Los Angeles: Former middleweight world boxing champion Jermain Taylor was arrested and jailed overnight on suspicion of domestic battery and aggravated assault inside his Arkansas home on Tuesday in connection with the shooting of his cousin, Tyrone Hinton.
A Pulaski County, Arkansas, judge set Taylor’s bail at $25,000 (Dh91,831) on Wednesday morning, and granted a defence request to allow the boxer to travel out of state to train for his October 8 title fight against International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Sam Soliman in Mississippi.
“Mr Taylor was arrested for domestic battery, first-degree, and aggravated assault,” Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office Lt Carl Minden said on Tuesday. “It was his cousin and another individual that came over to his house, an altercation ensued, he [Taylor] grabbed a weapon and opened fire.”
Hinton was hospitalised in serious condition with an apparent gunshot wound and the other man, described as a friend of the cousin, was not injured, Minden said. The two drove from the home and were found at a discount store several blocks away, Minden said.
Part of the police investigation is believed to be over why the cousin and the other individual entered Taylor’s home.
A woman believed to be Taylor’s wife called 911 shortly before 6pm on Tuesday to report an intruder and the shooting inside the home in Maumelle, Arkansas, a suburb of Little Rock.
Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella, said he was still gathering facts and hasn’t spoken to Taylor, 36, so he declined comment.
Taylor (32-4-1, 20 knockouts) ascended from being a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics to standing as unified middleweight world champion following his split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins in 2005. Taylor beat Hopkins again in Las Vegas by unanimous decision later in 2005.
He then successfully defended the belt twice more before suffering a technical knockout loss to Kelly Pavlik in 2007 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Taylor lost three of four fights by knockout, and took a two-year hiatus from the sport following an October 2009 loss to Arthur Abraham before returning to win four consecutive bouts, including a December knockout of Juan Carlos Candelo that gained him the opportunity to challenge Soliman.
