Jermain Taylor, who is facing several charges stemming from both an alleged shooting last August and a recent arrest for discharging a firearm, has been ordered to undergo a neuropsychological evaluation by the court, rather than having his bond revoked.
Prosecutors sought to have Taylor's bond revoked in the first case after the second arrest, and he was arrested again pending Tuesday's hearing before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson.
But instead of deciding whether to revoke Taylor's bond, Johnson agreed to a request from Taylor's attorney, Hubert Alexander, to have him moved to a lockdown hospital for an evaluation.
Afterward, Alexander said it would likely include a full mental and health evaluation.
"Everybody is saying this isn't the Jermain Taylor they know," Alexander said. "We're trying to figure out who in the heck it is."
Johnson also granted a request from prosecutors to have Taylor undergo a mental evaluation at the State Hospital, which will include a neuropsychological evaluation.
Taylor, 36, has a history of brain injury suffered in the ring, as he was hospitalized for a "minor" subdural hematoma in 2009 after being knocked out by Arthur Abraham in Germany. He was out of the ring for two years before staging a comeback, which led him to winning the IBF middleweight title last October against Sam Soliman.
Many who know Taylor well, including promoter Lou DiBella, have expressed serious concern over his mental health following the recent arrest.