By Chris Cella
Former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor improved to 31-4-1 with 19 KO’s tonight as he made easy work of opponent Raul “El Toro” Munoz (22-15-1, 16 KO).
Coming into this bout, Taylor was a huge favorite, with Munoz handpicked to help regain the former champion’s confidence and reestablish his ring presence. Taylor had one task ahead of him as he stepped between the ropes earlier this evening: to not only earn the ‘W,’ but to do so in impressive fashion, and he did just that.
Halfway through the opening round Taylor utilized his speed and caught Munoz with an overhand right which sent him to the canvas, and in the second round Taylor wasted no time and continued his onslaught, eventually landing a 1-2 combination to the chin of Munoz that dropped him a second time in as many rounds.
Referee Mike England called a halt to the bout at the 1:05 mark of the second round as Munoz was unable to recover from the combination, and was attended to by doctors for several minutes following the conclusion of the fight.
Despite the less than formidable opponent that stood across from him in the ring tonight, Taylor executed exactly as he needed to, and by doing so has moved one step closer to earning a potential title shot in 2013, the ultimate goal of the former middleweight champion.
