I think Jermain Taylor has a brighter future than Kelly Pavlik

[boxingfan405]

today taylor can beat pavlik easily

[Crazylegs77]

If Taylor beats Kessler I will eat my hat.

[Silencers]

Perhaps you are right about a Taylor-Kessler matchup.

I agree with you about why Calzaghe beat Kessler, however I think the key word is 'educated'. I think that Pavlik's pressure would be simplistic, and in a situation where you have a simplistic pressure fighter, I always feel that the physical strength and size of his opponent is a big factor.

If Kessler decides to go forward and beat Pavlik at his own game, I think his superior speed and skill would allow him to land more punches and perhaps break Pavlik down.

I also think that Kessler showed in the Andrade fight that he can continually move around the ring, throwing a lot of punches for 12 full rounds against a come-forward boxer with a basic style. I know Pavlik is better than Andrade, but the ability Kessler showed in that fight is why I think he could outbox and counterpunch Pavlik to a points win.

One thing I like about Calzaghe is how he'll throw punches, sidestep, throw again etc. I cannot think of a time when Pavlik has done this impressively. Obviously he has moved to the side in fights, but only in response to his opponent's movement, rather than as part of an attempt to create angles or make it harder for the opponent to land. He comes forward while punching, but he doesn't have much lateral movement and so I don't see his pressure being anywhere that effective.

I really don't think Pavlik's pressure is simplistic, Hopkins made it look simplistic but Pavlik is a good pressure fighter, he comes in behind in jab pushing his opponents back so that he can unload his big shots. He knows how to keep his opponents going backwards and how to keep the pressure up for 12 rounds of a fight. Saying that, I would like to see him add more dimensions to his overall arsenal though, and I don't think Loew is capable of it.

As you said, Pavlik is better than Andrade, Andrade doesn't really know how to cut off the ring or to come forward behind a jab, he pretty much just walked forward until he got into range to unload a shot and by that point, Kessler was moving away, Andrade was just too slow, I think Pavlik would be able to do a much better job.

Calzaghe is a fast guy, he can do that, him and Pavlik have very different styles, while Pavlik doesn't move laterally and doesn't really make those steps to the side like Calzaghe does, Pavlik knows how to keep his opponents on the backfoot throughout a fight, which would work very well against Kessler. I'm not saying he'd beat Kessler but I think he can be effective as long as he fights with the right gameplan and manages to execute it. As I said in other threads, whoever wins this fight is the one who executes his gameplan best.

I agree on this, except that I think Abraham would land enough to end it within the distance. I think he would lose rounds before that, but I don't think that he would be hurt or in trouble at any point. Abraham has shown before that he can patiently wait for the perfect moment to open up, and I think that against Pavlik he would have several opportunities.

I guess the difference is that I see Pavlik winning rounds but getting caught, but I see Taylor winning rounds (perhaps not enough to win the fight) but staying out of trouble. A lot would depend upon his stamina, I suppose.

Abraham does have very good 1 punch power so I can see what you're saying and I can agree that him catching Pavlik flush is more likely than him catching Taylor flush considering their styles, Pavlik's defense is underrated though, yes, he can get hit flush but he's also quite good at blocking shots with his arms and gloves, I'm not sure how effective Abraham's wide shots would be.

Thanks, same to you. I got my Tarver-Dawson pick wrong and changed my mind about Pav-Hop about 10 times before it started, so I'm always open to the possibility that I've overlooked something important.

I almost changed my mind on my pick for Pavlik-Hopkins 20 minutes before the fight, I kept thinking of Boom Boom Mancini vs Arguello in the 80s, a young fighter from Youngstown fighting a veteran who knew all the tricks in the book who was also a big step up in class for Mancini, I thought I was just being jittery.

[dstew]

I picked Taylor largely due to him being the more versatile figher, giving him a better chance to win against a variety of opponents. He doesn't do anything perfectly, but he does most things very well and his physical gifts often help him where his skill is lacking.

Pavlik, however, is excellent at what he does, which is being a straight-ahead, high-output puncher. That will beat a LOT of people, obviously, as he did so for a long time. But against some boxers his style will leave him open to being completely dominated, as we saw against Hopkins. Taylor has NEVER been owned like that, not even in his first loss to Pavlik, despite the KO, it was still a very competitive fight. Taylor is always IN the fight.

Plus I am more convinced at this point that Taylor can benefit from moving up, that his speed and power will carry up, and his stamina might even improve by shedding less weight. While I don't think the weight gain caused Pavlik to lose to Hopkins, I do believe it didn't help his cause any. If he can't move up in weight eventually and be successful, he may have a decent future at MW but someone will eventually come along with the skills to once again dominate him. And he may not be able to make 160 as easily in a few years when his body gets a little older, forcing him to move up where I don't believe he can be as successful.