Published: May 28, 2007 11:31 pm      

Local boxer punching his way toward Olympics

Sometimes it pays to listen to your spouse.

Heavyweight boxer Andres Taylor of Johnstown certainly is glad that he followed through on the suggestion of his wife, Shannon.

She urged the 28-year-old boxer to try to qualify for the U.S. Championships at Colorado Springs, Colo., via the Western Trials in Salt Lake City.

Taylor’s 27-10 decision over Akeem Holland in the championship of the heavyweight division on Saturday moved him a step closer to qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Taylor is one of 11 champions who will compete in the lone direct qualifier for the Olympic team starting on Saturday and ending on June 8. It was the third and final attempt for Taylor, who also competed in the Midwestern and Eastern trials before striking gold in Utah.

The Flood City Boxing fighter, who is managed by his father, Calvin Taylor, has boxed 11 times in two months.

“I’d like to thank my wife, Shannon,” Andres Taylor said. “I wasn’t going to go to Utah, I was very tired. She was the one that urged me to go and give this one more try.”

Taylor stopped Duncan Hunter in the second round during his quarterfinal bout and topped Javier Torres in the semifinal.

“It’s hard because some of these guys have 75, 85 fights in and I have 28,” Taylor said. “It was a tough week, and there were a lot of good fighters from across the nation trying to get in.”

Taylor’s championship bout against Holland opened at a slow pace, with Holland grabbing a 5-2 lead after two rounds. A huge third round by Taylor gave him a 17-6 edge as the fourth round began. He continued to build on his lead through the final two minutes en route to the heavyweight crown.

Taylor, a 2006 state Golden Gloves champion, had put his trust in a higher source.

“I put this in God’s hands and he delivered,” he said. “I was a warrior for God this weekend, and he delivered.”

Taylor’s road to the 2008 Olympics still has some obstacles, with the Greater Johnstown grad needing to reach at least the quarterfinals in Colorado Springs to advance to the Olympic Box-off in August in Miami. From there, a fighter needs to take the championship to represent the United States in the Olympics. The runner-up would serve as the alternate.

“Colorado is going to be hard,” Taylor said. “It’s the best from the Midwest, East, West, the champion of the Golden Glove Nationals. It’s the top fighters in the nation in every weight class. This started with over 30,000 boxers, and 300 boxers are going to be in Colorado. After the U.S. Championship, 88 are going to the box-off. That’s a big step, to be U.S. champion.

“Everybody is hungry. It’s an honor to know that I made it.”

He can thank his wife for that.