Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor

Taylor needs redemption. I picked him against Froch but he needs to show he can fight for 12 rounds. If he can't then it might end up being a terrible tournament for him.

 

"JT has balls...something Pavlik lacked. Why, because Pav-AA was the only relevant fight at MW, and it never happened because of Pav and Arum who was scared to make the fight." I agree 100% with this comment. Pavlik was afraid to face AA because Pavlik that AA has the best chance to pretty much destroy him.

 

We all love JT as fans, but his time is up.

 

Controling the distance is the name of the game for JT. Against tall fighters Arthur paws at the body with his jab, lunges in with hay makers, and just generally has trouble. From Ikeke to Simon, Sauerland steared AA clear of anyone over 6 foot. Miranda is the ONLY puncher Abraham has faced. Jermain is 6 foot 1, he has nice long arms, and his power is generallly under rated. JT has every single attribute that troubles Abraham. If he can avoid getting caught by something big, he'll win a wide UD. Can he avoid getting caught by a big shot? Shannon Taylor did, and he was comng off a TKO loss to Raymond Jovalatsch

 

AA fought with a broken jaw and never quit in a fight. Pav has been knocked down by ordinary men, and bums. Pav never fought anyone with true power that AA has, and Pav's MW defenses have not prepared him for a fight with AA. Arum knew PAc couldn't beat AA, and deep down PAv knew also.

 

I agree in a way but JT gets tired and crumbles in most of his fights and AA is maybe the 2nd or 3rd best fighter he ever faced. AA is better than Froch and JT get tired against him. When JT get tired around the 6th round he gets sloppy and this man will make him pay for it. If JT fought the 6th to 12th rounds like he fought the 1st-4th he would be the favorite hands down to win this tourney but he doesn't fight like that. AA is hungry for a big fight and he will be at his best against JT.

 

That's exactly what I'm envisioning . . . once JT get's tired at the later rounds . . . he can't keep AA away anymore.

 

This is gonna be very fun to watch. Because we all know what Jermain could do if he was a 12 round fighter. Unfortunately he has continually proved he isn't. If he can somehow between then and now learn to relax and get his stamina up and breathing down, he could have an easy night in my eyes. I don't think it's really been the power that's bothered him so much. It's the amount of punches he eats when he gets exhausted.

 

All of these guys lasted 10 or more rounds with Abraham:

Nadar Hamdan
Ian Gardner
Howard Eastman (Miranda stopped the same version in 7)
Shannon Taylor (Stopped by Raymond Joval one fight earlier)
Kofi Jantuah (Stopped by Kassim Ouma)
Edison Miranda (Stopped by Pavlik in 7)
Khoren Gevor
Elvin Ayala
LuJaun Simon (was living off McKart's left overs)
Mahir Oral.

This idea that an Abraham KO is a sure bet is ludicrous. Anything above Hobo made the distance with AA.

 

But he still won and most of them KO in the 11th or 12th.JT is out of energy by the 5th or 6th round and AA keeps his power late like you clearly showed. This is a tough fight for JT.

 

Abraham may very well win, and if he does, Jermain should retire because the JT of old no longer exists.

 

I agree 100% and I think he will retire after this fight.

 

Folks, I'm a huge AA fan, but he has definitely to be in top shape to beat JT. I don't often agree with what Boo says about AA, but this time he's right. JT basically has everything what it takes to win a UD against AA. Of course, AA has his puncher's chance and like I said several times before, I don't see anybody who can take a lot of his bombs - neither JT nor Froch nor Kessler. If they don't fight clever and risk too much it's "game over". If JT fights clever he wins, if he doesn't he loose - simple as that.

 

One thing that helped Froch stop taylor is his general intensity throughout the fight. Taylor will tire. But Abraham doesn't have the work rate to capitalize on this. I expect Abraham to ride a very wide decision.

 

AA will have to show a higher pace than Froch and it has not been his character to date. We have seen Taylor play the slow down game so if this turns into a turtle race, JT could do it.