Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor ready for battle on Oct. 17
by Scott Christ on Oct 6, 2009 10:02 PM EDT
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Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor will lead off the action in the Super Six World Boxing Classic in Germany on October 17. The former undisputed middleweight champion Taylor and former middleweight titlist Abraham make for a terrific matchup on paper, one with plenty of x-factors at play. Some key quotes from their conference call:
Abraham:
- "I’m very excited to be in this monumental event. I’ve never been in the ring with someone like Taylor. He’s a good boxer and a very strong boxer."
- "The thing I know about Taylor is that he’s beaten Hopkins. I know he’s a good boxer. There’s nothing really else I can say about him. I don’t really think I should praise him anymore here."
- "I take every fight seriously. This is no different than any other fight. Losing is not an option for me."
Taylor:
- "I feel like I’m the bigger fighter. I’m a lot stronger. As long as I don’t get tired I’m going to win the fight."
- "I’ve fought the best of the best in boxing. I’ve won some and lost some. I just want to win this tournament. There ain’t nothing else to it. It’s not about the money or anything but that I want to win. I plan to just leave it all in there. That’s all I got. That’s my state of mind right now. No excuses. Just go in there and fight."
- "The only reason I lost to Carl Froch was because I got tired. I wasn’t prepared. The best fighter lost because he didn’t train right."
I actually like the way Taylor has been talking leading up to this fight. Though he's obligated to finish out the tournament no matter how it goes, he's in desperate, desperate need of a win right now. Two losses to Kelly Pavlik and the April knockout defeat to Carl Froch have put him in a really dire spot. It's great that he's in the Super Six, but if he doesn't do some good things in this tournament, what after? He'd just be a journeyman with the distinction of also being former middleweight champ.
There seem to be a lot of people who truly believe Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KO) can win this fight, and I'm one of them. It's also for the reasons he's saying himself. He's got some real physical advantages, notably reach and speed, and Abraham's listed height of 5'10" seems like a bit of an exaggeration, to be honest.
Stamina has been his issue in the past, particularly against Froch, but also in the Pavlik rematch, where he just started running out of gas and looked like he might crumble late in the fight. I thought it was clear both times -- despite the losses -- he was a more well-rounded fighter than Pavlik, and he was seconds away from a decision win over Froch. He also put both of them on the canvas early in fights.
Abraham (30-0, 24 KO) is tough, strong, and really good defensively. And Germany has certainly had its share of ugly decisions in the past, so Abraham has a hometown advantage that you simply cannot ignore. But can he keep up with Taylor if Jermain gets his jab pumping, stays at a good distance, and forces Abraham to drop his guard in order to score points? If Taylor has really gotten his conditioning together, he will win this fight. If he hasn't, he probably won't, because Abraham is strong enough to take advantage of him late, the way Froch did, and the way Pavlik did.
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Absolutely loathed Taylor for many years and Pavlik’s destruction of him was one of the finest moments of my life, but with that said i’ll be praying for a Bad Intentions UD
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Oct 6, 2009 10:17 PM EDT reply actions
Taylor is gonna get kerplunked… Again. I wish I could be more diplomatic about it… but there it is.
Honestly, when was the last time Jermaine closed the show? It was nearly five years ago, against Daniel Edouard. Since then, he’s been gifted a win and a draw against Hopkins and Winky respectively and the only guys he’s clearly beaten in that stretch of time were a shot Jeff Lacy, a small Ouma and Corey Spinks in hands-down one of the worst title fights of the decade. Meanwhile, he’s been starched and outboxed by Pavlik, and dragged under the waves by Carl Froch: a man who could be hit by a punch if was postmarked two weeks in advance.
Jermaine was always the odd man out in this tourney. Dirrell is the wildcard and Ward is the black horse, but Jermaine is simply being thrown to the lions.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Well lets put this into context…
Hopkins… he was his equal at the very least even if you don’t believe he won the fights. You can say that Hopkins didn’t do enough to win but Taylor really had his moments versus a guy who ATG at middleweight and it wasn’t a robbery.
Wright… the guy who had a shell defense but put a phyiscal beating on him like no one else had. Something that Williams couldn’t do even with his punching output. Winky has himself to blame.. he coasted the final round in a close fight. You don’t throw away rounds esp in the championship rounds.
Ouma/Spinks… would you have picked worse guys to look good against?
Pavlik… has his number. Could have ended it but wasn’t efficent with his punches when he got him hurt.
Lacy… clear W.
Froch. Put him down even with his great chin but couldn’t get the KO when he was hurt. Faded badly just like in the Pavlick fight.
Vs Abraham.. will have all the physical advantages but does he have it to finish the fight?
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Something that Williams couldn’t do even with his punching output.
Paul Williams spanked the junior welt Winky something awful. Winky was tore up… just as I predicted.
Jermaine is going to get plunked by King Arty. This is by far the easiest pick of the first round. Look for it in round 8 or 9…. Jermaine will find himself a nice cozy little corner to lay down and take a load off, smell the roses. They aren’t giving him an easy, light-punching comeback bout… he has a very tough draw, a man who gets stronger over the course of a fight the same way that Taylor gets weaker. It’s redundant to count the ways in which Taylor is incomplete as a boxer and as a fighter at this point, and Abraham is as wrong for Taylor at 168 as he was for him at 160. If Jermaine thinks he will win on the cards in Germany he is sorely mistaken… and if he thinks he can knock out a man who fought half a fight with a grotesquely busted jaw he is gonna be just plain SORE… when he wakes up in the morning.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
He never really hurt him… that is what I meant. Taylor had Wright buzzed several times during the fight.
You are right… I think that Taylor has the hardest fight… and there are more reasons to doubt him than to have faith in him. I think he is going to get KO’ed within 9 rounds. I also think it can be one of those one punch knockouts that Abraham has the ability to do.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
It's 100% dependent on Jermain's stamina, IMO
If he can go hard for a full 12 without collapsing, I have little doubt that Jermain could school Abraham and win a wide decision. If he has lapses in energy like he pretty much always has (but which was most evident in the Froch and Spinks fights), the Abraham WILL eventually knock him out. I’m not really buying all this stuff with conditioning. It takes more than changing your diet to get better stamina, and it’s tough for a tiger to change his stripes, and therefore I’m picking Abraham TKO11.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Saying “it’s 100% dependent upon Taylor’s stamina” is like saying “it’s a 100% dependent upon Paulie Malignaggi’s power” or “it’s 100% dependent upon Nick Valuev’s speed.” Abraham KO 9.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
True
But at least he understands that’s the issue, and seems to be taking steps to try to rectify it.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Valuev is fast for a guy who is over 330 lbs and 7 feet tall… Seriously… just compared to people who are 220 he is slow as cream rising from milk.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Okay
Then, it’s like saying it’s “100% dependent on Wlad Klitschko infectious and bubbly personality”… if you please.
“I want to see ocean. I want to see black people. I want to see palms.”
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
God Bless Wald…
He is a dork…
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
I have to change that back to my slogan
That was just BOSS. No pun intended.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
don’t you live in NY? I thought there are black people everywhere…
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
"I am... surrounded by black people."
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
haha. What’s that from? I’m surrounded by Mexicans but I like their breakfast tacos so it’s cool.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
These are all direct Vladdie K quotes my friend… he will wind up being abundantly quoted when we are old and grey.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
oh
I know the first one, I just never heard him say “I am…surrounded by black people”
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
It was approximately 15 seconds after he said the “ocean, palms” thing…. I think maybe in the run up to the Tony Thompson fight? Steward was cracking the hell up. The Terminator was in fine form for that interview.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
can someone break down the super six for me please
As I understand it, the super six tournament is a round robin, followed by a four fighter single elimination tournament.
Round Robin means each fighter will face each other, right? How many fights is this part of the tourney gonna last? By my math its 15 fights. Or 30. Its been a while since I’ve been in a math class. I’m thinking neither is correct.
Someone please spell this out for me, and everyone retarded just like me? Thanks.
by The Lethal Haze on Oct 6, 2009 11:00 PM EDT reply actions
Not every fighter faces each other
It would go too long that way. Each fighter gets three first round fights, with 1 point for a draw, 2 points for a win and 3 points for a knockout win, and then about 4 tiebreakers before you get to a coin flip. So overall, there will be 12 fights – 9 in the first round (3×3), 2 in the second and 1 in the finals. I don’t think there’s a deal in place for a 3rd place fight, but if the tournament is successful, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put one together for the undercard of the finals.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Thanks for taking the time to break that down. I’d be lying if I said I understood what you wrote 100%, but I’m sure as time goes on and the tournament plays out it will make sense.
Thanks again.
by The Lethal Haze on Oct 7, 2009 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I really do like Taylor… the thing is that there is something to be said about a guy who can finish a fight with broken jaw and have one punch KO power fighting in his hometown.
Taylor has all the physical qualities you want out of a middleweight but sometimes what gets you the W isn’t want is tangible.
You know maybe I am making Abraham more than what he is because of that fight, but he has not disappointed me in the fights that I have seen and Taylor has left things to be desired in his fights.
With that said… I think if Abraham were to face Hopkins he would get routed and outclassed… Taylor on the other hand was Hopkins at the very least was his equal in both fights.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
I kinda liked the quote from Taylors camp as well...
LOU DiBELLA
"Jermain is I think more focused on this fight than I’ve ever seen him focused on any fight. It’s been all business. He’s lean and mean and already on weight which is a great thing this far out.
"We have a great amount of respect for Arthur Abraham. Anybody that can sustain a broken jaw early in a fight and fight through that and win the fight and retain his title has to get a tremendous amount of respect. But we don’t think that Arthur’s ever been with anybody who’s athletically gifted or big or fast as Jermain. We feel Arthur has the home crowd behind him but we have the better horse, the better fighter in the ring.
"We feel like we’re going to shock some people in Berlin when Jermain Taylor reestablishes himself as the king of 168-pounders.
"By any measure Jermain has had a tremendous career. I tend to think Jermain is really underappreciated. The level of fight that Jermain has fought since his first Hopkins fight there’s no champion or top fighter in boxing who can claim back-to-back-to-back-to-back big kind of fights. Literally everyone he’s fought has had championship pedigree. He will not back down from anyone. Jermain has always had the attitude of whoever you put in front of me I’ll fight them."
OZELL NELSON
"We know Arthur is a big hitter so we’ve been working on a bunch of different ways to take away some of that power. Jermain’s in excellent shape and had his weight down for the first time in years. It’s not like his last fight where he was losing 20 pounds in a couple of weeks.
"His head is on right. He’s had his fun. It’s time to get down to business. This man loves to eat. He’d eat a Big Mac any day but this kid right here he won’t have a Big Mac."
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Wasn’t there word that Taylor was training with Foreman? Is that still going on or what?
I like Jermain as a person, nice guy, good guy, straightforward guy.
As a fighter he’s just so damn tight, he can’t seem to relax and I think that’s a big reason why he gasses so badly. I think his only shot against Abraham is to just blow him out, KO him in the first couple rounds. If Arthur gets any steam in the middle rounds, he’ll start throwing combos and Jermain’ll get stopped.
And I think that’s what will happen. Jermain will win a couple early rounds with the jab while Abraham is feeling him out, but Jermain will neither do enough damage nor continue to score in the middle rounds. By the 7th Abraham will be kicking ass and the fight will be stopped around the 9th. I like JT, I just don’t believe he’s got the mental makeup for Abe.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
Taylor doesn’t have a rhythm. Everything is forced. It appears like boxing comes hard to him but because of his physical abilities he has been able to excel in this sport.
It used to be that he had a great jab that would come out naturally but now he is kinda tigger shy with using it.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Taylor doesn’t have a rhythm. Everything is forced.
That’s the understatement of the year. Taylor looks like he’s trying to squeeze out a loaf the size of gran piano in there, while uselessly herking-jerking like he is having a seizure. It is frustrating and frankly nerve-wracking to watch, thinking of all the juice he is using up in there. There are twitchy guys who can control the gas pedal but Taylor is not one of them. He sometimes looks like he is fighting three rounds every three minutes and that will be the story of this fight. Abraham will knock Taylor out in Abraham’s Round 9 and Taylors Round 27!
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
by jrok on Oct 6, 2009 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, he was training with Foreman
But I think that was just for a week or two to get some pointers. And Foreman seems like a really odd choice to learn stamina pointers from. The diet thing is the one part that might have some effect, but will it have enough of an effect?
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
yeah really odd for stamina, but maybe if he was changing, turning into a seek and destroy Foreman it would be cool. I liked the idea: just say fuck it, I’m going to make it a brawl and if I can’t KO somebody by the end of the third, It’s over.
I just don’t like the line he walks stylistically. He fights slow AND tight. If he was just a hunter he may have a better shot against Abe. But, taking your sweet time and getting tired is just a disaster. JT’s gotta know this I think. He’s gotta realize the only way he competes with Abraham is if he goes BIG from the first bell.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
He is got to make it a dogfight…lol
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
He’s gotta go visit Kirkland in the pen.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
Yeah since Mike Vick is out of jail…
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
oooooh. See the dog-fighting thing on HBO? Pretty hard-core. The biggest problem I have with Vick is that he hung and electrocuted them. Rifle dude, rifle.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
I couldn’t stomach it…
I know Thomas Hauser hates on HBO alot but Ross Greenburg is the producer for all the Sports things on HBO
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Hey Zocalo
Does your name mean anything cause someone up the street has that as a license plate on their truck?
by Waldo Rastel on Oct 7, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
It can be understood as a gathering place. The Zocalo is the main plaza in Mexico City, kinda like Central Park/ Strawberry Fields.
Why did I pick it? Well… when I registered for this site when I wanted to chat about the Marquez/Casamayor ppv fight I wanted to identify myself as a Mexican American boxing fan and anyone who knows anything about Mexico knows that the Zocalo is where they have fights at times.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
are you hecho en mexico or a cincuenta percento?
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Oct 8, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
You know, I agree with just about all the criticism of Taylor in this thread, but what I disagree with is the idea that Abraham is all that. C’mon, guys, we’re talking about a guy whose biggest win is against Edison Miranda. Think about it.
I don’t know if I think this is the easiest fight to pick out of the opening round of the 6, but I definitely think it is the weakest. Neither guy impresses me. There are serious doubts about both.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
C’mon, guys, we’re talking about a guy whose biggest win is against Edison Miranda. Think about it.
That was exactly what they said about Pavlik before he murdered JT in the seventh round… I made a lot of money on that fight… I sent a Christmas present to my brother with the note “From: Kelly Pavlik.”
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
And look at Kelly's career since then. The statement holds.
Like I said, both questionable.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Look Kelly hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in his vacant, empty “Ghost Town” of a division, I’ll be the first to admit that. But what does that have to do with Jermaine inspecting the canvas in Round 9 against Honest Abe?
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Well, I started a new line of comment in which I argued…
what I disagree with is the idea that Abraham is all that
I didn’t make a pick at all as to who would win. I want to think about it a bit more first. I do think that the boxing world is over-enamored with Abraham, who seems to be the consensus number two pick. I think this is crazy high, and I would actually rate him near the bottom of the pile in terms of probability of winning the whole thing, just above Taylor. As I hinted before, I think this match showcases the two fighters least likely to win this thing.
To elaborate a bit on Abraham, I suspect the ballsy way he won with a broken jaw has become the stuff of legend among hardcore fan. It’s a good story and speaks well of his toughness. But I think the spectacular nature of the story causes fans to over-exaggerate Abraham’s qualifications as a whole for this tourney.
I’ll get back to you later with my call for Taylor / Abraham.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
I actually agree with Abraham’s chances. Just a gut feeling, not a condemnation of him as a fighter at all. Every guy in this tournament has skills. Kessler is the favorite for me, and my wild card (as is the wild card of many) is Andre Dirrell. But Carl Froch is so damn tough and persistent I think he’s going to keep surprising people. He’s the anti-Calzaghe in a lot of ways.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
Kessler
+1
Then Abraham, Froch, Dirrell and Ward, in that order.
Kessler is just too big, too strong, and his surprisingly underrated skills are better than anyone in this tournament too, in my opinion.
Boxing is the beginning of all sports. I'm willing to bet that the first sport was a man against another man in a fight. (Omar Epps)
I'm not a huge fan of Abraham either
Just this fight has a really obvious outcome based on styles.
Abraham’s actually the one guy I can’t see winning the tournament. I think both Kessler and Froch are locks to beat him. He just shells up too much and doesn’t throw enough to win rounds against larger competition that has chins. And in the end it hasn’t mattered because he scores knockouts against weak opposition, but there are a few times where it’s looked like he was about to get some help from the judges.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
But also Ward beat an older Miranda for his best win and Dirrell doesn’t even have that on his resume. The only win Froch has is over Taylor, who he clearly lost to (I guess Jean Pascal too if you really want to throw that one in there). Kessler has the only legit win and its over Andrade, so there is a lot of unproven in this tourney….
by Waldo Rastel on Oct 7, 2009 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions
(I guess Jean Pascal too if you really want to throw that one in there)
WTF? What was wrong with Froch’s win over Pascal?
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Don’t think he was a good super-middle at that point of his career. Clearly waited too long to go up in weight.
by Waldo Rastel on Oct 7, 2009 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions
"The History of Boxing is the History of Excuses"
Carl Froch is not the most talented battleship to float into port, but he comes as advertised. His wheelhouse is probably the most dangerous place to be in this tourney… even if you can see and hit his iron chin from outer space.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Taylor can punch hard...
…in the early rounds.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
only shot against Abe: go big or go home. Come out with guns a blazing.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
If it was anywhere else then Germany, I would say NO! Play the counterpuncher. But Jermaine will be two or three rounds in the hole before bell one. So yeah, you are probably right. Makes Plunksville even more certain.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
why would he have a shot in Vegas, for example? I think he’s always going to lose a decision to Abe. Too many punches, too good from rounds 6 thru 12.
I think wherever they fight JT’s gotta get a KO.
And just because of the # of times you’ve done it in this thread, it’s Jermain, not Jermaine – he would have no chance if his name ended in an ‘e’.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
I don't mispell guys names just because their parents did
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
JT would have a much better chance at a decison in Vegas
Or on the surface of Mars, or at the bottom of a volcano for that matter. German engineering has produced some fine automobiles and some even finer Boxing Robberies in my lifetime. But he would still get plunked in any of those locales, yes.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
How screwed is Taylor? Are we talking Paulie in Texas screwed or an African-American vs. Schmeling in Nazi Germany screwed?
Well… we’re probably talking Joe Louis in Yankee Stadium screwed. The FIRST time, that is, when Schelling put him to bed.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Schmeling, I mean
I don’t want collins up in by butthole for my spelling of Schmeling.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
graphic, don’t get a pink sock over it.
"I swear to God, I'll take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat" - Serena Williams
“pink sock?”….. WTF? :)
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Pink sock
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pink%20sock
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Yeah I know what it is...
But that is some gross sh*t to be saying to somebody. Good heavens, man!
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Abraham doesn't have a high workrate
It improves as the fight goes on, but in almost all of his fights, he only throws punches in the last minute of the round. A lot of American judges score rounds split into threes, and those that do would almost never give Abraham a round due to his style.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Heck
Watch Abraham-Ayala, and tell me with a straight face that Taylor wouldn’t outpoint Abraham if (a) he doesn’t get knocked out and (b) the fight isn’t in Germany.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
And for God's sakes...
Exactly when was Pascal UNDER 168 pounds in his pro career.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Pascal is very overrated by now
I like him (whereas I didn’t used to), but Pascal hasn’t really beaten anyone good either, and after the Branco fight, I’m convinced that he’d still lose to just about any top 10 SMW.
Best win’s over Diaconu, and what’s his second best win? 43-year old Branco? Kingsley Ikeke, who got his ass kicked by the same Anthony Hanshaw who got his ass kicked by Dirrell? And who has Diaconu beaten? He beat Chris Henry by less of a margin than Yusef Mack despite being in his backyard, and his next best win is over someone who got his ass kicked on The Contender.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Damn issues with the board
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Best win’s over Diaconu, and what’s his second best win? 43-year old Branco? Kingsley Ikeke, who got his ass kicked by the same Anthony Hanshaw who got his ass kicked by Dirrell?
The “whisper down the lane” game falls apart at a certain point, Brick, as does the “A>B>C so A>C” game. I just don’t think that’s the right way to look at this. You can play that game with every single one of the fighters in this tourney (well, maybe not Kessler). So really, it comes down to styles and what we see with our eyeballs here, not resumes. Apart from Kessler, they have all fought and beaten inferior competition to each other at this point in their careers. But Froch has 1)already beaten one of the contenders in this tourney by knockout in hostile terrain and 2)has beaten a good legit fighter in Pascal. Dirrell beat a good legit fighter in Hanshaw. Ward and Abraham beat Miranda. Taylor probably has the most experience against the toughest and cagiest competition, but who exactly is picking Taylor to win the tourney based on this? Kessler has the finest resume at 168 by leaps and bounds, but Ward, Dirrell ,Abraham and Froch fighters are basically on equal footing as far as their resumes are concerned.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
I guess I'm not so sure that Pascal is that good or legit
Minor step up from Miranda or Lacy, but not a big one, IMO.
We’re basically in agreement on the bigger point though, which is that Froch’s resume doesn’t put him way out ahead of the pack. A lot of Froch fans have tried to argue with me that Froch’s overall resume is the best or second best at 168, which is ludicrous to me. One good win, one decent one, and that’s about it.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Yeah, but everyone already speaks of Ward and Dirrell as inexperienced and largely unproven. My point is that Abraham deserves to be spoken of in the same category. He’s also smaller and less athletic than either Dirrell or Ward. I think both have a better shot of winning this thing than Abraham.
Taylor, Kessler, and, to a lesser extent, Froch, have all tested their mettle against elite opposition. The others, not so much.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
You're probably right
Though pre-Pavlik Miranda was a lot better than current Miranda.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Pavlik did just beat the fight out of him. Really good fight.
Shame it’s been taken off youtube. I watched it a few times on there. It was one of my favourite fights a couple of years ago.
Boxing is the beginning of all sports. I'm willing to bet that the first sport was a man against another man in a fight. (Omar Epps)
Miranda came forward swinging (crudely and mostly ineffectively) on Ward for all 12 rounds. Ward played it very safe in there against a guy he probably should have iced, considering Pavlik and Abraham had already both put him into orbit. If Ward’s best win is a points decision over a damaged and battered slugger… then who really has the weakest resume?
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Taylor A.K.A. the October Dog
Taylor wins this fight. While I am certain many people (esp. European) may disagree with me and despite the fact that I’ve been wrong before, in my opinion, Jermain Taylor is the underdog of October and the smart money follows him on Oct 17. Fight fans say things about Jermain Taylor; some good, some bad and mostly truthful. His skill and speed are eclipsed only by his flaws. He lacks knockout power, his chin is not made of iron and most obvious of all, he has shown an inability to close fights. Wherein lies the problem… If you can’t or won’t knock a fighter out and you can’t fight through twelve rounds, where are you left? You’re left with losses like Taylor’s last three. Losses where you wake up to find the canvas and scorecards exhibiting your lead. All this being said, I believe Taylor will win this fight because I know that Taylor has reached a point of no return. Taylor has surfaced on the verge of journeyman status. He literally finds himself “in between a rock and hard place.” A loss here will mark the birth of his journeyman status with a second loss in the tournament concreting it. Taylor wins this fight because he possesses the skill, speed, reach and power to win. More importantly, Taylor wins this fight because he has come to the same realization that I have; a loss marks the beginning of his journey into forgotten boxer oblivion. Taylor’s been given a second chance of sorts with this tournament. He has been given the chance to become a champion yet again. This time Jermain achieves what 14 seconds kept him from against Froch. Jermain Taylor becomes a champion again on Oct. 17 2009. Woo Pig Sooie, Hogbox.
He won’t lose because he wants it more? You don’t get into a ring and risk your life because you ’don’t want to become a journeyman.’ You fight because you love to fight, you must love it or else you don’t become champion. Both of these fighters really really really want this fight, and no trite sports analogies are going to change one bit of this fight. This is the biggest fight of Abraham’s career, where he can literally make a name for himself in America and become more of a hero back home. Both have ‘the will to win’ and other cliché crap, but only one will and it will be because of boxing skill. For an enlightened discussion of that please see the comments above.
More to the point
Taylor isn’t fighting for a title vs Abraham
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Addressing what was actually the point
The winner of the tournament become a super middleweight champion
They'll (probably) be a unified beltholder
But unless Lucian Bute loses somewhere along the way, there probably won’t be a true champion, since he’s #2 at the moment.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Totally. Cotto’s always wearing out over 12 rounds. (???)
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
I've never understood this one either
He almost always wins the 12th round. The only time he ‘wore down’ late in a fight it was because he had been pounded to the body all night by Margarito, and who knows if that was even kosher.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
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