I find it hilarious that people think Taylor can have success at SMW.

Let him fight ANY Super Middle before making such speculation. Until he does, it is just that, speculation.

Educated speculation, however, would tell us that struggling with a middleweight, two junior middleweight/welterweights, and a severely diminished Hopkins twice, remaining undefeated through all five fights by the skin of his teeth and solely on the strength of his natural athleticism (his only real asset, and what allowed him to pad a record and seem like a beast against limited opposition pre-Hopkins), bodes poorly for a move up in weight to a very deep division.

 

I'll defend Amsterdam when he's right, and correct him when he's wrong. I do NOT like the way he talks about Joshua Clottey. He thinks only Margarito apologists rate Clottey. What he doesn't understand is that there is another perspective - that Joshua is the better fighter and that praising him does not automatically mean legitimizing Tony. I am in the 99th percentile that scored the fight FOR Clottey. I've posted my card, and will defend it anytime. Margarito did not win the entire second half of the fight, and the first four were a shutout for JC. Margarito IS a bum. Clottey fought him with an injury to, IMO a very close win, though I could see a draw or CLOSE Margarito win. This does not affect Margarito's status as a bum nor Clottey's status as a force to be reckoned with at welter.

Amsterdam has discredited JC opponents in the past, he isn't the type to hype up opponents of fighters he backs to benefit from a straw-man type of argument. Most other Joe huggers (see Blocky) spend their time trashing Mikkel mercilessly. It is a testament to any Calzaghe fan's graciousness and objectivity to admit the obvious; that it will likely be a very closely contested fight, and the toughest of Joe's career.

 

Hopkins will beat Kessler now.

 

Kessler is too stiff.

Someone with good change of direction speed or good power and range will knock him out one day.

Either that or a powerful, compact volume puncher with power, and quick enough to get undereath his punches.

 

His world class defense consists of him being tall and holding his gloves up.

 

That joke has fought six straight champions, two multiple weight champions and two pound for pound top three fighters.

Surely he would look much better if he was fighting people who still havent even proved their capable of winning even a world trinket, let alone the linear, undisputed titles.

You're criticisms of Taylor have gone overboard.

His level of competition shits all over Calzaghe's and that HAS to be taken into account.

 

That's really the key. Plain and simple, despite his protestations, Amsterdam is a Calzaghe nuthugger at heart. He'll pump up Kessler because he's fighting him (after downplaying him previously), and he downplays Taylor in part because he knows Joe C. will dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge Taylor if the matchup is available, and when he fights some washed up fighter instead, he'll have a built-in excuse as to why Roy Jones or Antonio Tarver is better than Jermain Taylor.

While Amsterdam sometimes has good reasoned analysis, sometimes it's just hogwash, and he thinks that if he says it with enough conviction, it will just become fact.

The actual facts: Taylor beat Hopkins twice. Taylor dominated Ouma. Taylor beat Spinks. Taylor dominated Joppy. Taylor's never been floored in his professional career. Taylor's walking weight is at LHW and he's a big middleweight. Taylor's ring weight is already higher than what Manfredo walked into the ring with vs. Calzaghe. Taylor has a lot of heart and stamina. Despite a lack of great power, when Taylor lands, it tends to be effective (which is how he won all those rounds against Hopkins, Winky and Spinks). Taylor has good head and body movement.

Yes, he's also a bad listener, has mediocre power and mediocre agility, and yes, his output has decreased (which is what I'm referring to when I say he's regressed - he's ceased to be as aggressive as he used to be, but he's made no real strides defensively to offset his diminishing output), but he does have some big positives on his side, which is more than one can say for most of the bottom half of the SMW top 10. I'd favor Calzaghe vs. Taylor, and Kessler/Pavlik/Hopkins/Winky/Abraham are pick-em fights, but I'd favor him to beat anyone else between 154 and 168.

 

Kessler would not beat Toney.

Toney is one of the best fighters of our generation. He's old school and very well respected amongst many fighters.

Joe Frazier even has respect for Toney and they have very different styles.

 

:good

We all have our favorite fighters that can cause a bias, conscious or not.

 

Ams, I know this may not be the most appropriate time and place, as you are busily waging a war on several fronts against the impressionable Jermainiacs :yep; but I really am curious as to your response to my views on Clottey, as I don't think I remember you ever addressing them?