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This fight is even better than I remembered. That knockout will always be frightening.
Scoring: The official scores are indefensible. Pavlik landed many more clean shots in rounds one and three, and to a lesser extent he outboxed Taylor in round six. It's arguable that Pavlik be given round four. He outjabbed Taylor from the opening bell, was the physical presence in the ring, and more consistent. His punches were also cleaner, since Taylor simply neglected to use his gloves defensively.
Lederman gave Pavlik four rounds. Merchant gave him three. I give him (on replay, unaffected by commentators and with frequent rewinding to get a better look at punches) three with one split, which makes the fight even going into the seventh.
The second round: excellent punching from Taylor to bring Pavlik out of his game. Pavlik was confused but never hurt. He went down willingly (which shows great instinct) and was up immediately.
Taylor: He was faster in getting off and threw a better variety of punches. This was Taylor's best performance as champ. He did waste too much energy on nervous, hyper movement early. But when he was attacking he did sometimes land clean and often was too quick for Pavlik. He was loading up more than was Pavlik, and I'm skeptical now about Taylor's chance to knock Pavlik out.
His chin is okay, but his instincts when hurt are atrocious. His finishing is also subpar, especially when compared to Pavlik's best-in-boxing finishing.
Prospects for the rematch: it's still hard to call. Taylor could win a close decision if he fights defensively and uses his hands more. But it's a very tough fight for him, maybe too tough.
Scoring: The official scores are indefensible. Pavlik landed many more clean shots in rounds one and three, and to a lesser extent he outboxed Taylor in round six. It's arguable that Pavlik be given round four. He outjabbed Taylor from the opening bell, was the physical presence in the ring, and more consistent. His punches were also cleaner, since Taylor simply neglected to use his gloves defensively.
Lederman gave Pavlik four rounds. Merchant gave him three. I give him (on replay, unaffected by commentators and with frequent rewinding to get a better look at punches) three with one split, which makes the fight even going into the seventh.
The second round: excellent punching from Taylor to bring Pavlik out of his game. Pavlik was confused but never hurt. He went down willingly (which shows great instinct) and was up immediately.
Taylor: He was faster in getting off and threw a better variety of punches. This was Taylor's best performance as champ. He did waste too much energy on nervous, hyper movement early. But when he was attacking he did sometimes land clean and often was too quick for Pavlik. He was loading up more than was Pavlik, and I'm skeptical now about Taylor's chance to knock Pavlik out.
His chin is okay, but his instincts when hurt are atrocious. His finishing is also subpar, especially when compared to Pavlik's best-in-boxing finishing.
Prospects for the rematch: it's still hard to call. Taylor could win a close decision if he fights defensively and uses his hands more. But it's a very tough fight for him, maybe too tough.
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