Jermain Taylor will defend his IBF Middleweight title against Sergio Mora in Biloxi, Mississippi on February 6 according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.
The bout will be televised on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
“It’s a quality fight and it gives Jermain a chance to defend his title before his mandatory defense is due,” said Taylor’s promoter Lou DiBella said. “And for Sergio Mora, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. He turned it down once many years ago when it was a much bigger fight and for a lot more money. But he passed on it then and I think it’s one of the great regrets that he has had. He said if he ever got the opportunity again it’s something he would want to do. This is a fight that both guys wanted.”
“We know Mora is a tough fighter and we’re going in there as if we were fighting Bernard Hopkins,” said Taylor’s trainer Pat Burns said of the legend Taylor defeated twice in 2005, including to win the undisputed title in their first fight. “You have to have that mindset or you’ll get your ass kicked. Jermain will do his work. The rest is up to the courts. But we will be focused on the task in front of us and that is the fight. When it’s time to focus on his legal situation he will.
“In terms of boxing, Jermain still has excellent speed, and speed kills, and his jab was tremendous against Soliman and his right hand looked good, his balance looked good and his defense looked good. Mora is a tough guy, but Jermain is still pretty darn sharp.”
“I think Sergio believes he has a great chance to win the fight and I thought Jermain fought very well against Soliman and has looked good in his recent fights, but the odds makers will have it closer now than they would have had it in the heyday of Jermain’s career,” DiBella said.
“Sergio left a lot of money and a huge opportunity on the table back then but things have come full circle.”
