By Cliff Rold
Everyone who parted company with a slice of the monthly budget got their money’s worth and more from the Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor II pay-per-view show last Saturday. There was a brilliant display from a serious pound-for-pound contender and a shocking knockout that borders on the line of upset. The main event delivered thrills and echoing power punching as well.
Can any more than that be asked for?
On a four fight show that also featured the son of Tommy Hearns, Ronald, in a victorious spotlight bout, the three highlighted fights as a total entertainment experience earned high marks. On a fight by fight basis, they did the same.
Let’s go to the report card(s).
Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor II
It wasn’t quite the donnybrook that their first fight was, but the non-title rematch between the World Middleweight champion Pavlik (33-0, 29 KO) and former champion Jermain Taylor (27-2-1, 17 KO) was still one heck of a fun fight. Those who picked this bout to be a closer, more tactical affair than the first encounter (that wasn’t me; I thought Pavlik would win by KO in the first half of the fight) were proved correct as Taylor, 29, called upon his many years of amateur experience and the rigors of his professional schooling to push Pavlik as far as he could have.
It appears after two bouts that Taylor just can’t push Pavlik far enough.
The natural speed advantage for Taylor turned out to be more of a tactical advantage in the sequel than it was the first time around. By circling Pavlik, 25, and keeping his back off of the ropes, Taylor was able to effectively rediscover his jab and create openings for hard flurries to the body and harder rights, and even some exceptional left hooks, to the head.
That was negated somewhat by a lack of punch output for large parts of the second half of the fight. The pre-fight build begged the question of whether Taylor was mentally ready for the rematch and that question is open for debate after twelve completed rounds. Taylor appeared sometimes to be reluctant to let his hands go, worried about the affects of fatigue down the stretch. It appeared for a moment in the eleventh that Taylor might have stored his energy for a perfect rush before Pavlik reversed the tide in that round and seriously hurt Pavlik with a body shot.
The bout was no defensive clinic but each man did enough to show that they had studied well the steps and missteps that defined their first encounter. Taylor was considerably less open to Pavlik’s straight right hand, and vice-versa.
Ultimately, as was the case in the first bout, it was the total package that Pavlik presents that mattered more than any set of physical attributes. He understands what he can do and is confident and calm enough to consistently do his thing no matter how rocky certain moments may look. He never loses his jab, never stops throwing the right, and almost never stops coming forward. That unflappability is why Pavlik faced an even better Taylor than he did last time and walked away with an “and 0” still at the end of his record.
It was twelve rounds of heavy hitting that told the world new things about both men. We know now that Taylor can make adjustments. We know that Pavlik can handle the heat of a full twelve rounds. And we know that these two probably aren’t capable of making a bad fight against each other.
Pre-Fight Grades
Taylor: Speed B; Power B; Defense B-; Intangibles B-
Pavlik: Speed B; Power A; Defense B; Intangibles A-
Post-Fight Grades
Taylor: Speed B+; Power B; Defense B; Intangibles B
Pavlik: Speed B; Power A; Defense B; Intangibles A-
With another big win in the bag, there’s lots of chatter about potential Pavlik foes to come. Felix Trinidad? John Duddy? Both would provide solid paydays and allow Pavlik’s star to grow. However, if he is to remain Middleweight champion, eventually he should have to face the one man in that division with the serious potential to defeat him. That man is Germany’s Arthur Abraham (25-0, 20 KO). The sooner the drums begin banging for that bout, the better it will be for boxing.
Fernando Montiel-Martin Castillo
There were varying picks as to who would win the next bout down on the card. None that I’m familiar with predicted Montiel (36-2-1, 26 KO, WBO titlist) shelling Castillo (33-3, 17 KO) in four rounds. The result we got goes back to the two questions posed in the pre-fight report card:
Is Castillo, 31, still close enough to his prime to give himself the best chance to win?
Has Montiel, 28, learned to handle the pressure of big moments?
The answers turned out to be no, and yes, and emphatically so. Castillo’s 2006 rematch war with Alexander Munoz and loss to a game but still very novice Nobuo Nashiro appeared to be the signs of a fighter whose physical tools were in decline. That suspicion is now confirmed. It’s not sure how Castillo would have handled Montiel two or three years ago, but it’s hard to imagine the result could have been less competitive.
Every advantage in this bout, from speed to power to defense, wound up in Montiel’s hands. His left hook was razor sharp and lighting fast from the beginning and Castillo had no answer to it. His reaction time was just not there. The flurry of punches, punctuated by a left hand body shot along the ropes, that dropped Castillo for the second and final time appeared to be less a knockout shot than a moment of resignation. Castillo isn’t the fighter he once was and, at 31, likely isn’t going to be again.
Pre-Fight Grades
Montiel: Speed: A-; Power B; Defense B; Intangibles B
Castillo: Speed: B+; Power B; Defense B; Intangibles A-
Post-Fight Grades
Montiel: Speed: A; Power A-; Defense B; Intangibles A
Castillo: Speed: B-; Power C; Defense B-; Intangibles C
The only upside left for Castillo is that this fight could still be a precursor to an often talked about match with 115 lb. money man Jorge Arce. Arce, while exciting, is a fairly average fighter whose status has been protected by smart matchmaking for much of the last few years. Castillo-Arce appears to be a competitive affair for the first time.
The upside for Montiel is of a different scope. He’s rebounded strongly from a bantamweight loss to Jhonny Gonzalez and finally proved Saturday that he can come up big under the biggest spotlight. Montiel would be firmly entrenched as the best man at Jr. Bantamweight right now if not for what was seen one fight prior on the night. That fight…
Cristian Mijares-Jose Navarro
Mijares (34-3-2, WBC titlist), 26, continues to impress in both noticeable and subtle terms. His jab and combination punching ability is there for the world to see at first glance; when one looks closer they see amazing ring vision that allows to Mijares to slip punches by centimeters that would catch another man flush. Jose Navarro (27-4, 12 KO), a 26-year old 2000 U.S. Olympian, fought a smart, determined fight and was simply outclassed. Navarro was not the first World class fighter to meet that fate against Mijares. He won’t be the last either.
As was expected, the speed difference between the two fighters wasn’t that wide. The difference in the ability to land was a chasm. Navarro threw over 1200 punches and landed slightly better than one out of ten as Mijares showed off befuddling and textbook blocking and head movement. To Navarro’s credit, he kept pushing and never gave up.
Along with Mijares’s defensive maneuvers were some beautiful inside counter hooks and long range right hands. Mijares’s career making performances before Saturday, against Katsushige Kawashima and Jorge Arce, showed off what he could do against men who were coming to knock him out. Now we have a graphic display of what he can do with someone who presents a top tier tactical challenge.
What would he do against both? That’s a question that could only be answered in a bout against Montiel, a fight that immediately jumps towards the head of the class in terms of best fights in boxing. One can only hope that the networks and management teams of both Mijares and Montiel recognize the potential of such a match not only in the ring, but in the beloved marketing schemes that are pound-for-pound ratings.
Pre-Fight Grades
Mijares: Speed: B+; Power C; Defense B+; Intangibles A-
Navarro: Speed: B+; Power C; Defense B+; Intangibles B
Post-Fight Grades
Mijares: Speed: A-; Power C; Defense A; Intangibles A-
Navarro: Speed: B+; Power C; Defense B; Intangibles B+
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com