That's where I disagree. I think Abraham should take more risks actually... always sitting back in that turtle-shell defense.. He's too inactive. He probably could've taken Taylor out a lot sooner if he simply pushed the pace a bit more.
I love this Abraham KO Dirrell ****...This is going to be as shocking as when Ward "dominated" Kessler. Dirrell wins this **** running far and away from AA short attack spurts on points. And seriously...where and how the **** did all this faith in Froch come from? His chin ****ing SUCKS! It's pretty overrated. I'm not saying it's china, but it certainly receives way too much credit. He was down by Taylor and wobbled by Dirrell...who in no way is some power hitter. Kessler will knock the walking punching bag out! It'll be a highlight of the tourney. The camera will turn to his gorgeous girlfriend in tears and horror...it'll be drama! :smoke Taylor will lose in what will be a VERY gallant effort to redeem himself in a very competitive fight and Ward's stock will drop pretty low after this one. He'll win, but it'll be a very ugly decision. People will start saying that Dirrell is gonna win this **** after his performace with AA... In brief... Ward UD (ala Berto vs. Collazo) Kessler KO Dirrell UD (ala Ward vs. Kessler...minus the headbutts) NOTE:...I also see the fight with Dirrell and AA playing out like Duran and Bizzaro :think
Ward will beat Taylor in typical fashion, as he does all his opponents. Kessler's straighter punches will be the difference in him handing Froch his first loss. Abraham vs. Dirrell is too tough to call. Dirrell has the goods to beat every fighter in this tournament, he just needs to figure out how to use those goods.
Ohhh, I see now. I thought you picked Ward over Kessler because you thought Ward was that good of a fighter. But in fact, it was because you do not think much of Kessler.
Kessler UD but if he still boxes like he did against Ward, it could be lights out for the Dane. Ward UD...Taylor is damaged goods Abraham SD...I don't think that Dirrell has learned his lesson from the Froch fight...
Froch/Kessler is a toss up for me. Not sure where Kessler's head could be at and Froch seems to be very confident. Froch's physical power and tough jab has proven to be very frustratintg and imposing for even the more skillful of opponents, would not count him out. I feel Ward will squeeze by Taylor with a disputed decision. Taylor being busier and Ward being more accurate. Taylor has great experience against the king of spoilers himself, Bernard Hopkins, but he's fading fast and Ward is riding too high to drop a close fight. I think Abraham will beat the spoiling Dirrell on points with his accurate jab, not unlike Froch but much more convincing. Abraham has scary power when he turns it up though..would not rule out a stoppage in his favor.
It won't be quite as bad as the Andrade fight but Kessler will be able to tee off on Froch in a similar manner. I wouldn't be suprised seeing Froch stopped. Should be an awsome slugfest, i can't wait to see that one.
Taylor/Ward: Taylor will fight his heart out. Ward will start his bull**** tactics, and about the 3rd time he comes in low to set up yet another head butt, JT will hit him right across the face with a NASTY elbow. That will be THE highlight of the fight, but Taylor doesn't have much left. Ward wil win by UD or late TKO. I hope I'm wrong, but I think JT is done. Kessler/Froch: I never imagined I would someday type the words; "This looks like a 50/50 fight," but there ya go. Dirrell/Abraham: Young Andre is to green and makes to many mistakes. The amount of hype AA gets for beating a damaged version of Miranda and JT's corpse is ridiculous, but I do think he'll eventually catch Dirrell and blast him out.
This fight Abraham gets exposed for being to slow and being too short armed ... his strength is only going to get him so far ... Andre fights a smart fight, keeps Abraham at the end of his punches and wins a UD or late rounds stoppage. Kessler isn't the fighter people think he is ... I think that Froch is ready for this moment. Kessler will make it a battle but if he starts to trade with Froch that could be good night. I don't think that Kessler brings that much technically to the table outside of the basic one - two combination. Froch has the better jab, he's more aggressive, and he does have a good chin. Fight Froch will bring back some memory of fighting Calzaghe ... and Froch will pay close attention to that Viking tattoo by Kessler's ribs. I'm going to say it again ... Ward is a good fighter ... he's the front runner of the super six ... I also think that this win over Kessler has gotten to him and that he may take some risks against Taylor. I don't think Ward has proven to me that he's a legit - real deal ... despite all of his tactics ... he's basically a one handed fighter. (like Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Paul Malignaggi, Winky Wright ... ) yeah he switches stances ...but he doesn't have any mustard on his right hand. He will be exposed ... he's a natural southpaw fighting conventional.
Ward can fight smart all he wants ... but if he can't bang with both hands he will get exposed out there ... fighting one handed can only get you so far ... ask Winky Wright ... ask Miguel Cotto ...