Tweet
Jermain Taylor vs. Arthur Abraham: Making a King
Almost every division has at least two fighters that if matched against each other can make for a truly marquee match up. Corrales vs. Castillo at 135, Hatton vs. Cotto at 140, Mayweather vs. Margarito at 147, and the list goes on. I firmly believe that the best fight to be made at middleweight, assuming Abraham beats the bone crunching Colombian Edison Miranda in August, is Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor vs. Arthur Abraham. Many Americans will be clamoring for a Taylor vs. Wright rematch, and Abraham might fight Felix Sturm next, if he beats Miranda, in what would arguably be about as big a match in Germany as Klitschko vs. Valuev – after all nothing can actually be as big as Klitschko vs. Valuev. These two factors alone plus HBO’s considerable investment in Taylor and Abraham’s relative obscurity in the United States could very well scuttle this match, but as a fan of the sport I have to hope that good matches can be made regardless of the odds.
Taylor and Abraham are, in my not so humble opinion, the two best young middleweights. Both of them are incredibly strong, physical and aggressive fighters. Over the next few months Taylor’s skills should improve under the tutelage of Manny Steward, and Abraham already is a tremendously skilled fighter with a style resembling Winky Wright’s at times, and Marvin Hagler’s at others. Both fighters have fought the highest level of competition. Taylor, as we all know, has his two fights with Hopkins and his fight with Winky Wright. Abraham holds wins over Howard Eastman, Kingsley Ikeke, Kofi Jantuah, and could very well have another win over a top ten fighter in Edison Miranda. Taylor and Abraham are both undefeated, and however questionable some of Taylor’s wins might be you cannot take away from him his effort in those fights or his undefeated record. The icing on the cake in for this fight is that both fighters also pack a punch; Taylor has scored seventeen stoppages in twenty-six fights, and Abraham has scored seventeen stoppages in twenty-one fights.
Put all of the above together and you have two fighters that want to win, and have the tools to make it happen. This is a fight that has mega match written all over it if only it could be made. Would the raw aggression and ranged power of Taylor be too much for Abraham, or would Abraham’s wall like defense and precision power punching take down Taylor? I have to say, especially if he beats Miranda, I favor Abraham in this match, but obviously Taylor has been able to be competitive against top flight fighters so he cannot be as bad as many make him out to be.
I honestly see this fight somewhat mirroring Hagler vs. Hearns. In one corner you have the tall range fighter in Taylor, and in the other the power punching stocky fighter in Abraham. Taylor would probably start the fight pumping the jab, which Abraham would try to block with his Wright like defense, while Abraham would try to dig into Taylor’s body or tag Taylor with overhand rights due to Jermain’s low left guard. Abraham would try to force Taylor on to the ropes where Jermain’s ranged punches become a lot less effective and his activity level drops, and begin to work Taylor over with his powerful hooks, rights and uppercuts. Obviously Taylor would try to flurry off of the ropes, and would try to dominate the fight from the center of the ring. Eventually I think Abraham’s relentless body attack, powerful punches, and his ability to beat taller longer opponents, like Ikeke, from the outside and inside would propel him to victory against Taylor. In what would most assuredly be the most exciting bout at middleweight I see Abraham coming away with a late stoppage victory, but in the words of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, “unfortunately it will never happen”. If Abraham wins his next fight hopefully Lou DiBella and Wilfried Sauerland can work something out so that Leonard’s quote about his fight with Hagler proves to be as wrong for Taylor vs. Abraham as it did for Hagler vs. Leonard.
Link: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Kasdin/Kasdin_062206.htm
Almost every division has at least two fighters that if matched against each other can make for a truly marquee match up. Corrales vs. Castillo at 135, Hatton vs. Cotto at 140, Mayweather vs. Margarito at 147, and the list goes on. I firmly believe that the best fight to be made at middleweight, assuming Abraham beats the bone crunching Colombian Edison Miranda in August, is Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor vs. Arthur Abraham. Many Americans will be clamoring for a Taylor vs. Wright rematch, and Abraham might fight Felix Sturm next, if he beats Miranda, in what would arguably be about as big a match in Germany as Klitschko vs. Valuev – after all nothing can actually be as big as Klitschko vs. Valuev. These two factors alone plus HBO’s considerable investment in Taylor and Abraham’s relative obscurity in the United States could very well scuttle this match, but as a fan of the sport I have to hope that good matches can be made regardless of the odds.
Taylor and Abraham are, in my not so humble opinion, the two best young middleweights. Both of them are incredibly strong, physical and aggressive fighters. Over the next few months Taylor’s skills should improve under the tutelage of Manny Steward, and Abraham already is a tremendously skilled fighter with a style resembling Winky Wright’s at times, and Marvin Hagler’s at others. Both fighters have fought the highest level of competition. Taylor, as we all know, has his two fights with Hopkins and his fight with Winky Wright. Abraham holds wins over Howard Eastman, Kingsley Ikeke, Kofi Jantuah, and could very well have another win over a top ten fighter in Edison Miranda. Taylor and Abraham are both undefeated, and however questionable some of Taylor’s wins might be you cannot take away from him his effort in those fights or his undefeated record. The icing on the cake in for this fight is that both fighters also pack a punch; Taylor has scored seventeen stoppages in twenty-six fights, and Abraham has scored seventeen stoppages in twenty-one fights.
Put all of the above together and you have two fighters that want to win, and have the tools to make it happen. This is a fight that has mega match written all over it if only it could be made. Would the raw aggression and ranged power of Taylor be too much for Abraham, or would Abraham’s wall like defense and precision power punching take down Taylor? I have to say, especially if he beats Miranda, I favor Abraham in this match, but obviously Taylor has been able to be competitive against top flight fighters so he cannot be as bad as many make him out to be.
I honestly see this fight somewhat mirroring Hagler vs. Hearns. In one corner you have the tall range fighter in Taylor, and in the other the power punching stocky fighter in Abraham. Taylor would probably start the fight pumping the jab, which Abraham would try to block with his Wright like defense, while Abraham would try to dig into Taylor’s body or tag Taylor with overhand rights due to Jermain’s low left guard. Abraham would try to force Taylor on to the ropes where Jermain’s ranged punches become a lot less effective and his activity level drops, and begin to work Taylor over with his powerful hooks, rights and uppercuts. Obviously Taylor would try to flurry off of the ropes, and would try to dominate the fight from the center of the ring. Eventually I think Abraham’s relentless body attack, powerful punches, and his ability to beat taller longer opponents, like Ikeke, from the outside and inside would propel him to victory against Taylor. In what would most assuredly be the most exciting bout at middleweight I see Abraham coming away with a late stoppage victory, but in the words of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, “unfortunately it will never happen”. If Abraham wins his next fight hopefully Lou DiBella and Wilfried Sauerland can work something out so that Leonard’s quote about his fight with Hagler proves to be as wrong for Taylor vs. Abraham as it did for Hagler vs. Leonard.
Link: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Kasdin/Kasdin_062206.htm
I dont have to say anything else.
Comment