Jermain Taylor (1978–)

Lecester Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor began boxing at the age of thirteen and rose through the amateur and professional ranks to become one of the best boxers in the sport. He won a bronze medal for boxing in the 2000 Olympics and became the undisputed middleweight champion in 2005, holding that title for two years and then regaining it in 2014, only to be stripped of it the following year following an arrest for assault.

Jermain Taylor was born on August 11, 1978, in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Taylor’s father abandoned the family when Taylor was five years old, leaving his mother, Carlois, with Taylor and his three younger sisters. Taylor’s mother had to work long hours to support the family, leaving him to take care of his siblings.

Taylor entered a gymnasium for the first time at age thirteen, and he was soundly beaten in his first experience in the ring. Taylor persisted and began to build a bond with trainer Ozell Nelson, who remains Taylor’s trainer. (Pat Burns was Taylor’s chief trainer with Nelson’s assistance for the first twenty-five matches of his professional career, and Emmanuel Stewart was chief trainer for the next four matches, but since the start of 2007, Nelson has returned as the sole trainer for Taylor.) With Nelson behind him, Taylor trained harder and began to make an impression on a national level. In Little Rock, he attended McClellan High School but was not able to graduate because of his training and fighting schedule. Taylor has earned a GED.

Taylor eventually set his sights on the 2000 Olympic Games. On the way, he won two national Golden Glove titles, two PAL titles, the 1996 Under 19 National Championship, a second-place finish at the 1997 U.S. Championship, and a third-place finish at the 1998 U.S. Championship. Taylor’s first major amateur accomplishment was winning the bronze medal in the 1998 Goodwill Games. That achievement, however, was overshadowed by the murder of Taylor’s grandmother, Gussie Robinson, by her son, Ahmad Al-Genius (formerly Joe Samuel Brown), who had recently been released from prison after serving time for aggravated robbery and battery. At the funeral, Taylor placed his bronze medal in his grandmother’s coffin.

Taylor succeeded in his goal and earned a place on the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing team, becoming the second Arkansas-born person to do so. Taylor also became the second Arkansan to bring home a bronze medal from the Olympics for boxing, following heavyweight John Tate’s bronze medal in the 1976 games. Shortly after the Olympics, Taylor signed a professional contract with former Home Box Office (HBO) executive turned promoter Lou Dibella. Dibella Entertainment signed several members of the 2000 Olympic class and quickly set up Taylor’s professional debut at Madison Square Garden on HBO’s Night of the Olympians. Despite a successful debut, it was the other Olympians on the card who gained the focus of the boxing press.

Taylor continued to fight for Dibella. After facing legitimate yet limited opposition while climbing the professional ranks, Taylor found himself showcased against two former world champions—Raul Marquez and William Joppy—in 2004. Taylor stopped Marquez in the ninth round on June 19 and won a unanimous twelve-round decision over Joppy in December. Following the fight with Joppy, Taylor pleaded with Larry Merchant, an acclaimed HBO broadcaster, for a chance at a world championship. After Taylor’s next bout, a third-round stoppage of then-undefeated prospect Daniel Edouard, Taylor was awarded his opportunity.

Facing middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins on July 16, 2005, Taylor built an early points lead but began to fade in the later rounds. Nonetheless, he captured the undisputed middleweight crown by a split decision.

After winning the middleweight championship, Taylor successfully defended the belt four times. In those four fights, Taylor defeated Hopkins by unanimous decision in their rematch, scored a twelve-round draw with number-one-rated Ronald “Winky” Wright, scored a unanimous decision over Kassim Ouma, and scored a twelve-round split decision in a bout against Cory Spinks. On September 29, 2007, however, Taylor lost the title to Kelly Pavlik in a seventh-round knock-out; Taylor also lost a rematch with Pavlik on February 16, 2008. Later in 2008, he began training for matches at the super middleweight division. (He had been fighting in the middleweight division.) On November 5, 2008, he won his first bout in this division. Taylor entered the Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2009 but, following a knock-out, took a two-year hiatus from the sport, returning to competitive boxing in December 2011.

Taylor married basketball player Erica Smith of Brinkley (Monroe County) in August 2003. They have four children and lived in Maumelle (Pulaski County) before their 2015 divorce. In 2016, he married Lutza Gayot of Flordia; they later separated.

Besides boxing, Taylor was actively involved in the “Stamp Out Smoking” Healthy Arkansas campaign and was part-owner of a D1 Sports Training facility in Little Rock. Taylor also spoke at several events regarding speech therapy for children who, like Taylor, suffer from speech impediments.

On August 26, 2014, Taylor was arrested for allegedly shooting a cousin following an altercation after his cousin and another man arrived at Taylor’s residence. On October 8, 2014, he regained his middleweight championship in a fight against Sam Soliman. He was formally charged for the August shooting on November 19, 2014. On January 19, 2015, he was arrested in Little Rock on assault charges. The following month, the International Boxing Federation formally stripped Taylor of his middleweight world title. Taylor had been enrolled in a substance-abuse rehabilitation program, but on July 9, 2015, he was formally charged with battery over allegations that he punched another man in the program. On December 1, 2015, Taylor pleaded guilty in three cases but agreed to conditions that allow him to continue boxing. On May 20, 2016, Taylor was given six-year suspended sentences on eight of nine pending charges, and a one-year suspended sentence on the ninth, along with 120 hours of community service, a $2,000 fine, and mandatory drug testing. On July 18, 2017, Taylor was arrested and charged with charged with misdemeanor third-degree battery, felony terroristic threatening, and misdemeanor interference with emergency communication as the result of a domestic disturbance. On August 29, 2018, he was arrested again for domestic battery. While the legal process following that incident continued to play out, in April 2022, Taylor was sued by Corvette Miller of North Little Rock (Pulaski County), who claimed that Taylor had punched him in the head during a November 26, 2021, card game. On June 29, 2022, Taylor was cleared of felony terroristic threatening charges but found guilty on two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence and sentenced to one year in jail; the following year, he was ordered to pay $77,901 to Miller for the assault.

For additional information:
Givens, Chris. “Lecester Jermain Taylor.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. November 27, 2005, pp. 1D, 6D.

Lynch, John. “Boxer Told to Pay for ’21 Assault.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, July 26, 2023, pp. 1B, 3B. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jul/26/former-boxing-champ-jermaine-taylor-ordered-to/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

———. “Jury Reduces, Tosses Charges against Boxer.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 30, 2022, pp. 1B, 2B. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jun/30/jurors-find-ex-boxing-champ-jermain-taylor-guilty/ (accessed June 30, 2022).

———. “Jury Set to Decide Verdict for Taylor.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 29, 2022, pp. 1B, 2B. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jun/29/ex-girlfriend-tells-jurors-former-boxing-champion/ (accessed June 29, 2022).

Smith, Doug. “The Winner.” Arkansas Times, January 12, 2006, pp. 12–13.

“Taylor, Champion Again, Wants More.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 9, 2014, pp. 1C, 7C.

Jeff Young
Wilmar, Arkansas

Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas