LITTLE ROCK, March 25 – If you thought middleweight contender Jermain Taylor was the only athlete in the Taylor family, just take a look towards Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday, March 28 when Erica Smith-Taylor, the wife of the 2000 US Olympic Bronze Medallist, leads the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters into battle against number one ranked Duke in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Women’s College Basketball tournament.
It’s the culmination of a busy weekend for the couple, who were married last August. On Saturday, March 27, Jermain Taylor will face the toughest foe of his young career when he squares off against Alex Bunema (24-3-2, 12 KOs) in a 12 round WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Championship match. This bout, which headlines the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast of “March Badness” (airing at 10pm ET/PT), will be held at Alltel Arena in Taylor’s hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Taylor (19-0, 14 KOs) will have a tough battle ahead of him in Bunema, but if his wife’s recent performances are any indication, it’s going to be a good weekend for the family. Erica, a 5-10 junior guard, has been dazzling as the leading scorer in the NCAA tournament thus far, scoring 29 points against Montana in the first round, and scoring a career high 30 points (with 11 rebounds and 7 assists) against Texas Tech in a second round matchup.
Jermain will catch a flight to Norfolk immediately after his fight Saturday night to be there when his wife takes the court against Duke.”I plan on going to Norfolk with some good news,” smiled Taylor, who is currently ranked in the Top Ten by all four major world sanctioning bodies.
Tickets for “March Badness” – which also features an intriguing heavyweight battle between Dominick Guinn and Monte Barrett and a stellar undercard – are priced at $300 (First Row VIP), $195 (VIP), $115 (Ringside), $85, $60, $40, $25 (Upper Bowl), and $19.50 (Students & Seniors in Upper Bowl), and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 501-975-7575 (www.ticketmaster.com), or by calling the Alltel Arena Box Office at 501-975-9000