TAYLOR STILL THE CHAMP

Photos by Will Hart

Besides both being Olympians, Jermain Taylor and Andre Berto also have in common the need to prove themselves to their fans and future opponents alike. Taylor is coming off of his recent draw against Winky Wright, a fight many said Wright was ahead in until spending the last round of the fight inactive. And Berto, who made his first appearance on HBO amid considerable excitement of the welterweight prospect. Both fighters were looking to make a lasting impression during one of the last fights of the year and both fighters were looking for a knockout. Only Andre Berto was able to meet that goal.

Clearly looking for an impressive knockout victory, Berto nearly floored opponent Miguel Figurero at the end of the first round, laying the fighter into the ropes and was saved only by the ringing of the bell. Berto fought an amazing and aggressive fight, which he completely dominated despite a heartfelt showing from Figueroa. Berto made an impressive television entrance, claiming a stake in the welterweight division.

"It was fun...I had a great time...I wanted to prove to the public and fighters that I'm here to fight in the welterweight division," Berto said after the fight.

Jermain Taylor was planning for a good time, namely in the form of an early knockout of Kassim Ouma. But the former child solider in the Ugandan army brought with him the spirit of a hundred men, as Taylor was unable to knock him out or down during the full twelve rounds.

"He came in and fought all 12 rounds," Taylor said. "He's a tough guy. I came in and tried to knock him out in the first, but he's in good shape."

The fight was marked by a vocal hometown crowd chanting and cheering their champ on. Jermain wobbled Ouma early in the first round and continued through to the middle rounds with straight jabs and wild hooks. Ouma's storied ability to throw punches in bunches was barley noticeable, with a very aggressive, headhunting Taylor turning these moments into little more than opportunities to land sinking jabs into Ouma's face.

As the second half of the fight began, it was clear that only a surprise punch was going to grant Taylor the knockout, as the champ began to tire and Ouma became more aggressive. Gradually tiring and with a cut over the left eye, Taylor allowed Ouma to back him into the ropes often as the fight drew to a close. However, Ouma was unable to gain any real foothold standing up to Taylor's clean right hand jab and left hook, which he landed frequently, sending Ouma's braids into the air like exclamation marks.

Should this have been anyone else, any number of Taylor's punches would have been enough to drop a fighter to the mat, but Ouma appeared to be incredibly conditioned. He managed to virtually walk through Taylor's best efforts, in the end losing the unanimous decision through hard earned and well deserved points (117-111, 115-113, and 118-110).