Sykes, Taurus

In his professional ring, Sykes debuted on September 12, 1998 at the age of 23. In the ring, Taurus was distinguished by the ability to exert pressure on the opponent throughout the fight, the leading side in the arsenal of his punches was occupied by the left side and jab . In addition, Sykes felt confident in clinching . The main shortcomings of the boxer include a weak amateur school and a complete lack of “firepower” - the American heavyweight managed to knock out less than a third of his opponents defeated in his career.

1998-2000

From September 1998 to June 2000, Sykes actively mastered in professional boxing , gaining experience through victories over modest rivals. Having issued a series of 12 successful battles, Taurus took a short pause in the second half of 2000 , trying to fully prepare for a meeting with the first serious fighter on the horizon. On October 7 in Uncasville ( Connecticut ) two unbeaten “heavy bands” came together at that time - Sykes was opposed by a young Jamaican Owen Beck . The rival of the American boxer at that time had only 6 fights in the professional ring, but the experience of Taurus in this case was not the key to success. Beck was noticeably superior to Sykes in the speed of movement in the ring, and the favorite tactics of the Brooklyn native, the tactics of constant pressure on the opponent, proved to be untenable. Owing to his agility and mobility, Owen avoided most of the American attacks, and, thanks to his good technique, successfully counterattacked. As a result, the six-round battle ended in Beck's victory by points by unanimous decision. In his 13th pro fight, Sykes first experienced the bitterness of defeat.

2001-2002

Six months after the failure in the fight with Beck Sykes, recovering and putting in order physical condition, he confidently dealt with another boxer with an impeccable track record - Puerto Rican Israel Carlos Garcia, nicknamed “King Kong”. Then Taurus removed a certain Charles Hatcher, who had 15 victories in 17 fights, from the path, which proved the prematureness of debiting his person from “prospective accounts”. Sykes received a new chance to successfully establish himself in the most prestigious weight category in 2002 . To begin with, the American won two eight-minute battles, demonstrating the ability to maintain strength until the end of the bout. True, the Canadian jornimen Willie Chapman was too simple a task for Taurus, but in a duel with a strong compatriot Talmadzh Griffis Sykes had to sweat. This battle showed that the boxer 's mentors made the right conclusions from the defeat from Beck . Taurus seemed to look slower than Griffis , but due to his competent location in the ring, he was able to successfully close the opponent over and over again and pressure him with targeted shots. The actions of Sykes were fully appreciated by the judges, calling the boxer the winner on all three referee cards. A similar scenario developed and the next fight of Taurus - with the former representative of the first heavy weight, James Walton. Towards the end of the ten-round confrontation, it became incredibly difficult for Sykes to keep up with his much lighter opponent, which somewhat blurred the overall picture of his (Sykes) advantage during the battle. One judge even put draws, but two others still approved the difficult victory of Taurus. On October 20, 2002, Sykes had another good fight. The famous Bahamian heavyweight Sherman Williams , who made a draw with McCline in 2000 , who had beaten such masters of gloves as Cisse Salif and Al Cole by that time, turned out to be untenable in this case. Sykes won a duel on jabs , more often hit the target during exchanges, successfully spent the late rounds and therefore ended the year with his 20th career victory.

2003-2004

On June 7, 2003, Taurus once again met with a boxer who climbed into the heavy weight category from the first heavy weight. True, Sykes rival Imam Mayfield was far from an ordinary fighter. In 1997, he won the IBF championship belt (in the first heavyweight), and repeatedly participated in title fights throughout his career. As expected, Taurus opposed Mayfield's speed and technique with force and pressure, but he could not tip the scales in his favor. The trio of judges was unanimous in assessing what they saw - a draw. Sykes' performance in this match was hardly deserving of high praise, but the boxer demonstrated his solid, average level. It is all the more surprising that, until the end of 2004, the American scored in the professional ring with just two fights with little-known opponents, confidently defeating both rivals in them.

2005

In 2005, Sykes fought twice, and this period of his career can be described as a turning point in his boxing fate. March 11 Taurus for the first time in his life went to the title fight. The American had to challenge the vacant at that time the championship belt of the North American Boxing Association (NABA) with the popular Nigerian fighter Fredey Akhunanya . Sykes' rival has always been famous for endurance, the ability to "explode" in an unexpected attack, and in 12 rounds of this battle more than once showed his trump cards. But Taurus no less confidently worked both from a distance, acting “because of a jab ”, and when he was in close proximity to his opponent, and he beat clearly more and more diverse than Akhunanya . As a result, the judges gave Sykes a victory by points by unanimous decision. ^[2] The NABA title obtained in the battle with the Nigerian heavyweight can be considered the highest achievement in the career of Taurus.

July 2, 2005   Taurus Sykes -   Samuel Peter

• Location:   Events Center, Renault, Nevada , USA
• Result: Peter won by knockout in the second round of the twelve-round battle
• Status: NABA, NABF, and USBA World Championship title fights.
• Referee: Vic Drakulich
• Weight: Sykes - 106.6 kg; Peter - 110.2 kg
• Broadcast: Showtime

Sykes owned the championship belt for less than three months. After succeeding in a fight with Ahunanya, Taurus agreed to a duel with another Nigerian, who was rapidly rushing into the heavyweight elite, Samuel Peter . 24-year-old Peter had great physical strength and endurance, a crushing blow and at that time he never lost. Before the fight, Sykes noted a number of effective statements, assuring that he was not at all afraid of the opponent’s physical and striking power:

It was my turn to show the world what I am standing for. I move like an invisible, I beat opponents with inspiration. My technique inspires all the children in the world, they look at me and dream that one day they will become the same warriors as Taurus Sykes ....

... my jaw is made of iron. You can hit me with a cannonball, but just laugh and ask who threw the ball for table tennis. Peter will remember the name Taurus for a long time ....

... If Peter thinks he can go into the ring and fight like a caveman, as he usually does, I will decorate his face with jabs so that his mother will not recognize him. Watch it all! On July 2, you will see the savior of the heavyweight division - Taurus Sykes! ...

^[3]

If you eliminate all unnecessary bravado, Taurus's only worthy argument in the ring could really be his technique, since in most cases Peter preferred to bet on a knockout blow.

The battle did not drag on for long. Sykes simply did not have the slightest chance to prove himself. In the second round of the fight, the Nigerian seized the moment and delivered one of his signature powerful punches to the right, and then calmly finished off Taurus at the ropes. ^[4] After losing to Peter , Sykes probably couldn’t find himself the same.

2006

In March 2006, Taurus defeated a “comrade in misfortune” on some points - his opponent Domonic Jenkins also fell victim to the young promising fighter Chris Arreola in his last fight. But after a month, the unremarkable long-armed native of Pennsylvania, Derek Bryant, convinced everyone that the defeat from Peter had really seriously broken Sykes. Referee Jim Korb stopped the fight in the fourth round, officially fixing Taurus' second knockout in his career. Even taking into account the age far from critical by the heavy weight category of Sykes, this defeat actually put an end to his future prospects.

2007

Despite everything, Sykes soon returned to the ring, and even as a contender for the championship belt of the North American Boxing Federation (NABF). True, the point here was by no means in Taurus, who was previously assigned the role of “victim”. American rival in this fight was none other than compatriot Hasim Rahman , who for a long time was one of the best boxers of the category . For Rakhman, the duel with Sykes was the first after a heavy defeat from the Russian Oleg Maskaev and a long ten-month period of inactivity.

June 14, 2007   Taurus Sykes -   Hasim Rahman

• Location:   Main Street Armory, Rochester , New York , USA
• Result: Rahman's victory by points by unanimous decision in a ten-round fight
• Status: NABF Interim World Champion title fight
• Referee: Danny Schiavone
• Judges' Score: Wynn Kintz (93-95, Rahman), Frank Adams (90-98, Rahman), Ruben Garcia (91-97, Rahman)
• Weight: Sykes - 108 kg; Rahman - 118.4 kg
• Broadcast: ESPN

The pause in the speeches negatively affected Rakhman's physical form, who added more than 10 kg to his combat weight. Sykes, acting in a manner similar to Hasim, was in no way inferior to his opponent, who was noticeably lost in the speed of movement in the ring and the speed of his hands. In the penultimate round, Rahman still managed to send the tired Taurus to the knockdown (in addition, in this round, Sykes was removed a point for a blow below the waist), but he managed to survive and completed the end of the battle on a major note. One way or another, the two judges felt that Sykes had won two and three rounds respectively. On the map of the third referee, Wynn Kintz, the winners also included the name of Rakhman , however, the score 93-95 nevertheless reflects the essence of this fight more accurately. ^[5] Sykes succeeded one of the best fights of his career, when no one would have expected this.

2008

Taurus held his next fight in July 2008 , agreeing to become a rival to the promising Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin , whose team set the stage for a future confrontation with IBF and WBO world champion , the famous Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko . Sykes was to perform for the first time outside the United States - the battle was organized in Russia, in Chekhov , near Moscow. The Russian public expected from Taurus boxing familiar to him - with constant movement forward, with good work with his left hand, with numerous clinches . Of course, all this was not a big problem for the much quicker, more technical and hard-hitting Povetkin , but it could make the Russians work with full force. Alas, Sykes clearly did not want to expose himself to excessive risk, and from the first minutes of the battle began to frankly run away from a formidable opponent. In the fourth round, Povetkin's shock series overtook Taurus at the ropes, sending him to the floor. The referee opened the account to the American. Apparently not shocked, Sykes, however, did not show the slightest desire to get out of the ring floor, waiting for the final judicial verdict on a technical knockout . ^[6] Having lost in Russia, the American boxer, of course, won financially, and at the same time successfully maintained his own health.

2010

In 2010, he spent 2 fights in which he was defeated. The first fight against jornimen Joseph Rabotte lost a split decision. And the second against Seth Mitchell, who had no defeats , by knockout in the fifth round. Then he left professional boxing.

2015

On March 26, 2015, after almost 5 years, he returned to pro boxing in a fight against undefeated Cuban Yasmani Consuegra. The fight ended with the victory of the Cuban by unanimous decision of the judges.

1. ↑ Sykes interview for Soviet Sport (Russian)
2. ↑ Sykes - Ahunanya (Russian)
3. ↑ Sykes before the fight with Peter Archival copy of July 20, 2008 on the Wayback Machine (Russian)
4. ↑ Sykes - Peter Archival copy of August 9, 2008 on the Wayback Machine (Russian)
5. ↑ Sykes - Rahman (Russian)
6. ↑ Sykes - Povetkin (Russian)

• Sykes, Taurus - BoxRec professional battle statistics