Good post. One of the most interesting aspects of this debate is that we have never seen either guy fight as a true SMW. Abraham/Miranda was a catchweight fight, and Arthur planned to go right back to 160. Pavlik has many fights above 160, but he always intended to go back down. Basically both guys fought above 160 as blown up middleweights not true 168 pounders. The thing about Kessler in the Calzaghe fight is that he had serious problems with his right hand, and had surgery shortly afterward. That may have contributed a lot to the "deer in the headlights" syndrome. I mean, you're in the middle of a gun fight, and your best weapon ain't loaded.:think
Do you honestly think AA makes Taylor gas? JT could count punches and do just enough to win rounds. This fight may as well have 30 second rounds and dispense with the formality.
Froch beats Pavlik after 5 one sided rounds,Pavlik gets desperate and tries going for the KO,Froch hits him with a straight right hand,Pavlik beats the count and is then beat senseless. Abraham and Froch spend a few rounds testing each other before unloading the bombs.Froch is stung and has to hang on more than once before grinding Abraham down and stopping him in the 9th. Pavlik and Abraham are Middleweights,i dont give two flying ****s what they walk around at,they FIGHT at 160 !!
Is Froch faster than Taylor? Does Froch have a better jab than Taylor? Does Froch hit harder than Miranda? Does Froch have great footwork? Does Froch have good defense? Can Froch dominate Pavlik for even one round? I'll give ya a clue. All the questions have the same answer.
I don't think Pavlik beats Froch, hes too small and his power and strength is not much at the weight plus he seemed slower. He would be fighting someone with an equal( or better) chin, more power and more versatility. Kelly takes too many punches and is not a lateral mover. Bad style match up to say the least. Abraham/Froch would be interesting. If Abaraham doesn't knock him out, i could see him being out worked and overpowered. He would need to be more active in this fight.
If ESB could only organize an expedition to kidnap Kessler away from his promoter and make him fight worthy adversaries 168 would be even more interesting than it is right now.
Hermit the only fighter that Jermain Taylor has fought that is remotely close to aa is winky wright to a very controversial decision. AA has defense with power, Jermain Taylor WILL gas out trying to connect to arthur clean, meanwhile getting countered. Like my previous post, Jermain Taylor beats aa 8 out of 10 at 160, at 168 it is looking like froch taylor, maybe an aa ko even earlier.
Your take on Pavlik/Froch is completely wrong. Froch is PERFECT for Pavlik. Little head movement, slow hands, terrible foot work, poor defense, poor reflexes. His kryptonite will prove to be heavy handed guys with with good fundamentals and good stamina. Froch is incredibley easy to hit with left hands, and this one pits him against a guy with one of the best left hands in the business. Five rounds in Froch's right eye would be closed, or nearly closed. Against Pavlik, if you start catching a lot of jabs and long left hooks from outside, the right hand is already on its way. In addition, when you show the kind of defensive imcompetance Froch shows, Pavlik will make you pay repeatedly. Considering Froch's lack of speed and defense Kelly would hit him just as easily as Taylor did, but he'd hit him a lot harder, and a lot more often.
They can beat anyone at 168 but Kessler, and would beat most of them, save the usual loss on a bad day (flu, small injury, etc.). Andrade could be interesting. Taylor would lead comfortably in a fight with Abraham until he gets knocked out in round 10-12. Froch ??? When Taylor can find him with his eyes closed, Abraham will get bombs in every round, and at 168 with a not weight drained Abraham, he won't take that for 12 rounds. 168 is Abrahams best weight since he will still have his power, and face slower opposition that he can hit more. He may have to get more on his bike like he used to against Ikeke and Velazco, but he can do that. He was just lazy when he did not have to.
I think Abraham is the future of 168 and I don't see Pavlik or any other title holder beating him including Kessler. AA would knock bute the **** out.
Arthur has one fight above 160, and that was Miranda at 166. Miranda loses big to Bute, and is probably 60/40 against Froch with Froch being the favorite, so how do you arrive at this conclusion?
I had this fighter i use to like... Sharp knuckle Ikeke something. Anyhow I've been rooting against AA since that fight. But after the second Miranda fight i realized like him or not he is the truth.With the exception of inactivity whcih i believe is due to cutting weight i see no other weakness. Very good defense and 1 punch KO power in both hands, Good placement and accurate punches. Kid is a beast, he is too big now for 168 and imo he is only hurting himself cutting the weight. at 168 he will be more active.