Boxer Jermain Taylor arrested after allegedly threatening family

Middleweight boxing champion Jermain Taylor was arrested Monday on suspicion of aggravated assault and other charges after he allegedly threatened to kill a family in Little Rock, Ark., police said.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Taylor threatened a family of five at gunpoint during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. In addition to multiple aggravated assault charges, Taylor faces three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and one count of drug possession.

Toya Smith told the newspaper that Taylor became enraged when her 5-year-old son dropped Taylor’s championship belt while attending the parade. He then threatened to kill Smith, her husband and her three children, pointing a gun at them before firing two shots into the air, Smith claimed.

“He put [the gun] up against [my husband’s] temple, I jumped in front of it and it went off up into the air,” Smith said, according to the Associated Press. “He was going to shoot him, but I saw it, he was going to kill him and I had to hit the gun.”

Smith claimed Taylor then pointed the gun at their vehicle as they tried to leave the parade.

“He was pointing at the kids, so I jumped in front of him again and said `Please don’t shoot my kids,’” Smith said.

Taylor, 36, was arrested a short time later without incident, police said. He was released from jail Tuesday after posting $50,000 bond.

Taylor, who won a boxing bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, was scheduled to defend his IBF middleweight title against Sergio Mora on Feb. 6, but the bout was canceled Monday after Taylor broke a rib while sparring, according to multiple reports.

Taylor is already facing two felony charges stemming from an arrest in August for allegedly shooting his cousin and threatening another man. He has entered a plea of not guilty and his trial is scheduled to take place in June.

Taylor has a career record of 33-4-1 and is best known for his consecutive victories over Bernard Hopkins in 2005.