This is going to be one of the best fights in the Super Six I think. Taylor would appear to be the better boxer and has the best chance of taking a decision, but Arthur Abraham has ridiculously heavy handed and is patient enough to wait until Taylor tires or backs into a corner. It's a real mongoose vs. cobra fight, with an upright hedgehog-guard puncher against a relaxed American style jab-and-move boxer. A durable rock who has fought on with a broken jaw against the man who had the great Bernard Hopkins totally confused. This is a great era of super-middleweights! :happy
Wow why are so many fooled by this abraham ? sorry but I think he's a fake champion and he'll get owned by taylor.
I wouldn't bet a penny on this fight. It is truly 50/50. There's a 50% chance that Pavlik and Froch ruined Jermain, and AA will knock him out. And, there is a 50% chance that Jermain still has enough in the tank to school Abraham.
Taylor looked brilliant against Froch; perhaps the best I've seen him at that level of opposition. But, as you say, it's impossible to know what that last round against Froch did to Taylor. He took a large amount of clean unprotected punches from a heavy puncher. On the other hand, it might just be that Taylor is physically better at 168 at this point. His footwork has certainly improved A LOT since the Winky fight, where it was horrendous and IMO should have cost him the fight.
How many % chance do you give that Hopkins ruined Pavlik and how do you see Williams' chances vs. the Hopkins bag lady?
I get the feeling AA will stop Taylor in the late rounds when he's down on the cards. Taylor will get off to a good start, will clearly be outboxing him, but will slow down around the 7th or 8th and start to get tagged more. Then AA will begin to open up and wear him down for the finish. A toss-up tho.
It's funny how one or two bad losses can change everything. Two and a half years ago, people would have laughed at this fight. Taylor would probably be an 8 to 1 favorite to beat Abraham, who really doesn't have much of a resume. Not saying a bad loss shouldn't impact perceptions...But if Jermaine has anything of the old magic, he should coast to a decision victory.
I'd like to see how Abraham responds to Taylor's speed in the first half of the fight. Taylor would most likely build a good lead in the first half but Abraham is bound to hit him with something and start slowing him down. Rounds 8-12 are crucial for Taylor(both mentally and physically)and if he can find a way to deal with it, he will win. Right now I'm leaning towards Abraham, but it would be great to see Taylor redeem himself in Abraham's home country.
Two years ago people laughed because Taylor beat Hopkins twice, that's not something simple. No one knew how Taylor would handle power punches till he met different opponents. Taylor picked on the best guys available to fight, that's why we found out more about him. He could have gone the easy route and fought scrubs and hide whatever weakness he may have from the public. It's the major/dangerous fights that exposes what the fighter has, negative or positive.
as usual, agree with you boo. taylor has the style to pound away and pick up points against abraham. if he can keep his head, and fight like he did in pavlik 2, i see a taylor win. however if he has his usual last 3 round lull, his ass might get knocked out
This is the thing that worries me for Jermain. He's been vulnerable to tiring later on fights and while Abraham is often lumbering and clumsy, he's very good at taking advantage of opportunities.
:goodgood post. anyone ragging on taylor needs to look at his resume. dude is old school. when you fight the best every time out, you'll lose once in a while
That's kind of my point. No disrepect to Abraham, but he certainly hasn't fought the best guys around. In fact, he's never fought anyone even close to Taylor, talentwise. It remains to be seen, however, exactly what Jermiane has left in the tank.