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More than a year since his coronation, opinions are still divided on the matter of Jermain Taylor as the true middleweight champion of the world. Where some applaud his overthrowing of the old guard, others criticize his lack of authority in doing so and lament the interruption of Bernard Hopkins’ reign.
It was a triumph not of youth over age, but of hunger over self-satisfaction. Hopkins’ discipline allowed his aging body to defy time, but it also awoke in him a pomposity great enough to suggest that his notoriety and statistical achievement would sustain him regardless of his physical effort. Honest commitment and consistency enabled Taylor to ascend the throne; however, the shaping of his own legacy has just begun.
Being the gracious Southern gentleman to Hopkins’ loquacious tyrant did not ease Taylor’s transition. Instead, prevailing fan opinion seems to take Taylor’s honesty for weakness, while much preferring Hopkins’ hyperbolic bluster in kind with many of today’s champions whose verbose offerings are often more provocative than their fistic ones.
Further differentiating Taylor’s championship career from those of his peers is that he has fought it amongst fighters possessing talents superior to his own. Though athletically gifted and physically imposing, Taylor’s tactical acumen and adaptive intuition were in need of renovation. In search of the dimensions such a recognizable champion requires, Taylor’s behavior became congruent with contemporary ideals. [details]
It was a triumph not of youth over age, but of hunger over self-satisfaction. Hopkins’ discipline allowed his aging body to defy time, but it also awoke in him a pomposity great enough to suggest that his notoriety and statistical achievement would sustain him regardless of his physical effort. Honest commitment and consistency enabled Taylor to ascend the throne; however, the shaping of his own legacy has just begun.
Being the gracious Southern gentleman to Hopkins’ loquacious tyrant did not ease Taylor’s transition. Instead, prevailing fan opinion seems to take Taylor’s honesty for weakness, while much preferring Hopkins’ hyperbolic bluster in kind with many of today’s champions whose verbose offerings are often more provocative than their fistic ones.
Further differentiating Taylor’s championship career from those of his peers is that he has fought it amongst fighters possessing talents superior to his own. Though athletically gifted and physically imposing, Taylor’s tactical acumen and adaptive intuition were in need of renovation. In search of the dimensions such a recognizable champion requires, Taylor’s behavior became congruent with contemporary ideals. [details]