Taylor manages a split

MEMPHIS -- Jermain Taylor outpointed Cory Spinks in a split decision last night for his fourth straight defense of his middleweight championship -- but this one did little to satisfy his critics.

Taylor had winning scores of 117-111 and 115-113 from two of the judges, and the third had it 117-111 for Spinks.

Spinks and Taylor spent most of the early sizing up each other. Spinks is 2 1/2 inches shorter than the 6-foot Taylor, but he did a good job staying out of the champion's reach.

The fighters combined to throw 211 punches in the first three rounds and drew scattered boos from the crowd. By contrast, Kelly Pavlik and Edison Miranda combined for 191 punches in the first round of the last undercard bout.

Taylor came alive a bit during the middle rounds, and knocked Spinks off balance with a solid left in the seventh -- but Taylor (27-0-1) still hasn't knocked anyone down during his nearly two-year reign atop the middleweight division.

The boos returned during the final rounds.

Taylor's appearance after the fight said it all. "I felt good," he said. "I finally could see out of both my eyes, and I'm not bleeding. Usually at a press conference, I'd be sitting here wearing my glasses."

Spinks, the International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion and son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, moved up to fight Taylor. Spinks (36-4) was Taylor's second straight opponent from a lower weight class. Taylor beat Kassim Ouma -- also from the junior middleweight ranks -- in December.

Taylor outpointed Bernard Hopkins in July 2005 to become middleweight champion. He beat Hopkins in a second decision later that year, then escaped with a draw against Winky Wright in Memphis in 2006. Taylor then beat Ouma in another decision.

Taylor was already receiving criticism for fighting two straight smaller fighters, and he was far from overpowering against Spinks.

As the 12th round drew to a close, Spinks immediately raised his arms in triumph, and he began dancing around the ring when it was over. "I don't know what to say. It was highway robbery," Spinks said. "I thought I gave a great boxing display. I feel great. I executed my game plan. I think I won."

Two of the judges disagreed, though. Neither fighter landed many memorable punches, but Spinks in particular struggled to connect. He threw 542 punches, but landed only 85. Taylor, on the other hand, threw 319 punches, landing 101.

In the undercard, Pavlik stopped Miranda with a blistering combination in the seventh round and immediately began calling for a match with Taylor. Miranda drew Taylor's ire earlier in the week when he taunted the champion and asked for a chance to fight him -- but he was soundly beaten by Pavlik.

"Jermain Taylor is a great champion," Pavlik said. "I definitely want to fight him."

Taylor seemed amenable to that possibility. "If Kelly Pavlik is the best out there, for the most money, I'll do it," Taylor said.

Pavlik (31-0) had Miranda (28-2) on the ropes for much of the bombastic first round. Miranda fought back in the second, and the fighters went at one another with reckless abandon.

Pavlik knocked Miranda down twice in the sixth. Miranda finished the round, but the Colombian was backed against the ropes again in the seventh, and the fight was stopped.

Also on the undercard, middle weight Ronald Hearns, son of Thomas Hearns, improved to 14-0 with an unanimous win over Dennis Sharpe (17-5).