Taggart In Action Tonight
By Jesse kelley
1.14.09

Weights from Fightnews.com
Timothy Taggart 159.25 vs William Deets 163.5

Tim Taggart Jr. will be in action tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Taggart, who recently relocated to Florida, was an accomplished Minnesota amateur fighter before turning pro on December 15th of 2007. Since then Taggart has built a record of (3-1, 2 KO's) with the only loss coming to Jon Schmidt last June in what could be the MN fight of the year for 2008. In that bout, Taggart stormed to a first round lead, knocking Schmidt down but says he put everything into trying to finish Schmidt off and ran out of gas.
"Honestly I didn't even think I was going to be fighting Schmidt until days before the fight" said Taggart
Somebody dropped out, I was told I would be fighting Schmidt, so I fought him. In reality, he is somebody I would like to have time to prepare for though. I dropped him right away in the first round. I tried to get him out and was spent after that. I give Jon credit though, he changed his game plan after the knockdown and I continued to try to brawl."

Writer Laura Zink said it best when describing the fight in a post fight story. "Clearly, both fighters fought a match of ebb, flow and honor, both fighters should be proud of what they accomplished that night."
"Iron Man" Schmidt came on strong in the fourth, landing a hard combination on the ropes. Referee Mark Nelson jumped in to stop the fight.

"I did not agree with the stoppage" said Taggart. "In fact I was pretty pissed it was stopped like that. I was in shock when it happened. I watched the tape many times. He did catch me but I was still fighting. I was coming forward."

"Of course I would like a rematch" Taggart said when asked if he would like to face Schmidt again. "It is my only loss and I want to get it back."

Recently, Bad Dog Productions of Miami and Seminole Warriors Boxing of Hollywood, Florida signed Taggart to a long term contract. The promotional team has been a part of three shows in Minnesota over the past 2 years.
Richard Dobal, managing partner of Bad Dog, states,"Tim's tenacity,courage and amateur experience, led us to believe that Tim is a future champion."

Taggart says he has now relocated to Florida to live and train full time with guys like Orlando Cuellar, Mckenzie ? and former world champion Glen Johnson.
"I moved to Florida in December to live with Henry Foster (manager) until I can find a job and live on my own. It has been great. "
When asked to discuss some of the things he has learned from Johnson, Taggart said defense was key.
"Good defense has always been key to him. Defense, defense, defense! Johnson trains very hard and he expects the same from you."

In preparation for his bout tonight, Taggart has been sparring with Eromosele "Bad Boy"Albert and James "Buddy"McGirt Jr.
"The sparring has been exceptional" said Taggart.
Taggart was also sparring with Alex Kiroga, who is a shorter, stocky fighter with a similar build to his original opponent Marvin Blair.
" Blair pulled out a week ago. Word was he wasn't going to be able to make weight and he just pulled out. To be honest I don't know much about my opponent (William Deets)

Taggart closed the interview out by letting people know that he has been working hard and hopes that Minnesota fan's continue to follow his career.
"I am in Florida, but I am a Minnesota fighter. I have another fight scheduled for February in Miami. I can't wait to fight in Minnesota again though, we will see after my next fight."