Pavlik going 12 rounds with Taylor.........

It was good for Kelly in part because it means some people are back to underestimating him. They act like now Kelly is less dangerous because he didn't obliterate a very strong, capable middleweight.

Also, I thought Kelly learned again late the value of body punching. He had Taylor hurt bad late from one right hand to the body. Kelly needs to incorporate more power shots to the body with either hand.

 

Jog my memory here. I thought that Zuniga's corner stopped the fight after the ninth round. The ref or doctor stopping the fight is one thing. But when the guy's own corner says "No more" I can't call that a bull**** stoppage. Pavlik is not a fighter to make a Custer's Last Stand with. If Zuniga's corner felt he had nothing left then they should stop the fight. Take for example what happened to Zertuche. Knocked down hard in the 6th. Had nothing left in the tank and was completely dominated by Pavlik in the 7th. Had his corner called it he would have avoided the knock out in the 8th where he was knocked unconscious while standing, didn't get up for several minutes, was taken by ambulance to the local hospital, didn't fight again for over a year, and looked rather luckluster when he finally did.

Both fought very smart fights. Taylor fought with much better defense and a conservative punch output to compensate for his stanima problems. Pavlik concentrated on his jab to keep Taylor at a distance to compensate for Taylor's handspeed advantage and maintained a his high workrate to take advantage of Taylor's stanima issues. Pavlik could have mixed it up ( and did in the 11th round when he nailed the rapidly tiring Taylor with a body shot ) but that would have let him vulnerable to Taylor handspeed and power and he certainly didn't want a repeat of the 2nd round of their first fight.

It's a good fight but basically it comes down to this. Pavlik's greatest strength is his stanima and workrate. Taylor's greatest weakness is his stanima and workrate. As long as Pavlik doesn't get reckless and leave himself vulnerable to a Taylor flurry, he's a bad style match-up for Taylor.