On Saturday, May 19th, Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor takes on Cory Spinks, putting his middleweight title on the line for the fourth time. Coming off a spotty performance in his win against the undersized, natural junior middleweight Kassim Ouma, Taylor will be looking for a better performance against another former 154-pounder. The "riddle of Spinks" is his unorthodox, southpaw fighting style which has only been solved three times (by Antonio Diaz, Michele Piccirillo, and Zab Judah) in 39 fights. Jermain Taylor will be fighting in front of a largely partisan crowd, as the fight is taking place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. Many of his rabid fans will take that short drive from his hometown in nearby Little Rock, Arkansas. This fact does not bode well for Spinks. As a natural boxer, he will be hard-pressed to pull out a decision win on the "road," and will have to fight more aggressively in order to impress the judges. In an ideal world the site should not matter, but boxing, like any sport, has homefield advantages. With a more aggressive Spinks, Taylor will be able to look better than he did against Ouma because more right-hand power shots will be available. If Spinks decides to fight even more cautiously than usual, he will still be in trouble – because "Bad Intentions" has the reach and strength to assert himself from a distance. Moving up to middleweight, Spinks is a former welterweight titleholder and current junior middleweight champ with a boxing pedigree that rivals anyone (father Leon and uncle Michael were both heavyweight champions). However, he is yielding way too much in reach, size and strength in this fight. PREDICTION: Unless father Leon and uncle Michael are in the ring with him during the fight, I do not see Cory Spinks winning. For what he lacks in punching power, he makes up for in fighting heart. However, this will be all that prevents Spinks from being knocked out. Look for Jermain Taylor to show marked improvement in his second fight under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward. Taylor will "solve the riddle of Spinks" and win a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision.
