It's not been an easy path for "Marvelous" Marquis Taylor of Houston. There's been no shortcuts and no gimmies. Taylor returns to the ring for the first time on January 27th in Bogota, Colombia. The 13-1-2 (1) Jr Middleweight contender is coming off a breakthrough through 2022. "I should be able to say in 2022 that I beat two undefeated fighters in a row," Taylor stated, and he's not wrong. In February, he suffered one of the worst decisions in recent history and had to settle for a draw with Paul Kroll. A fight that Showtime's unofficial scorer and Hall of Famer Steve Farhood scored 79-73, seven rounds to one. A sentiment the entire boxing world shared. It wasn't close. It wasn't competitive. The entire boxing world excluding, two official judges scored 76-76 (Alex Levin) and 77-75 (Tito Wilgo), two of the worst cards in recent boxing history, with the third judge scoring 80-72 in favor of Taylor. "I heard that I knew it was political." The Houstonian said, " I was in shock, my mouth dropped, the crowd booed, Twitter went crazy, the boxing world went crazy, literally everyone .... not one person in the boxing world said Paul Kroll won the fight or was even close."
That horrible decision didn't keep Taylor down. He bounced back this past October on another Showtime SHOBOX card. Taylor absolutely dominated Marlon Harrington over eight one-sided rounds in Atlantic City, moving one step closer to a world title. "When I do get my opportunities to fight undefeated fighters, I do come out victorious...With that Paul Kroll fight. That's five undefeated fighters that I beat." Harrington was the fourth undefeated fighter Taylor beat, fifth if you include Kroll, whom he dominated.
The path for Taylor wasn't smooth or easy. It's been a rollercoaster for the 20-year-old from Houston. He started boxing at the age of seven and eventually turned pro at 19. He signed with a small DFW area-based promoter called Standing 8 Promotions. He put together three consecutive wins to start his career against entry-level opposition. He got a massive shot on an ESPN Card promoted by Mayweather Promotions.
He battled unbeaten all-world prospect LaDarius Miller, who has beaten world champions such as Jamel Herring and Jezreel Corrales, in a very competitive fight. A fight that could have gone either way, was awarded to the house fighter. An experience that Taylor describes as " a gift and curse." He said he didn't know the severity of what was about to take place. "I wasn't ready mentally. I did a lot of things I wasn't supposed to do before the fight. I am glad it happened because it did open my eyes and make me crazy focused after that."
After more than a year outside of the ring, Taylor bounced back in a major way and destroyed one of Golden Boy's Golden Prospects, 8-0 Oscar Torres. He badly outboxed and beat up the undefeated prospect to pick up a major upset victory on a major card. It was a massive upset that derailed a promising prospect. Taylor was brought in as the B-side and was supposed to lose. " It didn't go the way they thought it would go, they called me 2-3 weeks notice, but I was already going hard in the gym... Golden Boy was pretty pissed." Taylor added.
Upsetting and derailing undefeated prospects has become a hobby for Taylor, which he continues to do. After a few more impressive victories. Taylor got a chance to fight former world champ, Kermit Cintron. At just 8-1, Taylor secured a career-changing fight. "I got that fight when I was signed with Marshall Kaufman's King's Promotion. I saw he (Cintron) had a date at Bethlehem Sands Casino. I saw he didn't have an opponent. I told Marshall I'll step in. Marshall said Nah, you're not ready for Cintron and I talked my way into the fight"
It was a bold challenge, but Taylor was determined not to let the opportunity slip. After dominating the opening stanza, Taylor stayed busy and appeared to drop the former champ with a body shot but a seemingly legal blow was ruled low, nullifying the knockdown. Taylor stayed busy and was battering the former champ, who quickly turned to dirty tactics and tried head-butting Taylor. After several head butts, a small cut appeared above Cintron's eye. To which Cintron said he couldn't see and the fight was stopped. "He was trying to head-butt me to get out of the fight. All I had to do was move around and get through the fourth round, and he woulda lost. I didn't know about the rules (before the end of four the bout is declared a no-contest)... the crowd was booing, and he said he couldn't see. I didn't get my credit for whooping the world champion."
The "Marvelous" one got right back on his grind and would go on to beat two more undefeated prospects in Jimmy Willaims on a Roy Jones Jr Promotions card, and then the really big opportunity came. A NABF title shot against Floyd Mayweather Promoted fighter Sanjarbek Rakhmanov. However, the deck was already stacked against Taylor before the fight started. He was warned before he ever threw a punch. The ref warned that he was going to have a point deducted. The Texan describes the situation "In the locker room, the ref told me he was going to take a point. When he walked out, my camp was like he is going to take a point away. We were like it's ok. We are coming to win. It put more dog in us and pissed us off more. I got to snatching his body, and he got to complaining to the ref. That's a Floyd Mayweather Promotions hired ref. That ref's on his team." Sure enough, the ref took a point, and Taylor was not fazed. He stuck to the game plan and again upset the house fighter to capture a NABF title.
Upsetting house fighters, beating undefeated blue chippers and derailing/retiring fighters is something Taylor has made a career of. It has taken him from signing with a tiny DFW-based promoter that no longer exists, that when pressed, Taylor had a difficult time even remembering the name of, to the brink of a world title fight. The problem right now is all the belts at 154 are held by one man, Jermell Charlo, a fellow Houstonian. A fighter Taylor knows well and has sparred. A fight Taylor is absolutely open to but at this level, it gets extremely political. World title shots are exceedingly difficult to come by. This is why, for now, Taylor is calling out six-foot-six-inch prospect Sebastian Fundora. A fight that Fundora would be a huge betting favorite but a fight Taylor is calling for and one he thinks he can win. At 6'1 with a 69-inch reach, Taylor said, " He's not the average 154-pounder" He's long and rangy too! He can touch Fundora from long range. Fundora has one career blemish, a draw, with Jamontay Clark, to a relatively tall junior middleweight. Since then, Taylor noted Fundora has only fought shorter 154-pounders, all 5'10 and shorter. Range and length are things Taylor possesses in spades and maybe the kryptonite for Fundora. A win against Fundora, an undefeated and touted prospect, something Taylor has a history of upsetting, would catapult him in the rankings and world title picture.
