Taylor is a very dangerous fight for Ward

I'll ask him, the answer will probably be 'No, but his head can.'

 

Well he punched well enough to dominate Kessler before any of the headbutts. :yep

 

Figures. :rofl

 

I really like JT's chances in this one and the best thing is, he wins this fight and he is back on top and in the mix to win the super 6.

 

No! Actually not. It's still hard to say what influence the headbutts had. But one thing that should be clear to anyone is that they were nasty and looked intentional. The sheer number of headbutts showed it was intentional IMO. Anyway I believe Ward could have won in great style without them.

 

Yes he did indeed, but I failed to ever see Kessler 'hurt' by a punch, which leads me to believe Ward doesn't punch hard.

 

Ward's huge billy goat head butt shown by instant reply to be intentional came from left field and it still did not wobble Kessler. Ward's referee allowed Ward to head butt over and over again. Taylor might very well be able to beat Ward, but Ward's referee will be there to protect him. Can Ward butt Taylor like he did Kessler? Ward refused to fight in tournament unless he got all his fights in his home town for a good reason.

Will we see Ward working the heavy bag with his head in training?

 

My money will be on Taylor, and I expect to make quite a bit with the way the odds will probably be.

Power: Taylor by a long shot. Ward just doesn't possess the power to stop guys at this level if they have decent chins.

Speed: Ward, but not by much.

Chin: Taylor. He's only been stopped by tremendous punchers, and I do not subscribe to the theory that being KO'd somehow permanently damages a fighter's chin. Ward has been dropped by journeymen and displays a fear of getting hit.

Will to win: Ward. He seems to have that drive and the intangibles that make a great fighter. Taylor at times appears to think that he doesn't deserve to win.

Experience: Taylor. He's fought the who's who of his division, and he's seen it all. Ward has yet to be taken into the trenches.

Taylor has had problems with one kind of fighter--big, strong punchers with granite chins. Pavlik, Abraham, and Froch all stopped him, but he dropped Pavlik and Froch for the first time. Ward is not a puncher in any sense of the wrod, and his chin is very suspect. If Taylor can drop Pavlik and Froch, he can drop Ward. The question is, will he be able to catch Ward? The way Ward leaves himself open, I think he will.

If Ward tries to make a war of it on the inside, he'll find that Taylor is no Kessler in there. Not only can he fight inside, he can also fight as dirty as he wants. To me, Ward seems like a poor man's Bernard Hopkins (with a much lighter punch and higher workrate). Taylor had Hopkins' number, so maybe Ward is what Taylor needs to get back to winning.

The only outcome of this fight that would legitimately surprise me is if Ward stops Taylor. That said, if Taylor loses anything but a very controversial decision, I think it's time for him to retire. Not for his safety, but because it will be clear that he can't compete at the level he used to. There are many good fighters who have taken much worse punishment than Taylor and gone on to live normal lives. It's when you start getting hurt by guys who aren't known for hurting people that you really need to consider calling it a day.

Taylor by wide UD (due to multiple knockdowns) or mid-fight stoppage.

 

Taylor can beat Ward but Ward has his home town. It will hard to get a decision over Ward there. Taylor is a better fighter than Ward. Ward's head butts are gettting better in training, he will have them perfected by fight time.

 

There are somethings your body will do to protect you against yourself. Previous trauma counts. Instinct takes over.

 

Ward's best punch is his head. I think Taylor can protect against Ward's head butts.

 

To me it is not this one fight for one last moment of possible glory for Taylor. I think many of us simply want him to quit now because the damage may already be done and he can't afford to take ANY more. Could we be proven wrong? Sure, but we would really fear being proven right much more.

 

I dont know bro Taylor just doesnt have it in the beard anymore......Some fighters when they get knocked out for the 1st time can become a lot more succeptable to being knocked out

 

Taylor's seen awkward, and he's seen athletic, and he's seen fast. His poison is punchers. Yes, it's en vogue to say he's A-1 Done with nary and if, and, or but - BUT, the fights are fought for a reason.

I've been saying since the end of Round 1, if Taylor is dominated by Ward (I expect he will not be...rather he should be more competitive than he was against Abraham or Kessler was against Ward, if not outright victorious) then I will throw my hat in with those begging him to retire rather than meet certain doom in Group Stage 3 (against a bigger, stronger, better version of the 1-2 machine that first poisoned him and exposed his vulnerability to punchers).

 

Interesting...I am a Taylor man in this one
:good