First Round of the Super Middleweight Tourney

um, Abraham isnt any better in that department. he spends 2 minutes of each round lying on the ropes with his guard up, only ends up fighting in spurts in the last minute, stil gets pretty tired. although he does keep that KO power late in the fight. Abraham has had some pretty mediocre performances against limited competition in the past. not to mention Raul Marquez broke his ribs before Marquez quit. still...I could easily see Taylor taking over the fight early, and then lapsing for a second and then the fights over in a quick flurry of punches by Abraham. He uses his stamina much wiser, it's funny cuz Taylor throws most of his punches in the first 2 minutes. That's a recipe for disaster for Taylor, AA blocking most-all of his punches for a couple minutes, then taking over the last. I'd put money on weight drainage being a factor in how he's looked in the later rounds of some of those later fights at 160, but it's mostly part of his style. Beating Marquez with a broken rib is more of a testament to his toughness than anything else, making Raul quit isn't easy for any fighter. Taylor is gonna get f*cked up.

Ward-Kessler: I've just watched a couple of Ward's fights. I was expecting something real good since he won the olympics. I'm not dissapointed! I think he looks pretty good. Fast hands and flashy combos. Carries his hands a little low for my liking. Ward is facing a major step up in competition here. The gulf in class between Miranda and Kessler is immense. Ward will have trouble with Kessler's jab and speed I think. Ward does look decent on the inside and I would think he oughtta go hard on body on the inside and at halfdistance. But I cannot see Ward winning TBH. Of course at some point a talent has to step up, but this looks too early although the crowd is sure to get his adrenaline going so he'll be fighting his heart out. Ward is no De La Hoya. Too soon for him. Kessler by KO. Froch-Direll: I've yet to see Direll so I pick Froch based on resumée. Probably too early for Direll as well. Froch by KO. (I may change my mind when I watch Direll). Abraham-Taylor. Big question is if Taylor runs out of gas. If he does he's sure to be kayoed as the abrahammer is as brutal in the 12'th as it is in the 1'st. I'm pretty sure that Taylor outboxes Abraham for some 10 rounds. AA takes too much time off to conserve energy for those big, brutal shots so AA will be soundly behind on points. I think Taylor will feel good about fighting in Germany and coming in as an underdog. He can only surprise. So I'm going a bit off the beaten track here by taking Taylor by decision.

Dirrell, Kessler, Taylor.

i have Froch winning on a late round tko probally while he is behind on the scorecards then i have Ward hopfully living up to the hype and pulling the upset USA USA USA then i have AA finishing off taylor (maybe his career too) with a late KO i dont know what has happened to taylor but he just cant survive late

Froch outworks Dirrell Kessler outclasses Ward Taylor outboxes Abraham (I fancy the upset in this one)

what if there's a draw?

Dirrell decisions Froch Kessler TKO's Ward Taylor decisions Abraham pretty much how i see it exactly... only i think kessler outboxes ward to a UD

Dirrell decisions Froch Kessler TKO's Ward Taylor decisions Abraham

Lol, at the 4 people that think 390 punch over 12 round throwing and still gets exhausted Jermain Taylor is gonna beat Abraham. um, Abraham isnt any better in that department. he spends 2 minutes of each round lying on the ropes with his guard up, only ends up fighting in spurts in the last minute, stil gets pretty tired. although he does keep that KO power late in the fight. Abraham has had some pretty mediocre performances against limited competition in the past. not to mention Raul Marquez broke his ribs before Marquez quit. still...I could easily see Taylor taking over the fight early, and then lapsing for a second and then the fights over in a quick flurry of punches by Abraham.

Lol, at the 4 people that think 390 punch over 12 round throwing and still gets exhausted Jermain Taylor is gonna beat Abraham.

All european first round.

Froch outworks Dirrel Kessler outboxes Ward AA KO's Taylor

Ive got a feeling Dirrell will squeeze past Froch before Froch can impose himself.

Ward-Kessler & Froch-Dirrell? My jeans feel so warm and sticky

Im too excited about this, I have to make a thread already. The first round consists of Andre Dirrell vs Carl Froch Mikkel Kessler vs Andre Ward Arthur Abraham vs Jermain Taylor who do you think is going to win each of these bouts? Theres a lot of questions about both Dirrell and Ward imo, and I think Ward is really about to be baptised in fire, going against Kessler. I think Dirrell has a fair chance against Froch, because he could probably mimic what Taylor was doing to Froch, but his lack of experience may show up and Froch might overwhelm him. Ward is really in over his head here, he better be 150%. Ward certainly has never been in there against someone like Kessler before. Taylor should have what it takes to beat Abraham, but I wouldnt be the least bit surprised if he falls asleep and gets clocked. Abraham CAN punch, even if he has a lot of flaws. And Taylor is known to lapse in his fights. that just might be death when fighting Abraham. what do yall think? Yeah it's pretty badass. I still doubt it'll turn out to be ideal in the end due to politics, injuries and the like, but if it does indeed work there will be some awesome matchups throughout. I like Kessler to win the whole thing. His lack of significant fights lately has been disappointing but I can't deny the skill and discipline he has shown. I hope Dirrell gets starched against Froch. If he fights Froch like he fought Curtis Stevens he could potentially pepper his way to victory. I like Kessler to outclass Ward. Ward hasn't shown me enough yet. Miranda and Ravelo are fair wins, but Kessler will match skill with him and has the tools to win the fight beyond that. I don't see things getting better for Taylor. I think Abraham will catch him with something big somewhere in the middle of the fight. Arthur is a pretty good finisher and Jermain has a lot of heart. I expect a spectacular KO victory for Abraham...I'll be rooting for Taylor.

I think Kessler will decision Ward...not sure if Ward is ready. I think Dirrell will crumble when he can't get Froch out of there and Froch will take him out late. I don't think Abraham can apply the kind of pressure that Froch or Pavlik did, so I think Taylor will decision him.