Jermain Taylor can’t tell you much about boxing history.
The undisputed middleweight champion admits that names like Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler don’t mean much to him.
“I grew up in a house full of women,” Taylor said. “Even when I was young, I didn’t follow sports. . . . If you want to know about soap operas, I might be able to tell you about that.”
The 27-year-old is more interested in making his own history – and he is pretty close to doing so.
After beating former champion Bernard Hopkins twice last year, Taylor’s next challenge comes on June 17, when he’ll face Winky Wright in Memphis – a bout he hopes will be a boon to the sport and his career.
“I think people believe I came on too fast,” said Taylor (25-0, 17 KOs). “All of a sudden I was here, and then I’m the champion. To me, it seems that a lot of people still doubt me.”
That is why he chose to take on Wright (50-3, 25 KOs), largely considered the top contender in the division after dismantling Felix Trinidad nearly a year ago. Wright previously established his dominance as a junior middleweight with consecutive victories over Shane Mosley.
“A lot of people question why I took this fight since it wasn’t mandatory and there were easier fights out there,” Taylor said. “But it’s not about doing the easy thing. What’s the point? I want to fight the best. That’s what’s wrong with the sport. We don’t give people what they want.”
At a press conference yesterday at B.B. King’s in Times Square, Taylor sounded like a fighter who was as concerned with the future of boxing as he was with his own career.
“It’s so hard to get endorsements,” Taylor said with a laugh. “I mean, boxers can’t get any of them. I’ll advertise anything. When I tell people I’m a boxer, they think I’m going to bite their ear off. I want to change that.”
Taylor would like to improve the way people view his sport, but he knows he still has work to do for his own image.
“It bothers me that I’m the middleweight champion of the world and I have to prove myself again,” Taylor said. “I’m the man who beat Bernard Hopkins twice, who no one thought could lose, and it’s not enough.”