As reported earlier, promoter Lou DiBella has decided to no longer work with Jermain Taylor, as he fears for the former middleweight champion's health should he continue boxing, which is exactly what Taylor plans to do. He has an April fight with Andre Ward lined up in the second stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Now, Sports Illustrated is saying that Taylor's advisor Al Haymon is headed to Arkansas to talk to Taylor, and it's not good news for Jermain, either.
Taylor's advisor, Al Haymon, is reportedly on his way to Taylor's home in Arkansas to try and talk Taylor into retirement. If Haymon is unsuccessful, he could also resign from Taylor's camp.
Lou DiBella and Al Haymon have been around boxing a long time. They have worked with countless fighters, represented them, encouraged them, made money off of them, lived the good life in large part because of them. They're veteran boxing guys. And they know Jermain Taylor's situation. It appears both of them are so concerned for his well-being that they will wash their hands of his career, reluctantly, so that they have no part in him continuing on.
I said before that DiBella stepping away gave me more pause than I had before. Taylor's health must be a genuine risk for DiBella and Haymon (possibly) to go to these measures. With that seeming to be the case, yeah, Jermain should probably retire. I know he's only 31 and the guys that have beaten him are top class, but promoters and advisors saying, "Hey, Jermain, you should retire" leads me to think there's a lot more to it than just the media or fan freakout, which generally amounts to, "He's been knocked out a few times! He should retire immediately!"
Lots of guys get knocked out, and get knocked out a lot more than Taylor has, and they live fine lives. But Taylor just might not have taken the punishment "well," if you know what I mean. The report after his KO loss to Arthur Abraham in October is a severe concussion with short-term memory loss. Should that guy keep fighting? Frankly, probably not.
It pains me to say it, but the more this plays out, the more I think Jermain should hang up the gloves. He's a good, likable guy, a family man, and nobody wants to see him get hurt out there. And to be brutally honest, he's almost surely never going to reach the heights he was at a few years ago. I feel genuine sadness saying that I think Taylor should walk away from his profession at the age of 31, but it looks more and more like it's the only good option.