Pavlik-Taylor, Too
Not a bad fight, but not as exciting, no knockdowns, no real fireworks, yet the same victor.
Why did Taylor not let his hands go more? He corrected some of his major flaws of the past, but maybe at the expense of aggressiveness.
Pavlik finally looked human, but also beatable by a more active fighter. He remains unbeaten in 33 pro fights, but his impressive knockout streak ends at nine.
Next for Pavlik will be someone chosen to be KTFO, like John Duddy or Felix Trinidad. Taylor supposedly will go to 168, with HBO pushing Taylor-Kessler.
2008 is just not 2007.
Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik
posted by Eddie Goldman @ 1:45 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Eddie, you write that Pavlik "finally looks human." It seems to me that he's always looked human, and that might be one of the more interesting things about him. He's not notably gifted, and so has to apply his various attritubutes all the more conscientiously in order to win. He's a strong middleweight who can punch. He's not immodest (which is a tremendous asset to a fighter with limited skills, since it suggests he sees himself clearly.) But speed will always trouble him. And, aside from being a solidly grounded technician, he's not blessed with any special creativity. A really good opponent will know exactly what to expect from him. But Pavlik's no walk in the park. In order to beat him, the guy who takes his title will really have to come to beat him.
True enough. Both guys last night were fighting somewhat conservatively, to avoid the mistakes which led to them each being dropped in their first fight, with Taylor, of course, being knocked out.
Pavlik's knockdown in the first fight came when he lowered his hands and mugged at Taylor. Pavlik controlled this fight by landing first, and often. He landed, according to CompuBox, 267 out of 845 punches.
Taylor, not dropping his left as much, threw 456 punches and landed 178, which is high for him. Against Hopkins, both times, as I recall, he landed around 100 punches, give or take.
Both guys' technical improvements led to less danger and, thus, less electricity during the fight. The first fight was a fight of the year candidate, while this one, a unanimous decision, likely will not be.
Isn't it odd how we often appreciate the excitement resulting from blunders more than the controlled action resulting from better technique?
I didn't see the Fight, but I've seen Pavlik enough to grasp how physically strong he is. He's heavy handed and posses the type of physical strength that takes it out of his opponent. Just trying to navigate him through clenches and in-fighting takes it out of his opponents.
I could be totally off here, but I believe Taylor fought him the only way he could've, at least to give him his best shot to win. His punch output was low because he didn't want to get into exchanges with Pavlik. The more Taylor cut-loose with his hands, would've left him more open to be nailed with something big he may not have seen by Pavlik. Taylor learned during the last fight, that he'd have to be measured in order to have something left to Fight Pavlik off down the stretch.
Again, I didn't see the Fight, but based on what Eddie says, that's the picture I get in my mind. Which doesn't require a Boxing Scholar to vision. It's really the only option Taylor had.
I can't speak to Pavlik, but I've alway felt Calzaghe could handle him. Based on what transpired last night via Eddie's recap, I'd probably endorse that even more today.
I think you're doing Tito a disservice by saying he'd be "chosen to be KTFO".
If Trinidad is, indeed, selected to be Pavlik's next opponent, his marketability would be the reason.
Jacqui, do you think that, in light of his last few significant failures in attempting to move up in weight, there's still the kind of market for Trinidad that there was five or six years ago? I'd have to assume that the general consensus would be that Tito wouldn't be competitive with Pavlik. Seeing him in with Roy Jones made it clearer than ever that his best fighting weight would still be at 154. And even at 154, he'd be a diminished fighter from that of his heyday.
Tito is just a money fight for Pavlik. Tito has to push the fight to Pavlik, in the hope to land something to get his attention. In doing that he a sitting duck for Pavlik's heavy right hand.
Jacqui, Tito is right there to be nailed by right hands. Every decent opponent he's fought has tug him with big right hands. Not all of them have hurt him, but Pavlik's will put him away. IF Tito trys to survive, he goes some rounds. IF he Fights Pavlik, it won't go a lot of rounds.
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