Jermain Taylor To Face Nicolas Cervera On HBO
22.04 - Coming off his most impressive showing as a professional, unbeaten 2000 U.S. Olympian Jermain Taylor will accept the most difficult challenge of his young career on May 17 when he meets veteran Nicolas "Bazooka" Cervera on HBO's Boxing After Dark in a 10-round middleweight bout.
Taylor scored a fifth-round technical knockout of gritty Marcos Primera, who had never been stopped in his pro career, when they met in Taylor's hometown of Little Rock, Ark., on March 31. Long-time boxing observers have said that bout established Taylor as a championship contender in the middleweight divisions.
Legendary Hall of Fame trainer Lou Duva, who was sitting at ringside called Taylor "the best prospect in the middle weight division and an immediate threat to all junior middle weights and middle weights.” Taylor will face an even bigger threat on May 17 before a national TV audience when he takes on Cervera, who has 35 wins, three losses, one draw in 39 pro fights and has a reputation as a big-time puncher. Two of Cervera's losses came to former world champions Rafael Pineda and Carl Daniels.
Cervera's explosive punching power has helped him to 26 knockouts in the first three rounds, including seven in the first round.
Taylor, 24, said he is looking forward to stepping up his level of competition as he pursues his goal of winning a world title. "Cervera can punch, but he's also a smart boxer," Taylor said. "This is a very important fight for me and I'm training very seriously. I got back into the gym the day after my win over Primera because I know I have to be ready for Cervera. I have a lot of respect for Cervera, but I plan to win impressively to show the world that I have arrived on the scene."
DiBella Entertainment President, Lou DiBella said, “In this bout, Jermain will display the tools that will make him an HBO superstar.”
Taylor's bout will be the first shown on the HBO broadcast, which begins at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT. The main event is a lightweight unification bout between IBF champion Paul "The Pittsburgh Kid" Spadafora and WBA champion Leonard Dorin.
