Report: Taylor wants Pavlik rematch

(Editor’s note: This story was reported today in an Arkansas newspaper. The Vindicator will work today to add to this story. Look for updates on vindy.com)

BY CHRIS GIVENS

Arkansas Democrat & Gazette

Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007

Jermain Taylor got knocked down.

He said it’s the people of Arkansas who are picking him back up.

Taylor made his first public appearance Thursday since losing his middleweight world championship to Kelly Pavlik when he was honored as the 2007 “Leader of the Year” by the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas.

Any concern Taylor had about the reaction he would get after the first loss of his career was quickly dispelled. The crowd that packed the gymnasium at the James H. Penick Boys and Girls Club — officials said it was the banquet’s largest crowd ever — gave Taylor a standing ovation when he arrived.

Taylor said it was similar to the treatment he’s received since returning to Arkansas after the Sept. 29 loss in Atlantic City, N. J.

“It’s kind of weird,” Taylor said. “It’s hard to explain, here it is now that I’ve lost. But this is the time I need them the most, and Arkansas is showing up for me once again. No one’s saying, ‘See, I told you this was going to happen.’ Everyone’s telling me they’re proud of me, I fought a good fight. They’re showing me love when I need it the most.”

Taylor said it reminds him of the first time he fought Bernard Hopkins to win his titles in 2005. Taylor needed the support then to pull through, and he said the same support is helping him now.

Taylor said he also understands the irony of his situation.

Before he lost, Taylor faced heavy criticism in Arkansas and elsewhere for the way he was winning fights. Now he’s receiving support for the way he lost to Pavlik.

“They’re helping me back up,” Taylor said of his home state. “But I knew it would be like that. I went down swinging, and Arkansas loved that.”

It won’t be long before Arkansans sees him swinging at Pavlik again.

Taylor announced Thursday that he will “definitely” exercise his rematch clause for an immediate fight with Pavlik, most likely in Las Vegas in March on HBO payper-view.

There are reports that Pavlik will fight John Duddy in March but, by contract, Taylor has the right to demand an immediate rematch with Pavlik. The contract calls for the rematch to be at 166 pounds, and not for any titles, but Taylor said he hasn’t decided what weight he will fight at next.

Also undecided is who will train Taylor for the fight.

Taylor and Ozell Nelson, Taylor’s coach, are heading to the woods this weekend to hunt squirrels and discuss the ex-champ’s next steps. Among the discussions will be whether to retain Emanuel Steward, who has led Taylor to a 2-1-1 record since taking over for Pat Burns.

Steward said he took Taylor’s loss to Pavlik extremely hard.

“To be honest, that was the most difficult loss I’ve ever had,” Steward said. “I didn’t leave the house or talk to anyone for a week. But I still believe in Jermain.”

Steward said he hasn’t had any conversations with Taylor or Nelson about his future with Taylor.

Nelson said he believes that Taylor has a bright future, whoever trains him.

“This could be a blessing in disguise,” Nelson said. “Now Jermain is going to come back even more hungry. We learned we can get beat, so we’ll go back to the drawing board even harder and train even harder. He knows what he did wrong. The second fight will be totally different.”

Taylor said he’s still not over the first fight, and he thinks about it every day. He watched a tape of his loss Wednesday night.

Taylor said he was more in shock than anything else after the loss. He was just as shocked at his homecoming to Arkansas.

“When he first lost, we all thought Arkansas was going to run us out of town,” Nelson said. “We didn’t know what to expect, but when he got home, folks were calling and writing him [positive messages ], and it was very uplifting.

“ It still hurts. Nobody likes to lose. But the people are behind him. If he has his state behind him, he can overcome anything.”

Taylor has more than the support of Arkansas to use as motivation for his rematch.

Losing is humbling, he said, and he wants to prove that he’s worthy of being the champion.

“I’m back to where I started,” Taylor said. “I’m trying to get to the top again, and boy, I’m hungry. It makes me want to fight tomorrow, just to show I am still the champ and I’m not going out like this.”