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Australian Shannan Taylor will take a walk in to the Last Chance Saloon on tonight when he challenges unbeaten Armenian Arthur Abraham for his IBF Middleweight Championship. Taylor has challenged for a legitimate world title once before, almost five years ago when “Sugar” Shane Mosley, then acknowledged as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the game, pounded him into submission after five rounds.
After the Mosley fight, Taylor’s personal life spiraled out of control and he admitted to abusing cocaine in the months after his defeat. The same year, 2001, he was knocked out by unheralded Aussie Julian Holland, and made an unsuccessful challenge for the IBO Light Middleweigh! t crown, traveling to England to be brutally dispatched by Richard Williams in four.
Not to be discouraged, Taylor then went on a fourteen fight unbeaten streak although the quality of some of his opposition was questionable. That was enough for Taylor to earn a shot at the IBO middleweight strap held by Raymond Joval. Joval outworked Taylor, who suffered a broken rib in the second round and a badly cut eye in the ninth. With Joval pouring on pressure the referee wisely intervened in his favour to save Shannan from further punishment. His reward for being beaten? A shot at the world middleweight championship, while Joval is still yet to secure ! his next fight.
Abraham, on the other hand, is unbeaten in 19 fights, (with 17 knockouts) as a pro, and he secured the vacant IBF middleweight title in his last outing with a very convincing win over the dangerous Nigerian Kingsley Ikeke. Abraham also boasts a decision win over iron jawed Englishman Howard Eastman. He is strong, on a roll and will have a supportive German crowd behind him. In short ? he?s going to win and win quite handily.
In 2001, Shannan Taylor told the boxing media that “they were going to have to carry him out of the ring” when he fought Shane Mosley. Were it not for the compassion shown by Johnny Lewis and Jeff Fenech that night, he undoubtedly would have been. Much to my dismay the same words escaped his lips this past week. Let’s just hope that Taylors cornermen and the refere! e are looking out for him? Not too many people walk out of the Last Chance Saloon smiling.
