ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Marquis Taylor got credit for his work this time around.
Eight months after his dubious draw with Paul Kroll, the junior middleweight won an eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Detroit native Marlon Harrington on Friday night. Judges Jacklyn Atkins (79-73), Anthony Lundy (80-72) and Joseph Pasquale (79-73) all scored their fight for Taylor by wide distances.
The 28-year-old Taylor, of Galena Park, Texas, improved to 13-1-2 (1 KO). Harrington dropped to 8-1 (7 KOs).
Showtime aired Taylor’s victory as the co-feature of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader from Bally’s Grand Ballroom.
Taylor fought for the first time since he settled for an eight-round majority draw with Kroll, an undefeated prospect from Philadelphia, on February 18 in Orlando, Florida. Taylor seemed to out-work Kroll (9-0-1, 6 KOs) in that bout, but he only won on one scorecard (80-72, 75-77, 76-76).
Comfortably in front on all three scorecards Friday night, an opportunistic Taylor connected with a right-left combination toward the end of the eighth and final round. Taylor landed a right and then a left inside and backed up Harrington with just over a minute to go in their fight.
Taylor’s right hand knocked Harrington off balance with just under 40 seconds on the clock in the seventh round. Harrington drilled Taylor with a right hand about 10 seconds earlier, but Taylor was the more effective fighter for much of the seventh round.
A stiff jab by Taylor moved Harrington backward with just under a minute to go in the sixth round. A right-left combination by Taylor connected early in the sixth round.
Taylor and Harrington traded right hands during several sequences in the second half of the fifth round, yet neither fighter affected his opponent with those punches. Harrington’s left hand landed as Taylor backed into the ropes with about 1:35 on the clock in the fifth round.
Harrington switched to a southpaw stance in the middle minute of the fourth round, only to have Taylor promptly hit him with a straight right hand. Harrington landed a right as Taylor retreated with about 30 seconds on the clock in the fourth round.
Taylor nailed Harrington with a right hand early in the fourth round, but Harrington shook his head to indicate that shot didn’t affect him.
A left-right-left combination by Harrington connected while Taylor was backed against the ropes with about 45 seconds remaining in the third round.
Taylor connected with a straight right hand as Harrington moved backward with 1:15 to go in the second round. Harrington had difficulty hitting the elusive Taylor with clean punches during the second round.
Taylor landed a right hand that backed up Harrington with about 40 seconds to go in the first round. Neither fighter landed many clean punches during those opening three minutes.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.