Taylor in top shape for Pavlik

Jermain Taylor picked up the 30-pound sledgehammer, took aim at the monster truck tire sitting in the middle of the ring and began to swing away.

It was as if Taylor were a modern day John Henry, except he was pounding rubber instead of steel spikes on a railroad track. Before flailing away at the big tire, Taylor was dodging tennis balls thrown at his head by trainer Ozell Nelson from 15 feet away, shadow boxing the entire time.

Is this any way to train for a fight?

Taylor (27-1-1, 17 knockouts) said he's willing to do whatever it takes to avenge his loss, a seventh-round knockout to Kelly Pavlik in September. Taylor would not regain his lost world middleweight title when he and Pavlik meet Feb. 16 at the MGM Grand Garden because the title isn't on the line. But if he wins, Taylor says he'll regain his self-respect as a fighter.

"I let myself down in that first fight," Taylor said after holding a media workout Wednesday at Johnny Tocco's Gym. "I didn't come in prepared. I didn't train as hard as I should have. I came in comfortable, and he showed me I shouldn't have come in comfortable.

"I felt I should have done a lot more work. I underestimated him, and I paid for it."

Taylor insists he won't let that happen again. He fired Emanuel Steward, who trained him for the first Pavlik fight, and brought back Nelson, who had started working with Taylor when Taylor was 13 years old.

"It's like old times," Taylor said. "Everything's perfect."

Nelson said he could tell immediately what was wrong with Taylor that night in Atlantic City when he had Pavlik down and nearly out in the second round but failed to put him away.

"What bothered me the most was at the end of the second round, Jermain was holding on to Pavlik after he had him hurt. That told me he was spent," Nelson said. "That told me he needed to have better conditioning."

Taylor has stepped up his workout regimen for the rematch. He said he's running five miles a day, six days a week. He's putting in the equivalent of 14 rounds in the gym each day. Nelson has him sparring more. He has Taylor hitting the heavy bag more, trying to build his upper-body strength and endurance. Same with the sledgehammer. The tennis balls? To sharpen Taylor's reflexes.

"I can feel the difference," Taylor said. "I didn't finish him in the second round because I didn't have the upper-body strength I should have. I tried to get him out of there, but he wouldn't go. And I was tired."

The 12-round fight, to be televised by HBO Pay Per View, is at the catch weight of 166 pounds. Taylor said he weighed 170 pounds Wednesday and that making weight will be easy, because he has plenty of incentive from the loss.

"I feel like I cheated myself the last time," Taylor said. "I knew what it took to get there, and I stopped doing it. I learned a hard lesson."