Who Wins at 168? Kessler vs Taylor?

I know, and I give him a pass on Hopkins/Wright of course. I still think there was an opportunity for a big punching middleweight to take out Ouma. Especially with that guys style, its not like he ain't giving you a chance. Spinks, likewise. And no Spinks didn't run all night, he threw way more punches than Taylor. That's difficult to do if you run all the time. Besides, its not a great excuse for a quick guy like Taylor, he should have dealt with that better. Put it this way...Ouma and Spinks against Kessler would NOT last the distance IMO. No matter how much they run...something is gonna catch up.

He hit Pavlik with like a 14 punch combination when Pavlik was playing the clown. It's not an indication of his power under normal circumstances. When Pavlik boxed normally he didn't cause him any big problems.

But yeah, overall I would say he has enough to get a super middles attention. It's just the way you worded Taylor's combination of "speed and power", as if he was a true puncher that confused me!

 

Excellent stuff. ^ KO via crushing response.

 

Spinks threw 200 more punches but most of them were from about halfway across the ring out of fear for his life. He only connected on 11% of his punches, and Taylor's not a great defensive fighter... how do you think he managed to get missed that many times? Hard to land when you're nowhere near the guy. Stop reading punchstats and go back and watch the fight. :hi:

Also, it was only a four or five punch combo that sent Pavlik to the mat, hurt worse than he's ever been before or since. Clowning or not, he got burned.

Never meant to imply that Taylor is a great puncher, only good enough that with the rest of his skillset he presents a real threat for anyone. Why do you think Hopkins avoided engaging him the first 7 rounds of their first fight? :deal

 

Punch stats? This is from memory, these boring fights tend to be ingrained in the memory. The guy is a MUCH smaller man in size and reach. How the hell did he land a similar amount to Taylor that being the case? Simple logic here says that he was in Taylor's range often enough if he landed as many punches, especially considering Taylor's longer reach. And he did...watch the fight. Taylor's effort was pathetic, that was the disapointment in the fight. He should have knocked out Spinks, period, he hit him with enough punches to do so.

Yes, I exaggerated how many punches. Nevertheless, they were all clean flush punches on a guy that wasn't even trying to defend himself. When he hurts a top level fighter in a more normal scenario I'll take note. Hitting a guy multiple times who is so complacent that he clowns does not inspire confidence he is a hard puncher, I'd like to see something more.

I could ask you that same question about why Hopkins did that for the ENTIRE fight against Calzaghe. And we all know he certainly can not punch.

 

I'm going with this too.:good

 

Truly hilarious poll results. Kessler is more natural at the weight, likely somewhat quicker with his hands and feet, damaging stinging jab, excellent power right over and under - *abrupt ending*. Taylor is reasonably quick himself in all departments, far superior (and far more frequent) with his lead and counter left hand power shots, right hand lead power shots - the far superior counter puncher, purely, the far more experienced competitor at world class level, far more dynamic in his shot selection, the better inside fighter, the better transition fighter, sneakier, ect.

Taylor by decision. Very much looking forward to this. Indeed.

 

The poll results are a surprise. I thought it would be 60/40 or 70/30 for Kessler. Crazy.

 

Taylor hasn't knocked out anyone in a long time. He was considered a puncher when he rose to contender status, but at the elite level at 160, he has one knockdown in a fight he lost and no KO's. He won't be a huge puncher at 168, not against a massive supermiddleweight who was never seriously hurt.

 

Wow the poll is one sided as ****

 

In theory, your comparison sounds reasonable. But all the advantages you list for Taylor would apply in a comparison between him and Pavlik as well. Taylor just doesn't use his advantages to the max, a slightly less gifted fighter like Pavlik or Kessler with superior mental strength will most likely beat Taylor.

From reading your comparisons, one would have to assume that Taylor had a stellar career and never disappointed. The fact is that his title matches against Hopkins were controversial wins (OK, against a legend, but still...), his title defenses were disappointing, he lost twice to Pavlik (who is good but not better than Kessler) and moved up to 168 because it was clear that he probably will never get past Pavlik. The attributes you list are one thing, how well he puts them to use in the ring is another. Zab Judah has all the attributes to be a superstar, but never will be. Same for Taylor, he has world class talent, heart but average mental strength.

 

Recognize what's being said - Taylor's attributes are being referred to directly in comparison to Kessler and Kessler only. Also, Pavlik exploited Taylor's tendency to back straight up, and Taylor's vulnerability to being walked down. Mental strength? Nope. Relentless pressure was the key ingredient to Pavlik's success. It was a physical pressure. Physical pressure. Kessler is a long distance fencer by comparison.

The logistical manueverings of Kelly Pavlik and Mikkel Kessler are utterly different. Kessler is going to give Taylor plenty of room on the outside which is exactly where Taylor wants to be in the same way that's where Kessler wants to be - the difference being all the things I mentioned. There's an actual relevance to what I've said, bud. Taylor's larger bag of tricks is going to be overwhelming in this sword fighting contest. Believe it. Kelly Pavlik and Zab Judah have nothing to do with anything.

 

Taylor UD...

Wow, am I alone in here?

 

I think this fight would be competitive. People are dismissing JT a bit too easily IMO.

I can see JT getting in his flashy combinations on a regular basis and i can also envision Kessler doing his 1-2 and being effective. JT's also a pretty good counter puncher and he might time Kessler regularly because Kessler is predictable. JT does fight flat footed though and that might play right into Kessler's attack.

I got JT in this one based on cleaner, flashier landed punches which will wow the judges.