taylor's prime is 160. and given how much better dirrell looked against abraham than against froch you can argue that dirrell is just coming into his own and isnt at his peak (and may never be if the reports are to be believed) but i will indulge you... taylor throws two types of right hands. he has his "bow and arrow" right hand that he telegraphs like a muh ****er but is hard as ****...and he has his absolute beauty of a counter right over the top of a left jab. dirrell is a southpaw, so the latter wouldnt be as much of a factor as it was against pavlik and froch (which was the shot that precipitated them both being dropped.) taylor also gasses late as we have seen. on the other hand taylor had a great jab and was a helluva athlete which would have given him an opportunity to land his right hand despite his bow and arrow tendencies. dirrell is very athletic, has good movement and the southpaw stance. has a good jab when he wants to really throw it and can double and triple it up as we saw against abraham. but he doesnt engange enough to make taylor gas and taylor can obviously deal with crafty, slick fighters. say what you will about the outcome of the taylor/hopkins fights...taylor gave hopkins all he wanted twice. dirrell has been stunned and hurt by fighters that can't even hold taylors jock strap...but dirrell isnt peak yet so that doesnt count i suppose. given dirrell's god given unwillingness to engage full throttle, i just don't see him being able to do enough win. if he ran the way he did against froch rounds 1-9,10, he would lose a UD. if he picked his spots and tried to box the way he did against the non throwing turtle shell that is abraham...i think he loses a much much closer UD. but again...i am judging this off of the best ive seen from taylor from the best ive seen of dirrell...and i dont' think we've seen the best of dirrell. so a taylor UD is subject to revision based on what dirrell does in the future. his two big fights are froch and abraham. i feel he won both but i don't think either performance would beat a prime jermain taylor.
Keep in mind that dirrell is pretty elusive defensively. Taylor has great fundamentals but can't think worth crap in the ring which means he would not be able to make adjustments. Remember the tough times he had with Spinks, Winky and Ouma? I think Dirrell is crafty, fast and athletic enough to beat a prime Taylor. Btw is taylors prime only the two fights with B-hop?
Taylor's prime was 160lbs. I'd take Dirrell at 168lbs by decision. Good fight, both guys have their moments.
A prime Taylor struggled with Winky Wright and Cory Spinks. 2 welterweights. What do you think would happen at 168?
Dirrell by ass whuppin. Much of a ***** as he is, Taylor always sucked, and Dirrell would be a style nightmare for him.
