After all the hype leading up to the rematch, after all the uncharacteristic trash-talk from Jermain Taylor and after all of Bernard Hopkins' knockout predictions, boxing fans got what amounted to a virtual replay of the first unspectacular fight between the sport's two best middleweights. Again, it was the puncher vs. the jabber, and the judges' decision to give Taylor a narrow decision seemed to be a matter of preference in favor of the latter.

    Not long after the opening bell, Jermain Taylor took advantage of an opening and unleashed a barrage of punches - to the back of Bernard Hopkins' head. Ironically, it was nice guy Jermain Taylor committing a flagrant foul against an opponent with a reputation for fighting dirty - not the other way around. It was also surprising that referee Jay Nady, a notorious ring disciplinarian, allowed Taylor to get away with these flagrant rabbit punches without deducting a point. With the pre-emptive rough-house assault, Taylor sent Hopkins a message and set the tone for the rest of the fight as Taylor would carry out a considerable amount of the fight's holding-and-hitting. Aside from Taylor's flagrant cheapshots, the opening round was largely uneventful.

    A telling moment took place in round three when Hopkins hit Taylor with the same punch that he used to incapacitate superstar Oscar De La Hoya in September of 2004. The clean body blow gave Taylor pause, but the young champion resumed fighting with conviction soon after. Taylor punctuated the end of round three with a body punch of his own that knocked Hopkins back a few feet. Here, Hopkins tasted his own medicine at the close of a round that he clearly lost.

    Hopkins would answer Taylor's offensive in round four. The aging middleweight slipped many of Taylor's shots and clearly rocked Taylor at one point in the round. The middle rounds of this rematch took the hue of the first fight as Taylor was the busier fighter, pelting the former champion with his jab. In another ironic moment, during the fifth round, Taylor knocked Hopkins back toward the corner with a left elbow that went unseen by referee Nady. It seemed that Taylor had picked up a tactic or two from the ring-savvy Hopkins.

    Hopkins took round seven by connecting with overhand rights and hooking lefts to Taylor's head and body. But Taylor controlled the pace of rounds eight and nine - even though round eight could have been scored even.

    Following the script of the first fight, Hopkins reasserted his dominance in the championship rounds. However, round eleven deviated from the that of the first fight. Taylor countered Hopkins' aggression by wobbling Hopkins with an array of punches in the first minute of round eleven and went on to win the rest of it easily. But Hopkins responded with a huge round twelve. Though Taylor fought valiantly throughout the round, Hopkins owned the fight final three minutes, rocking Taylor with hard shots at least on at least three occasions. By taking the fight's closing scene, it seemed possible that Hopkins had at least earned a draw. But it wasn't to be for the 40 year old future Hall-of-Famer. All three judges gave Taylor the edge, submitting identical scores of 115-113.

    Not only did the judges favor the fighter with the jab, they chose the younger fighter. The implications of the decision went further than simply determining who would own the WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight belts. The choice to give Taylor a consecutive close victory came across as a decision to usher in the new (Taylor) and to escort the old (Hopkins). While Hopkins may not have done enough to take the title back on saturday night, it's very arguable that Taylor's effort in the first fight did not warrant taking the title away from Hopkins. Still, some may argue that both of the decisions favoring Taylor are indications that many involved in the sport of boxing have grown tired of Hopkins perpetually disgruntled attitude and uncooperative tactics.

    While the close nature of the two Taylor-Hopkins fights may call for a third bout between the two middleweights, the lack of crowd-pleasing action in the first two fights presents an argument against the possibility of third fight. Another realistic obstacle to setting a third fight is Hopkins' age. Despite the controversial decisions and varying opinions surrounding the two Taylor-Hopkins fights, one thing is clear: Jermain Taylor's second consecutive win over Bernard Hopkins completes a changing of the guard in the middleweight division. Boxing has crowned Jermain Taylor its new middleweight king.