Taylor to leave 160 behind for super middleweight
Associated Press
Updated: July 9, 2007, 10:46 AM ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Jermain Taylor's reign as middleweight champion will end in September because he is moving to a new weight class, according to his coach and co-trainer Ozell Nelson.
Taylor, of Little Rock, who is close to signing a deal to fight Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 29, has had trouble making 160 pounds. He plans to move to super middleweight (168 pounds) after the Pavlik fight.
"We just can't make this weight anymore," Nelson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "We're not going to kill ourselves to make 160. This weight has been a problem for a long time. We've hired a nutritionist, done everything we can. I'm not going to make him do this anymore. It's time to move up."
Taylor was on a family vacation in Orlando, Fla., and could not be reached for comment.
There is a chance the Taylor-Pavlik fight happens at a catch-weight between 160 and 168 pounds. Taylor promoter Lou DiBella has approached Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter, with an offer for the two boxers to fight at 168 pounds for the same money as the 160-pound title fight.
Pavlik, of Youngstown, Ohio, is the WBC's mandatory middleweight challenger. But Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, said his fighter has no interest in leaving the middleweight division without a title.
Nelson said Taylor will hire a nutritionist who will begin preparing a diet for Taylor.
Nelson said Taylor has had to make considerable effort to make 160 pounds ever since his fights against Bernard Hopkins in 2005. For his most recent fight, against Cory Spinks, Taylor had to shed nine pounds in the final three days before the May 19 bout.
Associated Press
Updated: July 9, 2007, 10:46 AM ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Jermain Taylor's reign as middleweight champion will end in September because he is moving to a new weight class, according to his coach and co-trainer Ozell Nelson.
Taylor, of Little Rock, who is close to signing a deal to fight Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 29, has had trouble making 160 pounds. He plans to move to super middleweight (168 pounds) after the Pavlik fight.
"We just can't make this weight anymore," Nelson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "We're not going to kill ourselves to make 160. This weight has been a problem for a long time. We've hired a nutritionist, done everything we can. I'm not going to make him do this anymore. It's time to move up."
Taylor was on a family vacation in Orlando, Fla., and could not be reached for comment.
There is a chance the Taylor-Pavlik fight happens at a catch-weight between 160 and 168 pounds. Taylor promoter Lou DiBella has approached Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter, with an offer for the two boxers to fight at 168 pounds for the same money as the 160-pound title fight.
Pavlik, of Youngstown, Ohio, is the WBC's mandatory middleweight challenger. But Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, said his fighter has no interest in leaving the middleweight division without a title.
Nelson said Taylor will hire a nutritionist who will begin preparing a diet for Taylor.
Nelson said Taylor has had to make considerable effort to make 160 pounds ever since his fights against Bernard Hopkins in 2005. For his most recent fight, against Cory Spinks, Taylor had to shed nine pounds in the final three days before the May 19 bout.
