LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Even before Kelly Pavlik beat Jermain Taylor senseless against the corner ropes 41/2 months ago, Taylor had lost his focus on just about everything that made him an unbeaten middleweight champion.

Now that he's being honest about the root causes of his only defeat, Taylor acknowledges he lost some of his passion for boxing during his two-year reign. When Taylor finally had everything he ever wanted, he realized he forgot how he got it.

"You can't take things for granted in this sport," Taylor said, "and I think I did that for a while."

He didn't attack his training with the same zeal he'd shown since the amateur ranks, showing up late for morning runs and cutting back on the detail work so critical in his sport. He became enamored with the good life outside the ring — on his boat, with his young family and on the streets of Little Rock, where he was once an infallible hero.

But maybe Pavlik's fearsome right fist cleared Taylor's head a bit.

The man who became weary of the grind claims he's right back on it for the rematch with Pavlik on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden, an arena that should remind Taylor of just what's at stake in a crossroads bout for his career. In July 2005, Taylor won four middleweight titles at the MGM with a split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins.

He then made four defenses, none particularly impressive. Though Taylor publicly said all the right things about his motivation and preparation, those inside his camp sensed something was wrong — either in his relationship with Emanuel Steward, the high-profile trainer brought in for his last four fights, or within Taylor's own mind.

"He got real comfortable by being on top," said Ozell Nelson, the Arkansas trainer who's back in charge after working with Taylor since his youth.

Taylor certainly had the fire nearly two decades ago when he walked into Nelson's gym off the streets of Little Rock and demanded to become a fighter. After beating out Pavlik for a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, Taylor gradually proved himself as one of the most elusive and powerful middleweights of recent years.

He realized his promise with consecutive wins over Hopkins, who had made 20 straight title defenses and might have been the sport's pound-for-pound king at the time. Taylor still is the only man to beat Hopkins since 1993.

"I just realized that I wasn't doing the things I had to do to be the fighter I wanted to be," Taylor said.

After the loss, Taylor followed through on a major change he'd debated for more than two years, deciding to replace respected Steward with Nelson, who had moved back to a supporting role in Taylor's camp years earlier.

Taylor said poor conditioning was the reason he couldn't knock out Pavlik after staggering him in the second round of their first fight. He also says his poor condition caused his knockout, sending him into "survival mode" a few rounds before Pavlik caught him with several brutal right hands.

And if Taylor is unable to keep his discipline and use his physical advantages in the rematch, there's a good chance the hard-hitting Pavlik will put him down again.




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