Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor took time from his training schedule to encourage children at the UALR-UAMS Stuttering Center in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, telling the kids that when he was their age, he had a hard time talking.

“We all come from the same place,” he told children at the clinic. “When I was I school I was always nervous and scared that the teacher would ask me to read. I was always dreading it and she always called on me and I hated it. I thought she was picking on me, but she was really just trying to help me.”

The fighter, who defends his title Saturday at Alltel Arena, gave the kids some advice on how to handle the teasing that young people who have stuttering problems often encounter. “Do kids make fun of you? They made fun of me and one thing you need to remember is if someone makes fun of you they are not your friend,” Taylor said.

“When I get nervous, I have a hard time finding words. Does that happen to you? “When I’m doing an interview and I get nervous, I just take a step back and I tell myself, ‘I am somebody – I’m the middle weight champion, I’m rich’. When I feel confident that makes me feel calm. Always have confidence in yourself.”