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The much anticipated rematch between WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik and former titlist Jermain Taylor takes place tonight as a 12 round non-title affair at a catchweight of 166 lb at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with a massive undercard supporting the main event.
The pair first clashed in September of last year and reigning champion Taylor had difficulty early with the non-stop aggressiveness of the challenger but floored Pavlik in the second. The lanky 25 year old from Youngstown beat the count and then managed to endure Taylor’s followup onslaught until the end of the round.
Pavlik threw caution to the wind in the third and went right back after Taylor, who was forced to fight at a much faster pace than he prefers and was soon exhausted.
When Taylor had enough energy to box he was countering well and winning rounds but for most of the fight, he simply could not avoid Pavlik’s right hand. Those battering right hands, coupled with the massive energy expenditure, forced Taylor to slug it out and wore him down until he was battered into unconsciousness in the seventh.
Taylor was winning the fight by three to four points on the judge’s scorecards but to everyone else watching the bout it was a far closer scrap. Taylor was the more accurate, landing half of his punches at his oncoming rival but Pavlik’s shots were heavier and ultimately the more effective.
The rematch offers a myriad of possibilities to speculate upon and the fact that the bout is being fought at super middleweight could considerably change the landscape of the first contest.
It’s hard to see how Pavlik could pull off a better performance offensively as he put on a clinic on going forward and damaging the opponent but defensively he was there to be hit and almost paid the price in the second round.
If Pavlik does pay more attention to his defense, that could give Taylor room to breathe and allow him to apply his sharper boxing skills with more energy behind it so it’s not likely.
Assuming that Pavlik will again go right after his prey, for Taylor to reverse the result of the first bout, he’ll have to not only keep Pavlik from coming forward, he’ll have to force the Youngstown, Ohio native to fight going backward and make Pavlik react instead of instigate.
But that strategy would take a lot of stamina, something that Taylor doesn’t generally have in spades.
Many rematches pick up where the first bout left off and this should follow suit; look for Taylor to come out slugging and try to KO Pavlik early, something the Little Rock resident likely feels he just missed by a whisker last September.
This one won’t go the distance and the winner could be in-line for a lucrative bout with Joe Calzaghe should he get past the old master, Bernard Hopkins, in their clash this spring.
