Kessler/Froch Ward/Taylor Abraham/Dirrell I've had a terrible year. Hopefully 2010 will be better. My picks are in bold. Froch won't present the stylistic problems Ward did. Plus the fight is in Denmark, so Froch won't be allowed to foul at will like Ward was in Oakland and Froch was in Nottingham. I think Mikkell knocks him out in 8-10 rounds. Jermain Taylor is absolutely shot; nuff said. Dirrell is to sloppy and clumsy to keep AA off of him for 12 long rounds.
read it here first: Froch will KO Kessler Ward will retire Taylor on his stool Abraham will put Dirrell through the ropes.
i'll take your bold names as well. kess, ward, aa. but i will tell you that prior to last night, i was confident that kess/froch would be a massacre. now, i still think kess will win but maybe it won't be the blowout i though it might be. is it 100% confirmed that taylor is continuing? dirrell may actually be ahead on the cards when it happens but it will happen. aa will find him at some point. your right boo, 12 rounds is a long time to try and avoid really mixing it up w/ aa. i'd like to see dirrell get a big win in this tourney but i just don't think he'll be able to avoid arthur all fight. but who knows, crazier things have happened.
Kessler UD12 Froch Abraham TKO Dirrell Ward UD12 Taylor/Green/Whomever The only one that I have significant reservations about is Abraham/Dirrell. While I think the conventional wisdom, i.e., Dirrell will be able to stay outside and potshot for a while before succumbing to the powerful slugger, has merit, I can envision Dirrell putting together the flashes he showed against Froch for a complete performance. This is especially so given that the fight will be somewhere in the United States.
Here's my take on Abraham/Dirrell. I beleive there are two kinds of fighters who can absolutley humiliate Abraham. 1) a clever counter puncher/slick boxer with fast hands and fast intelligent feet. 2) A good boxer/puncher who can think on his feet and has heavy hands. Obviously that's a bit of an over simplification for the sake of brevity, but still, Dirrell doesn't fit ether mold. Dirrell is clumsy as hell. His footwork stinks. He seems a bit feather fisted, and his ring IQ is, shall we say, a couple points lower than JT's! It doesn't matter that I am no Abraham fan. That **** still gets ya knocked out against AA.
Abraham should KO Dirrell but D has an outside chance of a SD if he can survive the late barrage. Froch will reopen cuts on Kessler and TKO him in 9 or 10. Kessler will retire from the tournament. This scenario is assuming that Kessler chooses to continue. I know he has stated that he will, but it is too early to tell. Ward should retire Taylor, but this is the most dangerous fight IMO. It is Taylor's last stand.
Undecided on Abraham/Dirrell, need to review a bit more. Ward to stop Taylor late, unanswered punches. Kessler to UD Froch. :huh
If Taylor, could go back in time, and just use that great jab, and his speed. He could pull it off and take the title. His stamina is just a huge question at this point.
kessler and ward to win theri next fights! Dirrell vs abraham? i dont know yet! When fight comes near i will post a prediction!