American Jermain Taylor and German Arthur Abraham will exchange blows later this week in Berlin, Germany to begin the much anticipated Super Six Tournament.
Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) has lost three of his last four fights. He lost twice to Kelly Pavlik and was halted by Carl Froch in the final salvo of their fight. However, his unanimous decision win over Jeff Lacy prior to Froch fight was an impressive display of punching accuracy.
Arthur Abraham, on the other hand, is undefeated in 30 professional fights, 25 of which were inside the distance - an astonishing 80 percent knock-out percentage.
I was able to get the opinion of some highly esteemed boxing writers on who will win between the two former middleweight champions. Check this out:
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Vivek Wallace – East Side Boxing, Examiner, 8-Count News
“Taylor knows this could be it for him. Despite the losses, he's still in the thick of things with a path to redemption. He had no answer for Pavlik, but there was one thing about the Pavlik fight that will be intriguing here. Pavlik had all the power in the world at the middleweight limit, but has yet to knock one man out (including Taylor) a single pound above it. The reason that's important here is because we have never seen Abraham above the middleweight limit before now, and to assume that he can do better than Pavlik, by bringing that awesome power up with him will be a very wrong assumption. Taylor takes a lot of slack for losing, but you have to realize that had the fight gone the distance, (another 15 sec or so), he would have defeated Froch because he was ahead on all scorecards, if I remember correctly. So, an extra bowl of Wheaties that morning, or a shot of Redbull in the locker-room could have easily had us talking about Taylor being the man on the rise and instead asking ourselves whether or not Abraham has a shot. Think about it. So, I can't call a winner here. Taylor has more of a shot than people think because he knows his days could be numbered. Abraham is the one with something to prove, because if his power doesn't translate, he'll need that great stamina of his to get the job done in the end. I'm going out on a limb and saying Taylor will shock us and win on points.
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Vivek Wallace is a huge boxing fan born and raised in Miami, Florida. An avid student of the game, Vivek spends a countless amount of hours in the still of the night breaking down fight footage which thoroughly accounts for his ability to lay out visual words from an unseen perspective. Vivek has done past work in the world of boxing for various new sources, to include the Moffat County Newspaper, Most Valuable Network, the Examiner, 8 Count News, and most recently Eastside Boxing. Vivek is also in the midst of a 3 year run covering the NBA's Miami Heat. Aside from sports journalism, Vivek is a former U.S. Marine, and a Father of two.
Jake Donovan – Boxing Scene
“I'm going with Abraham, by late stoppage or clear decision. I don't buy into Taylor's excuse of being ill-prepared for the Froch fight. He looked like the same fighter as has been the case throughout his career - start strong, run out of gas late. Stamina and confidence are his greatest issues. I don't see a trip to the lion's den (fighting Abraham in Germany) curing either scenario. Not to mention I just believe Abraham to be the better all-around fighter.”
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Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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Chris Parry – Vancouver Sun
“Taylor's a big time fighter on the downward slope while Arthur is a man on the rise who has KTFO'ed a string of non-big name opponents as IBF champ. I see this as Arthur's coming out party and though Taylor may dominate early, it'll only take one shot to announce Arthur as legit stateside.”
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Charles White – East Side Boxing
“Taylor hasn't been looking real great his last few fights out (congrats to him on the win over Lacy though) so I might lean towards Abraham. However, I hear that Taylor has been doing some George Foreman-like workouts down in Texas at Foreman's youth center, so we will have to see how that has helped prepare him for this match. Also, Abraham starts off pretty slow, which is a good thing for Taylor. Another tough fight to pick. As a Taylor fan, I will have to pull for him to upset Abraham and wipe out that perfect record.”
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Paul H. Burbridge – East Side Boxing
“Abraham all the way. Too much of everything going in to this match and I believe he will win by late round KO!”
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Chris Robinson – Examiner (Miami Boxing Examiner)
“I think Taylor will start fast and eventually fade, allowing Abraham to turn the tide of the fight and score a late stoppage.”
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Frank Gonzalez Jr. – East Side Boxing, Doghouse Boxing
“I like Taylor but his last few fights demonstrate that he's past his best days. Arthur Abraham is no dynamo of youthful athleticism but he's a very dangerous puncher with a huge chin, who will let opponents wear themselves thin trying to bang with him and then, suddenly, Abraham comes on with big power punches that put guys to sleep. Abraham is unbeaten and chock full of confidence. Taylor has lost three of his last four outings, losing twice to Pavlik, one by TKO in 7 and the other by UD. He also was kayoed by Froch, who Taylor was out pointing until late in the fight. Taylor has the heart but I don't know if he has the stamina or the will in the late rounds, where Abraham is a monster.”
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Ronan Keenan – The Sweet Science
“Arthur should out-point Taylor. His heavy jab and right hand will visibly hurt Taylor and catch the judge's eyes.”
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Vikram Birring – Doghouse Boxing
“The story on Jermain Taylor has not changed ever since his first fight with Bernard Hopkins. He dominated for eight rounds, then ran out of energy and was pummeled the remainder of the fight. It happened again in the second fight, in the second fight against Kelly Pavlik, and most recently against Carl Froch. People don't change, and the same scenario will probably happen against (Abraham).”
Ken Hissner – Doghouse Boxing, Fighters of Faith
“I do not know what the big deal about Arthur Abraham is after watching his defensive style against Lajuan Simon, but Taylor seems to have passed his peak. I would like to see Taylor rebound but Abraham finds a way to win and will win this one.”
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Doveed Linder – Boxing Talk
“This is a very tough fight to call. Jermain Taylor has faced the tougher opposition, he's a better athlete, and I think he has better technical skills. But I believe he runs out of gas because of anxiety issues and I don't think he has had time to re-adjust and learn to relax since his fight with Froch. For this reason, I pick Abraham to stop him late. But it wouldn't surprise me if Taylor won a decision or even stopped him somewhere along the way.”
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Tony Nobbs – East Side Boxing, The Fist
“I will go with the fresher guy over the distance in a pretty willing affair. The Pavlik fights and the Frock KO may have taken a bit too much out of Taylor.”
“ABRAHAM WIN POINTS 12 TAYLOR”
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Darren Nichols – Boxing Talk
“Luster is off Taylor, Arthur will shine. Arthur by late KO.”
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Marshall N. B.
Boxing Fan
