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From grudging respect to simply a grudge
LAS VEGAS -- Before Jermain Taylor faced Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight championship in July, Taylor was quietly confident and extremely respectful of his opponent. He recognized Hopkins' historic title reign, during which he had made 20 consecutive defenses, easily the division record. Taylor spoke about how, some day, he hoped to carve out a legacy just as impressive as Hopkins'. Taylor (24-0, 17 KOs) defeated Hopkins (46-3-1, 32 KOs) on a split decision to win the title, but it was a decision many fans and media members disputed. Hopkins disagreed, too, and has spent the past four months railing against it -- particularly judge Duane Ford's scoring of the 12th round. Although Hopkins gave away many of the early rounds, he rallied in the second half of the fight and was clearly in control. Ford, however, gave the last round to Taylor even though it was an obvious Hopkins round to most. Had he given it to Hopkins, the fight would have been a draw and Hopkins would have retained the title. "At best, a robbery would have been a draw," Hopkins said. "A rape was to give it to Jermain Taylor."
Hopkins, 40, has also aimed his considerable wrath at Taylor, 27, derisively calling him a "fake champion" and the "disputed champion." Now, Hopkins and Taylor are set for the Saturday night rematch (HBO PPV, 9 ET) at Mandalay Bay in the last major fight of 2005. The fight is dubbed "No Respect," and both fighters are living up to the title because they are not showing each other any respect. Taylor said his respect for Hopkins is gone because Hopkins has complained so bitterly about the decision in the first fight. "I'm so sick of this man crying," Taylor said. "If he thinks he can beat, then beat me. But shut up about it already. "I've got the mind-set of no respect. I feel like that he's disrespected me to the utmost and I am just sick of it. He puts no fear in my heart. I don't respect him, not one bit, and I am looking forward to a knockout." Decision aside, Hopkins is mad about Taylor's attitude toward him. "I put millions in Jermain's account but he runs his mouth and he doesn't show appreciation," Hopkins said.  AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Hopkins (at podium) promises to knockout Taylor (right), who is promoted by DiBella (center). "How can you have no respect for someone who was champion for a decade? I'm not saying he should kiss my ass. But I gave him the opportunity when I didn't have to fight him. He forgot that. I gave him an opportunity, and now that he got a gift, he has no respect. I put millions in his account by giving him an opportunity and then you turn around and act like an ingrate? To me, it's personal because he forgot what I did for him, and now I got to spank him." Lou DiBella, Taylor's promoter and Hopkins' former adviser before a brutally acrimonious split in 2001, said he is glad to see Taylor less respectful of Hopkins this time around. "I'm thrilled because I have a fighter who is [ticked] off and has less respect, so he will go out and make this a different fight," DiBella said. "He will put a period on the exclamation point of the last fight and send Bernard off into retirement." Taylor, whose mild speech impediment is no match for Hopkins' gift of gab, instead used props to illustrate his disrespect at this week's final news conference. Taylor pulled out a tape player, pressed play and unleashed the sound of a wailing baby, explaining that it was what Hopkins has sounded like since July. Then Taylor reached into a bag and grabbed a baby doll dressed in pink, held it aloft and displayed its shirt, which read "Cry Baby Hopkins." "It shows you the type of man he is," Taylor said, referring to Hopkins' complaints.
"He is not a true champion. If I lost I would have gone home, looked at the tape, looked at what I did wrong and came back and did better. I wouldn't say I got robbed. I ain't got time for that. I'm just sick of him saying that he won the fight and that I didn't beat him. That was the worst night of boxing I've had in my life, but I still won the fight. "I'm stronger than he is, I'm faster than he is and, of course, I'm younger. I do everything it takes to be champion. Experience is all he has. He had the belts, but he doesn't even have that anymore." Naturally, Hopkins has a different view. Hopkins -- who will be participating in his 25th world title fight to Taylor's 25th overall fight -- said the only thing he plans to change in the rematch is that he won't let Taylor finish on his feet. Hopkins hurt Taylor twice late in the fight, but didn't knock him out or even knock him down. This time, he said, he will knock Taylor out because he doesn't feel like he can win a decision.
"I'm going to do the same thing that was so easy for me to do the last time," Hopkins said. "But when I get him hurt -- and this is a quote -- when he gets hurt, and he's going to get hurt, he's going to get knocked out. That's the only thing that I need to tweak. "I have to knock Jermain Taylor out to win. If I don't, I don't win. And not only am I going to beat him, I will destroy his future, and he won't be able to be recycled. It's not good for Jermain Taylor to get back in the ring with me. I beat the guy the first time and I'm going to do it again. This time, it won't go the distance." Hopkins does have history on his side when it comes to rematches, going 4-0: • After a draw with Segundo Mercado in late 1994 for the vacant title, Hopkins ravaged him in the rematch in early 1995. • After a four-round no contest in which Hopkins looked shaky against Robert Allen in 1998, he crushed Allen in their two subsequent meetings, once by knockout (1999) and once by lopsided decision (2004). • After a decision victory against Antwun Echols in 1999, a fight that Hopkins calls the toughest of his career, he knocked Echols out in the 2000 rematch. Taylor laughed off Hopkins' prediction. "He can't hurt me, and if he could knock me out, he would have knocked me out last time," Taylor said. "He didn't. And he didn't because he couldn't. He gave me everything he could and I still wouldn't go. Every time he would come on, I'd come back with something. Every time." | e made in the ...  Adjust Font Size:     |
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Ben
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