor’s promoter.
If Lacy loses or gets injured tonight, DiBella said he will participate in a purse bid for the right to promote a Taylor-Carl Froch fight for the vacant WBC super middleweight title.
The WBC has mandated that Froch and Little Rock’s Taylor fight for the title that Joe Calzaghe vacated, and Froch has been pursuing the fight vigorously.
Froch’s promoter, Mick Hennessy, has offered DiBella $ 1 million for the fight, which DiBella turned down. DiBella has not responded to the counter offer of $ 1. 25 million.
“[Those figures ] are accurate, but it’s ridiculous,” DiBella said. “I would never take that offer [from Hennessy ], and if we do the deal with Froch, we’re going to purse bid. If something happens to Lacy, we’re going to purse bid.”
The WBC extended the deadline for the purse bid, originally set for Friday, to Aug. 1. If Taylor (27-2-1, 17 KOs ) instead takes the Lacy fight, he will be dropped from the WBC rankings at super middleweight.
From the first moment the WBC mandated the Taylor-Froch fight, DiBella has said he does not believe Froch has the name recognition to make the fight financially meaningful enough for Taylor.
The advantage of fighting Froch would be the opportunity for Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight world champion, to win another belt.
At one time, it was believed the WBO super middleweight title, which also will be vacated by Calzaghe, might be available for the winner of Taylor-Lacy, but the WBO recently approved a match between Jean Pascal and Karoly Balzsay for that interim title.
Still, even without the belt on the line, sources have said HBO prefers Lacy to Froch as an opponent for Taylor, banking on Lacy’s greater name recognition and the story lines between Taylor and Lacy, who were Olympic teammates.
DiBella also said he believes Taylor-Lacy is the better fight for a variety of reasons, but Hennessy, in an interview with Setantasports. com, expressed frustration with DiBella’s position.
“I don’t know whether it’s Jermain or the people around him, but they don’t fancy the Carl Froch fight,” Hennessy said. “The crazy thing about that is why are the TV networks backing [a fight with Lacy ] up if Lou’s admitting it’s an easier fight ? Surely people want to watch the best fights ? Surely that’s what TV companies want ?
“[Froch-Taylor ] is a huge fight. We believe that Carl, whether it’s in the U. K. or the U. S., would not only beat Taylor in style, he’d also take him out inside the distance.”
Froch, an Englishman, has said he would come to the United States to fight Taylor.
If the expected Taylor-Lacy fight takes place, Nov. 8 and Nov. 15 are the dates being targeted. No location has been discussed.
First, Lacy needs to beat Mendoza (28-5-1, 24 KOs ). Mendoza, a Colombian, hasn’t fought since last September, a fourth-round knockout loss to Chad Dawson, and took tonight’s fight on short notice after the original opponent was injured.
Just another reason why Taylor-Lacy is getting close to reality.
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