Taylor was facing up to 20 years in prison for a trio of incidents, including brandishing a firearm, shooting his cousin and showing signs of mental illness.
‘Bad Intentions’ was brought in by police not long after regaining the world title at 160 pounds when defeating Australian Sam Soliman in October 2014. The 37 year-old was ordered to undergo 120 hours of community service but had threats of a custodial sentence suspended on the condition that he keeps his nose clean in future.
At Pulaski County Circuit in front of Judge Leon Johnson on Friday, Taylor had this to say:
“I made a lot of mistakes, I just want to apologize to my state, to my kids and my cousin and my family. I’m trying to come back.”
It’s not known at this stage whether that statement means Taylor intends to return to the sport soon, although the likeliness is that fans haven’t seen the last of the Little Rock-native in the ring.
With a record of 33 wins, four losses and one draw, Taylor is widely recognised as one of the top middleweights of his era, having defeated the great Bernard Hopkins twice during the mid-2000’s.
