Taylor hopes there's no place like home for bout

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Boxers relish the idea of fighting in front of their hometown crowd. It's an opportunity for them to soak up the adoration of a throng of loving fans, while showing all those past doubters why they were wrong.

Jermain Taylor (25-0-1, 17 KOs) has returned to his hometown to defend his middleweight title for the first time, taking on Kassim Ouma (25-2, 15 KOs) at Alltel Arena tonight on HBO. Taylor said it has been his lifelong dream to defend a world title at home. But danger lurks behind the desire to fight at home.

Cory Spinks lost his undisputed welterweight title to Zab Judah in front of his hometown crowd in St. Louis last year, but won the junior middleweight title at home earlier this year. Judah then lost the undisputed welterweight title to Carlos Baldomir before a hometown crowd at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in January.

"There's no pressure on me," Taylor said Thursday before a brief workout at the gym where he started training when he was 16. "I guess there is pressure to go in there and look good and to win. But I'm excited about being home. It's good to be home."

The pressure is now on the promoters as ticket sales are low and slow. The 17,500-seat arena could be half-empty if ticket sales don't pick up. Taylor has fought in Little Rock three times in his career, most recently in 2004 when he scored a decision over William Joppy before a crowd of just 7,500 at Alltel Arena.

Ouma, who was kidnapped from school and forced to be a child soldier for the Ugandan Army from age 6-19, considered it an honor that Taylor offered to fight him in Taylor's hometown.

"In America you can tell who your real friends are if they invite you into their homes," said Ouma, who is stepping up to middleweight from 154 pounds. "I consider Jermain Taylor a real friend. He has invited me to his home. I'm going to throw him a party [to]night."

After Ouma's manager, Tom Moran, warmed the room with a poignant and impassioned speech about Ouma's background and his motivation for boxing, Taylor snapped everyone back to reality with an angry, sharp-edged retort that was surprising for the soft-spoken, polite Taylor.

"I respect his dream. I hope he accomplishes all that. But I could care less," Taylor said. "Come Saturday night he's going to get knocked out."