Female boxer out for blood

     By Todd Dewey
     View staff writer
      Suzy Taylor doesn't mince words when it comes to her upcoming fight against Gina Nicholas on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel.
      "My goal in the fight is to go out and break her jaw," said Taylor, the reigning International Boxing Association (IBA) world heavyweight champion. "She has a nice pointy chin, and I'm gonna try to break it."
      Some might consider that statement pure hype for the fight -- if Taylor (10-3-1, six knockouts) hadn't broken some bones before.
      Taylor, a 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pound puncher, broke the nose and jaw of Shannon Hall, a former American Gladiator, on her way to winning the heavyweight crown less than two years ago.
      The victory, which came via technical knockout in only her fourth professional fight, allowed Taylor to approach boxing as more than just a hobby.
      "That was a big break for me. The title means a lot to me," she said. "It's been really rewarding. I'm having a really good time. I get to travel, meet a lot of neat people and, of course, it increases my pay.
      "It makes it more worth my time. Before, it was more of a hobby because I would lose money fighting. It was fun anyway, but now that I hold a title, I make at least a little bit."
      Taylor, a 30-year-old business owner who moved to Las Vegas nearly a year ago, took up boxing as a hobby in 1995.
      After just two months of training -- without a single sparring session -- Taylor earned a silver medal at the inaugural USA women's national boxing tournament. She also earned the respect of pro boxing promoters.
      "I started getting calls to go pro and I said 'OK,' " she said. "It just kind of happened for me."
      Taylor, who lost her pro debut, was 3-1 when she stopped Hall for the title. She then became the first person to knock down top-ranked Kathy Rivers on her way to a unanimous decision and knocked out third-ranked Kendra Linhart in another bout.
      "I've always fought the top contenders. That's how I've progressed really fast," Taylor said. "I've never had an easy fight. All my fights have been really tough."
      Most of her fights have also been action-packed.
      "My fights are always really exciting," she said. "I throw a lot of shots, but my defense isn't really good, so I get cracked with a couple shots. That's what the crowd likes to see."
      Taylor, who is married with two children, was forced to sit out 45 days recently after losing a split decision to two-time champion Mary Ann Almager at the Hard Rock.
      Boxers are usually required to sit out 30 days after getting knocked out, Taylor said, but the Nevada Athletic Commission apparently thought more time was needed to recover.
      "They said it was one of the most brutal fights they'd ever seen. In their opinion, we both took too many shots to the head," she said. "We were both bleeding like stuck pigs. I took 10 upper cuts in the last round. But that's what makes it an exciting fight. If I take a couple of punches and she takes a couple, the crowd gets into it."
      Taylor, who said she enjoyed standing ovations after every round of the fight, likes to put on a show.
      She enters the ring with her chimpanzee, Tarzan, who carries her belts and wears a cornerman's jacket that matches her robe.
      But Taylor, who trains at Barry's Boxing Gym, also works very hard.
      She rises at 6:30 every morning, boxes 22 rounds five days a week and works out with a strength trainer three days a week.
      "He's trying to kill me, I think," she said.
      Taylor, who will fight as a super middleweight Saturday, said she enjoys boxing more than team sports -- and for good reason.
      She received 26 stitches in her shin after getting spiked and also separated her shoulder in a baseball game. She broke her ankle playing softball and had two teeth knocked out in basketball.
      Boxing appears to be the safest sport she's encountered.
      "I'm safer in the ring than I am on the field," she said. "I've had a bloody nose and a black eye (while boxing), so I've been fortunate. Right now, I'm having a good time. If I get my nose and jaw broken, I might retire."
      Storied boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho once gave Taylor a bloody nose. Taylor was given the chance to spar with the former champion by trainer Jesse Reid, who served as her cornerman until recently.
      "I hit him with a low blow one day and he dropped me," Taylor said of Camacho. "I got a bloody nose from him and he told Jesse, `Let her bleed, she's got two more rounds.' We didn't spar, we had a war that day."
      As usual, Taylor will face an interesting opponent in Nicholas, whom Taylor said is a world powerlifting champ.
      "This girl is big. I don't know men with biceps this big," she said. "She's probably stronger than I am, but she's also slow and doesn't take a punch very well.
      "Everything's going to the chin."