Kings & pawns of the Middleweight Chessboard

[Wacko3205]

Whew...

Alright childrens...I know that was a long read...but those of you who know me are well familiar with wacko's ability to be a long winded mo-fo...atleast back in the day I was.

Nowadays, most of my time is spent with my daughter camping & exploring the wilds of the Great Smokey Mountains & the likes. While me youngin' does take up the bulk of my weekends, boxing is still a large passion of mine...I just have to prioritize between PPV bouts & memorable weekends with a four year old who already seems to have a bit better of a handle on all matters of life than her father ever could.

It's amazing how fast a kid learns...fwockin' know it alls!

Heh heh heh.

That being said...let's get down to the year to date & the current Middleweight Chessboard.

With the exit of middleweight kingpin Bernard Hopkins a couple of years ago...the division was left in the hands of 160lb hopeful & former Olympian Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor & the awkwardly amazing abilities of a junior middleweight southpaw...Ronald "Winky" Wright.

Oddly enough...two years later the top two players at 160lbs have nearly dropped off the board...or been knocked off of it. Wright chased Hopkins up to Light Heavyweight only to be defeated & rarely heard from again, while Taylor went on to perform dismally against lighter weight opponents before getting crushed by Kelly Pavlik twice & left in uncertainty.

One would think that the 160lb division would be in the same mess as the 200+ pounders currently in.

Wrong.

Falling just short of welter...the middleweight division has never been quite as interesting as it is now. Most of the pawns are now knights or nearly kings scurrying for the top spot of unification & supremacy.

Depending on which side of the board (or mat) you're on...you should currently be one satisfied fan with a few choice moves!

Currently holding the WBC & WBO middleweight titles & more or less being the people's champion is the heavy handed blue collar worker Kelly "the Ghost" Pavlik. For quite sometime I've been touting Pavlik as a hopeful & for quite sometime Pavlik has been fighting in obscurity...those days are long gone by. After working his way through the ranks & defeating middleweight contenders such as Beaupierre, McKart, Thompson, Zuniga, & Zertuche...Pavlik hit the big time when he totally dismantled the mouth, mind, & spirit of Edison Miranda over seven brutal rounds. Miranda, once another heir apparent, was totally outclassed & outmustcled down the stretch & in wacko's opinion...never will be the same.

The exclamation point of that knockout was heard 'round the world of boxing & it jumped Pavlik into his next big shot & devastating performance...the seven round destruction of Jermain Taylor. Words can't really justify the show that the two put on & to say that it was all Pavlik would be a diservice to the bout...but Pavlik pulled out all the stops & completely shattered Taylor's world. A catch weight rematch would see Taylor going the distance...but still getting the short end of the stick. Pavlik was just too much for him. Pavlik was here to stay in a big way. Four months later Kelly would be pitted against Gary Lockett, Camp Calzaghe's undefeated answer to the Pavlik puzzle. Three rounds after the first bell tolled, the pieces fell apart as did the will & defense of Gary Lockett.

Pavlik retained his titles by once again brutally destroying the man across the mat. Pavlik currently rests upon a throne built of 34 wins, no losses, & 30 of the most electrifying knockouts in boxing's history.

Long reign the king!

Yet again, when speaking of kings...Arthur Abraham's name is at the top of the page. Abraham has once again defended his IBF throne & this time he did it in devastating style & form.

Widely criticized for never leaving his home turf of Germany, Abraham came abroad for one of the most exciting rematches of the last two or three years: Abraham vs Miranda II. In their first bout Abraham's jaw was broken & it looked to be nearly ripped from his face over the course of 12 grueling rounds in Germany at the hands of Miranda. The bout was slathered in controvery as fans & officiates argued points from whether Abraham was given too much time to compose himself, to Miranda pounding Abraham from his cup to the back of his head.

Clearly...a rematch was deemed necessary...so we got one...& what a rematch it was.

Fans were divided across the board on the outcome...but one thing was certain...this was one of the most demanded bouts of the middleweight division.

Abraham took his time easing into Miranda for the first round and a half due to the fact that Mirnada came out full speed ahead as usual...which, IWHO, has been his down fall. In the end, using his defense & pin point accuracey the champion Abraham showed what kings were made of as he broke the overly aggressive Miranda down over four brutal rounds & smashing the Puerto Rican belter to the mat in what would be Abraham's first U.S. soil debut. The crowd was speechless.

Abraham now faces a mandatory challenge against the veteran Marquez...but Arthur's been clammoring for a match up against Pavlik...which could become one of the most talked about & exciting bouts of the division.

Continued below...

[Wacko3205]

Personally...I'd love to see Abraham face off against rival euro-star Felix Sturm...but it seems that, per the norm, finances are going to come in the way of that bout...& for that, Felix Sturm should be thankful.

Speaking of Adnan Catic...aka : Felix Sturm...the WBA champ is slowly but surely bringing himself back to the front page of middleweight news.

With a record 30 wins, 2 losses, 13 knockouts & 1 draw...you might wonder why you've either A Never heard of him or B not seen him higher up in the rankings. Sturm has been referred to as the divisions best kept secret...by many other than me...but a set back knock down drag out loss against Castijello crushed the rising myth of the German superstar in the making. Sturm has built a record of impressive wins with either crunching power or boxing finesse...just depends on the circumstances...but either way...they young upstart is impressive. His main deterent is the fact that he rarely has & probably never again will fight outside of Germany. After a highly controversial loss to Oscar De La Hoya, Sturm went home feeling robbed & ruined, only to come back & outclass & destroy his next fight opponents. Then came Castijello. After getting knocked out in the 10th round in a toe to toe war, Sturm took four or five months off & came back to crush Topp in 6 rounds...after that it was on to Castijello in a rematch that would see some of the best of Sturm boxing skills. He then fought four more times & drew with Randy Griffin. Their rematch would end with Sturm taking a hard fought unanimous decision. Sturm was back on the map & with his WBA strap in tow.

Whether or Sturm's boxing abilities will be enough to hold him up in a division that is becoming rich with knockout artists remains to be seen.

There are shocks & surprises daily in the wide, wide, world of boxing...John Duddy & his 25 & 0 record is one of them. With 17 knockouts under his belt, one would believe him to be a bigger threat than he is...& besting the likes of Campas, Bosante, Cuevas, & former great Howard Eastman...one would also think Duddy would be toting a strap or high up on the board...but it's been the way that Duddy has won that is making him a tuff sell for ole' Wacko. Power aint everything & it shows when Duddy climbs through the ropes. To say that I'm not sold on the kid is an understatement...let's see if he can prove me wrong...but honestly, IWHO, we're looking at our next Gatti.

And last but certainly not least...little known middleweight import Sebastian Sylvester.

I've been fairly impressed with Sylvester over the years...but he just can't seem to catch a break...atleast...until he just recently blasted out former Sturm conqueror & veteran ex-champion Javier Castijello over 12 hard fought rounds. Sylvester is currently running a record of 29 wins, 2 losses, & 14 knockouts. Sylvester is another stand up orthodox euro-boxer but who's blended a bit of counter punching & speed to become a bit of a slickster threat.

The losses are the x-factor in his game...both are knockouts. One loss was a career starter against a relatively unknown russian the other was an avenged loss over the course of 8 rounds against Amin Asikainen. Sylvester has proven to be a durable challenger but unfortunately he has "Abraham/Sturm Syndrome"...rarely fighting outside of his home country of...you guessed it...Germany!

He's held & defended his EBU title for more than 12 times & had defended his WBA Inter-Continental title for two years prior to his breakout performance of totally destroying Castillejo over 12 rounds. This brings Sylvester into contention for the WBA strap which is held by none other than Felix Sturm...so...maybe something's going to come out in the wash.

Now, while there are other players on the board...those are the only ones that seem to be making the more compelling moves. Once Winky Wright comes back into the fold...things could swing towards the opposite end of the spectrum & middleweight boxing fans can once again bring their frustrations to a halt...but let's hope not.

That's all I got fellars...I know that was a long one...but it gives us some mess to discuss & there are plenty of players out there I'm sure you want to bring onto the board (so to speak), so have at it.

[Bomp]

Always good to read your breakdowns.

What's your opinion of Pavlik-Hopkins? Lots of fans seem dead against it, IMO it's a brave chioce for Pavliks camp, not that he'll lose but he could look bad for a good few rounds.

He hsa plenty of opponents for the future and he's young, so Abraham and Sturm have plenty of time to get in the mix with him (perhaps fight each other?/), and the Williams fight was intriguing, but could potentially be big if given time to move up steadily.

Plenty of fights to be made at 160/168 between everybody, lets hope they're made and Kessler stops sucking on the WBA belt and get some meaningful fights, and (more hope than expectation) Lacy puts a decent showing tonight. Anyway, That's my incoherent two cents.

[Deanrw]

I missed reading your thoughts. Awesome as always

[donnydarkoIRL]

So what your really saying is Pacquiao will go on to dominate at 160?











Kidding of course.
Welcome back agin Wacko, glad to see you just before Cotto vs. Margarito.