AP Photo/Eric Jamison

By Ron Borges

Jermain Taylor didn’t find a way to defeat Kelly Pavlik Saturday night but he did manage to defeat many of his critics…unless one believes winning is of paramount importance in a prize fight.

Taylor was widely praised in some corners of the boxing media after losing a close but unanimous decision to Pavlik at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for having righted many of the technical wrongs he’d so often exhibited in the past. Yet while it was true that he moved more, stayed off the ropes, used his jab effectively and far more often than usual and kept his left hand higher than he did five months ago when Pavlik knocked him cold in the seventh round to take the middleweight title from him, in the end he lost because he finally gave in to some of those very same mental and physical flaws.

After nine close rounds in which Taylor avoided the kind of technical flaws and laziness that got him in trouble the last time he met Pavlik, he began to back up more and more as he tired, which is fatal to his cause. That led him to finally end up with his back along the ropes for the first time late in the 10th round and he paid deeply for it. Pavlik ripped him with a body shot as he lay resting that caused Taylor to pitch off those ropes as if he’d been scalded.

He fell into Pavlik with both arms wide open grabbing him in an embrace of temporary surrender. The former champion held on until the bell ended the round and when Taylor came out for Round 11 he was not the same fighter. He was now backing up more and more and throwing less and less, opening himself up to the Pavlik jab that had by that point already begun to close his right eye and dominate the fight.

The three judges at ringside all saw Pavlik coming on strong, one giving him four of the final five rounds, the second five of the last six and the third seven of the final eight (which seems a bit of a reach, to be fair). Those judges scored the fight 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. My view had Pavlik winning 115-113 as well and also pulling away over the final four rounds, of which he won three. So while it is fair to point out that Taylor did seem more controlled, made better use of his jab and less often retreated straight back to the ropes, as he had more and more often in his past few outings, in the end he faded when it counted most once again and lost the decision to a guy who, though a powerful puncher and a solidly consistent fighter, frankly isn’t all that special.

“Taylor was better tonight than in the first fight but I was better too,’’ the undefeated (33-0, 29 KO) Pavlik said after his hand was raised. Those hands, by the way, ended up being examined in a Las Vegas hospital because Pavlik thought he’d broken the right one in the seventh round. If true, it only shows how superior he is to Taylor, who now will move up to 168 pounds to contend for the super middleweight title while Pavlik returns to 160 to possibly face the challenge of a well shot Felix Trinidad or (more likely) the defensively challenged John Duddy in June.

After the fight the 29-year-old Taylor came to the post-fight press conference sporting dark glasses, which have become a regular part of his post-fight accoutrements in recent matches (Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright and both Pavlik fights), as have been the doubts about his technical proficiency.

The good news for Taylor and his handlers is that he did show improvement for the first time since the first fight with Hopkins, which he was handed by very questionable split decision. Taylor could ill-afford a repeat of the kind of crushing defeat he suffered last September and he managed to avoid that by boxing more patiently and, frankly, with a bit less passion than in the past.

He threw fewer punches and was outworked nearly every round by Pavlik, who throws a high volume for a guy with the kind of heavy hands he carries with him. That allowed Taylor to be more defensive this time and thus avoid a repeat of the sad fate that befell him in their last meeting.

Taylor’s decision, with the help of trainer Ozell Nelson, to move more, keep his left higher and avoid retreating until he found himself trapped on the ropes were all wise and the fact that he carried them out fairly well should not be underestimated. He did not do enough to win the fight but what he did do was enough to revive what had become a flagging career.

Now done with Pavlik, at least for the moment, Taylor can move to super middleweight and probably win some form of a world title quickly as long as he can manage to avoid getting in with the far more skilled Joe Calzaghe. It is a division really with only two fighters of note, Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler. The others to contend with are the likes of Anthony Mundine, Lucien Bute, Librado Andrade, Allen Green and the very flawed and perhaps shot Jeff lacy. That does not seem to be a lineup of guys Taylor will have to fear so look for a Lacy-Taylor type fight by fall.

The problem for him in that weight class is that if Calzaghe defeats Bernard Hopkins in April, he and Kessler will really be the only names at 168 pounds worth talking about. A Kessler-Taylor fight would be interesting because both have their flaws but Kessler is by far the more powerful puncher. It would be that power against Taylor’s superior athleticism, a situation not unlike what he faced – and could not face down – against Pavlik.

As for the undefeated champion, Pavlik now has many opportunities in front of him with no terribly dangerous challenger on the horizon unless you believe undefeated German Arthur Abraham (25-0, 20 KO) or the fading Wright (51-4-1, 25 KO) will offer him a test. What he does have is growing popularity, HBO’s support, the pigmentation that, frankly, still sells and opponents like Duddy and Trinidad who will allow him to do what is the aim of prize fighting – make maximum income with minimal risk.