Middleweight Marquis Taylor is willing to say “yes” to any fight against a highly-ranked opponent.
Bobby Harrison, Taylor’s manager, is the first to tell you that the plans constantly change when it comes to Taylor’s career and not because of Taylor or his team.
Taylor, 31, recently added former two-time titleholder Shawn Porter as his head coach. Even with a celebrity trainer and some notable wins, Taylor is still looking for that elusive big fight. Taylor, a natural junior middleweight, is fighting above his optimum weight as he seeks big fights with a perceived disadvantage against bigger opponents. Taylor is the classic high-risk, low-reward fighter.
“Every time we have a plan, people back out,” Harrison said. “He is the quintessential fighter nobody wants to fight. Everyone is avoiding him. That sounds like a boring cliché, but literally, every time we get him a fight, people change their mind before the fight happens, including the last two fights.”
Houston’s Taylor, 30, last fought in December. He defeated Ivan Pandzic on short-notice after his previous opponent withdrew the week of the fight with a rib injury. When asked if they have anxiety when making fights for Taylor, Harrison, without hesitation, stated: “We definitely have anxiety.”
Now the team is looking at going the route of the sanctioning bodies and climbing up the rankings to become a mandatory contender. Taylor has already derailed many prospects’ rise. In 2023 he upset undefeated Cuban middleweight Yoelvis Gomez, while the year before that he defeated the unbeaten Marlon Harrington. Even prior to that Taylor got the better of the unbeaten Sanjarbek Rakhmanov, Oscar Torres, and Jimmy Williams. He holds draws with Luke Santamaria and Paul Kroll.
“We’ve told them all [the major sanctioning bodies] he will fight anyone at any time,” Harrison said. “He will never say no.”
Taylor, 18-1-2 (3 KOs), is optimistic something will change in 2025 as he holds a notable record and has some solid wins over hometown fighters. The team is simply looking for a chance to fight at the highest level of the sport.
“Now that we have made it clear that we’re one of the few fighters out there that will fight anyone, somebody will take us up on it and somebody will say yes,” Harrison said. “He’s the hungriest, most dedicated human being I know and I’m a self-made guy that owns 14 companies. He’s hungrier and more dedicated than me. The guy is in the gym 12 hours a day. If I told him he has to fight for a world title next week he’ll do it. It’s amazing. It’s a travesty that no one’s giving him an opportunity.”
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