Absurd! Taylor did NOT have the talent to do what Loma does. Loma isn't an athletic FREAK like Roy, Floyd, or Leonard, but physically he's just able to do things in the ring that physically Taylor wasn't capable of. His footwork is beautful, but really it's his quickness and fluidity combined with the great footwork that allows him to get wherever he wants in the ring. So even if Taylor KNEW how to utilize footwork, he never displayed any kind of footspeed and natural fluidity that leads me to believe he could ever fight like Loma. I think talent is downplayed a lot in boxing. Yeah, elite fighters are obviously very schooled, in most cases. But ultimately what separates the good from the elite is the TALENT level. You have to be extremely naturally gifted to be an elite boxer. There's thousands of guys who train all their lives and from a young age, yet never be able to do the things Loma does. Cause they lack the TALENT.
This... Terp Must be Blinded by BLACKNESS if he Truly Believes Jermain Taylor was More Skilled, Talented or Athletic than Lomachenko.... Taylor had Above Average HANDSPEED, but he Also had HEAVY Feet and Was as Stiff as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz... REED
Yes, of course he was. The guy who 'always was in shape' and who generally came in well under 160 for his fights.
REED Isn't Sure he'd Label Those Bouts "Beduddlings".... What Did Bernard In were his Slooooow, Tortoise Like Starts in Both Fights... REED
the guy who fought extra cautious at the start of his last few bouts vs bums like robert allen, delahoya and even more so with eastman. the guy who immediately moved up 2 divisions after those fights with taylor
the guy who had to work with Mackie Shyster or Schuster or whatever that guys name was, devouring huge amounts of food and working out like never before to put on good weight?
the guy who looked unhealthy at 160lbs for years before he eventually moved up to a more comfortable weight. i wasnt privy to his diet prior to when he whipped tarver
Hopkins fans have excuses for all his significant losses. He was 'green' against RJJ. He was 'weight-drained' againt Taylor. He was 'old and finished' against Calzaghe...Hopkins hasn't legitimately lost a fight his whole life. MTF
i aint a hopkins fan, and bet on taylor in the first fight because i thought hopkins was dead at the weight.
Huh? Let's not go overboard on Loma. He damn sure isn't as athletic as young versions of Floyd and Leonard.
If Taylor "utilized footwork" he'd look more fluid. If his better footwork led to better balance he'd be a better combo puncher and if he had better punching technique his hands wouldve been faster. Taylor is a perfect example of a fighter over achieving on pure physical ability and Loma is a perfect example of a guy built behind a mystique of technical bells and whistles. It says something that seasoned fans like you and Reed can't see this.
I kind of agree with Terp there. I don't think that loma is hugely talented, in the sense that I don't think he would have great score in the athletic test most pro team do, or at the very least, Taylor would beat him in these test. He does have great agility though, but what makes him special are his marvelous technical skills.
yes he is, but these are predominantly learned skills imo. He's fluid cause he's so relax in the ring, due to his great experinece, while Taylor was jittery and tense, but that was because he was so nervous and was weak mentally
Taylor didn't try to fight with much finesse because he didn't have the skills to back it up. For Taylor to look fluid and coordinated with his footwork and punching technique he'd have to be a Roy Jones. I agree Loma is much more agile and coordinated but Taylor seemed considerably stronger.
I don't think Taylor was weak mentally. He was just naturally aggressive and intense in the ring and he never developed the skills to translate his ability into the beat 'em up fighter he wanted to be.
Taylor wasn't weak mentally. He was dumb as a brick. There's a difference. And Terp sees abilities in Jermain Taylor that didn't exist. All these "If's" are basically depended on him having physical traits that he simply did not have.
I have to agree with X. JT just wasn't that talented. He had size, hand speed, and some power. But he was stiff as hell, poor balance, slow to react, and very mechanical in the way he operated. No natural fluidity to his game whatsoever. He was a big dumb athlete. And he wasn't even a great athlete.
I agree on him being dumb but the problem is you don't seem able to separate physical talent from what a boxer is actually capable of doing in the ring.
No, the problem is I never saw much physical talent in Taylor. He had good size, and above average handspeed, but what else? Nothing else, really.
Having a high ring IQ IS a talent, btw. You could have Eddie Futch, Gil Clancy, Angelo Dundee, and Manny Steward all feeding Taylor boxing information around the clock, and he simply wouldn't be intelligent enough to implement it.
A high ring IQ is the direct result of experience, observation, trial and error. It's no more a "natural" talent than being able to do algebra.
I don't believe that at all. Some fighters just have an innate ability to think better in the ring, and process things better in the ring than others do.
Also APPLICATION of it is a talent. I can probably SEE what I would have to do to avoid a certain punch and move into a position to counter.... Now to actually DO that. You either have it or you don't.