Former middleweight world champion Jermaine Taylor has been arrested after allegedly biting a woman's arm and face and threatening to kill her.
According to a news release, officers with the Maumelle Police Department in Arkansas were called around 2:40 a.m. to a domestic disturbance. Authorities spoke with a 28-year-old woman and Taylor and the woman said Taylor attacked her as they were arguing, with the former boxer biting her numerous times.
The woman, who is Taylor's girlfriend, said Taylor attempted to damage her cellphone in an effort to keep her from calling police. Police said the girlfriend then pepper-sprayed Taylor in the face and was able to leave the home. Taylor reportedly chased her down the street and threatened to kill her. After Taylor was arrested, he was transported to Maumelle, Arkansas police headquarters and later released on criminal citations.
Taylor now faces charges of felony first-degree terroristic threatening, misdemeanor third-degree battery and misdemeanor first-degree interference with emergency communication, records show. Taylor is currently serving a six-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to nine felony charges in 2015, including a shooting that critically wounded his cousin, Tyrone DaWayne Hinton.
Throughout his career, which spanned from 2001-14, Taylor won the WBC, WBO, IBF and lineal middleweight titles. He last fought in 2014, when he defeated former world champion Sam Soliman via unanimous decision. Taylor also won a bronze medal as a light welterweight in the 2000 Summer Olympics.