Caleb “Golden” Truax gave a valiant effort on Friday night and almost capitalized on the knockout opportunity as he fought former middleweight world champion Jermaine Taylor. Although he was not able to avoid smothering himself and eliminate Taylor’s jab and he was dominated throughout the first eight rounds, Truax did occasionally land punches from strategic angles and dropped Taylor in the ninth round with a right hand the former champion did not see. In spite of suffering his first loss via unanimous decision, Truax proved his ability to stand in the ring with a fighter of Taylor’s talent, determination, power, and skill. Now he will have to get back in the gym and make the adjustments that can improve his level of skill and further advance his career.
As stated in the Boxers and Writers Magazine prefight analysis, one of the biggest keys for Truax to succeed was to avoid smothering himself when he got inside. He did not do this and Taylor, under instruction from trainer Pat Burns, tied him up every time, sapping Truax’s energy from him. Combined with the solid combinations landed by Taylor, Truax was visibly less vital by the end of the fifth round as he appeared to tire. Pat Burns told Taylor that he did not have to fight with Truax inside; that he could just tie him up until the referee broke them apart, which he did almost every time Truax got inside from the third round through the rest of the fight. Truax’s footwork and head movement did allow him to capitalize on Taylor’s break in concentration when Taylor threw lazier jabs and dropped his left hand in the ninth round, which is why Truax dropped him with a right hand. Unfortunately for Truax, he was unable to put together the combinations to take him out. Truax appeared to win round 10, but of course it was not enough to score the decision after Taylor had piled up a large lead in the previous eight. Truax has proven he has potential, though, as he readies himself to continue on in a career that promises a brighter future provided he can build on what he’s developed so far.
Taylor said afterwards that he’d take a world title shot if offered one for his next fight, but the Showtime commentators observed after the post-fight interview that the middleweight champions would be more than happy to fight him now after seeing Truax put him on his back. He is definitely not back to the world championship level yet. As for Truax, he is closer to being able to compete as a world class boxer than he’s ever been. He should not fight a higher level opponent just yet, though. He still needs to work on the particulars mentioned in the pre-fight analysis, including an adjustment of his rhythm, his footwork, and his tendency to smother himself inside, sharpening himself up on this level for another three fights before stepping back up to try and make it into the top ten of the middleweight division. He’s capable of the adjustment, but capability remains dormant without action, the action required of Truax to further his career.
By Mark Connor
© Copyright 2012, Mark Connor
