Taylor got gift decisions against Hopkins, and then feasted on lighter weight fighters. He's an HBO-created mirage. Unlike Lacy, it just took him longer to get exposed.
I just absolutely disagree, do you realize up until round six of the first Hopkins fight Jermain hadn't lost a round as a professional, the man can "box", his only real weakness was stamina which lead to losing his chin from fatigue. If you think Ward would have "dominated" a JT who beat Bernard Hopkins twice, drew Winky Wright, beat Corey Spinks, who are all slick counter punchers who at this point have done more than Ward, you are misguided. I'm not saying he would have won (but he very well could have) but to say he would get dominated the same way...come on dude you're not being real. That or you didn't watch that fight last night, because you've NEVER seen Taylor perform like that EVER!
Please stop, seriously...dude 5 of the 6 judges had Jermain winning BOTH FIGHTS! How could you even make the case that he was "gifted" decisions...dude he gave away the first 5-6 rounds of the first fight they weren't even really close, yeah he closed well but hardly swept the final six so how would you arrive at the conclusion he won the fight? I mean if you like BHop better fine, if you say JT is washed up now cool, but please spare me the he was "given" anything. Say what you want about Jermain but the man didn't duck anybody, he accomplished plenty to be proud of, and is one of the most humble cats in the sport. He wasn't "gifted" ****, he worked his ass off and took it, period.
So who did you see "dominate" Jermain Taylor? Maybe AA, even then he held his own and wasn't beaten like Green was last night, other than that are you saying that Ward is better than Hopkins, Wright, Spinks, Pavlik (then), AA, Froch? Come on dawg, you are talking but not really thinking right now, I guess.
Let me clue you in on something. There are a handful of posters on here who will never forgive Jermain for beating Hopkins twice. No matter what you say, or how logically you lay out the facts, they are going to keep kickin' that same long dead horse. If JT was up 11-0 against Godzilla, and then stopped zilla in the 12th, these same guys would come up with some reason JT should have lost.
Taylor has only been stopped by big punchers something Andre Ward isnt, so I think Taylor would have had a fair chance, Im sure he would have done better than A Green. Styles make fights and alot of people compare Wards style to Hopkins which Taylor was able to overcome twice. Still id say Ward UD something like 116-113
I don't disagree with this, I certainly respect Ward and his accomplishments thus far, but I think Taylor would have given him a fight something Green obviously wasn't prepared to do.
JT would have taken his share of the early rounds before being tko'd late imo. Ward doesn't have the power of a Pavlik, Froch or Abraham but he is very busy and has great accuracy. More often than not Taylor becomes a sitting duck in the championship rounds.
taylor most certainly wouldn't have been gun shy at certain moments and wouldnt have allowed ward to voluntarily rough him up on the inside and on the ropes for extended periods of time. however, I think taylor could have been stopped last night because of his wear and tear, coupled with the fact that he would have started brawling if the fight got away from him early as it did with green.
So do I but I think Ward is also very athletic. He just likes to rely on fundamentals much more than natural talent which I have no problem with.
No doubt Taylor would've fought much more but I see Ward stopping him though at times it looked like Ward would stop Green. Green was a defeated man and looked and fought the part. He showed no desire to try to come from behind but I hope he fights well with Kessler. One thing I liked about Taylor is that he fought anyone and remained humble throughout his career. Personally, I thought Hopkins won the two fights they had because I judge fights on effectiveness & accurate,landed punches over workrate & ineffective agression.
Well I guess its all about how you look at it. Most people felt that Taylor was very lucky to get though Hopkins X2, Winky and Spinks without at least 2 loses. I felt that he lost the second Hopkins fight and to Winky but edged Spinks really in a fight that could have gone either way. I say that Ward would dominate Taylor of NOW, your talking about the Taylor of four years ago. He would have also beat that version of Taylor but maybe not in dominate fashion. JT is a great human, seems like a real humble nice guy but he is done as a fighter.
I don't disagree that there is a significant difference between JT 4 years ago and Taylor today, all I'm saying is that if you remove the chance of a 1 punch KO, JT can go tit for tat with anyone, to include Andre Ward. Now I don't disagree that Ward would probably prevail, I just think JT would have presented some unique problems for Ward that Kessler and Green didn't.
Taylor was scared in the fight with Abraham because of his power and that was the way he fought and then what had to happen happened. I dont see him getting that outclassed or even stopped in a fight with Ward.