The Battle for Middleweight Supremacy ends on 6-17-2006

Alot of questions will be answered in the month of June.

Those questions are mainly unanswered thoughts regarding Jermain Taylor.

Jermain Taylor, recent conqueror of Middleweight legend Bernard Hopkins, is a likeable enough fellow and he's got skills...but IWO, what he lacks is the pedigree. He lacks the ability to finish a fight or a fighter that brings more to the table than he does. The reason that I bring this up is basically off of the results of both fights with Hopkins. He did indeed get the wins, but he wasn't very convincing in either fight.

Again, I like Taylor & he's got a damned fine record (25 wins with 17 ko's) to boast so far. I consider myself a fan...but the fact is that against someone as slick as Hopkins & quite possibley Winky...Taylor doesn't fair so well.

The kid is skilled fundamentally & he does have power...but he lacks in his defensive capabilities & also he seems to have issues with folding under pressure. Instead of standing his ground...he backs up & he does so wide open. Crafty veteran fighters will capitalize on such inadaquacies & Wright is as crafty of a vet as Hopkins is.

Ronald Winky Wright has an impressive record of 50 wins with 25 knockouts and only 3 losses. One could argue the facts that this is a hall of fame worthy record...again...one can argue those facts but one thing that cannot be argued is that Wright is a great challenge for any man in the middleweight division right now & quite possibley he will be a greater test to Taylor's resolve than Hopkins.

The advantage that I see here for Taylor is the fact that Wright lacks the power that Hopkins has. Wright's power lies in the form of a repetitive power jab & Hopkins weapon of choice was an inside right hand throughout the fights that they shared.

If Taylor can use his jab to nullify Wright's jab...I give him a shot at winning this fight in a more convincing manner than he did against Hopkins.

That being said...if Wright fights the same fight that he fought against Tito...the same pace...the same conviction....he's gonna bag Taylor. Granted...Taylor is a bit more intelligent when pressed & age is on his side...I would see it going down much the same way if fair is fair.

Wright's experience & defence will frustrate Taylor as much as it did Tito & Mosley & all the rest that were handed losses.

Compelling match up filled with lots & lots of questions.

By the end of this post...I started coming up with as many questions about Wright as I did with Taylor? How about you?

Thoughts?