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Taylor: Wright- An analysis
www.fightnews.com
June 17, 2006
By Ron Katz
Ron Katz
Director of Boxing
Operations/Matchmaker
Northeast Promotions
This Saturday night, Beale Street in Memphis will be rocking to something other than the Blues music which made it famous when Jermain Taylor from nearby Little Rock, AR, battles Ronald "Winky" Wright for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world.
You have to give Taylor big time kudos for jumping right back into the fire after two grueling matches with Bernard Hopkins. He picked one of the toughest marks in Wright, a fighter who many of the elite boxers have avoided over the past decade.
Taylor has a new man in his corner, legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, who has guided the career of countless world champions. I expect to see a totally different Taylor. We will see a more controlled fighter who will utilize his strengths in a calculating fashion.
Taylor is the younger and stronger of the two but Wright holds a major advantage in experience.
Wright is a very good defensive boxer who works wonderfully behind a stiff jab. Wright is technically sound and does not often make mistakes. He too has a very good trainer in Dan Birmingham, who has been with Wright every step of the way. I think this will give him a slight advantage over Taylor. Although Steward is second to none, it's still a new experience for both Steward and Taylor plus they picked a helluva fight to start out together.
Taylor will come out early and try to establish a good stiff jab, a trademark of Steward's fighters. Wright offers very little in the way of openings defensively so I think we will see a concentrated attack on the body of Wright by Taylor. Wright holds his hands up high, which can make him susceptible to body shots. Wright also has a heck of a chin.
Taylor will try to set a good pace but conditioning will not be a factor here as both guys are always in top condition. I wouldn't be surprised to see Taylor move more than usual and try to open Wright up for power punches. Taylor also has youth on his side.
Taylor will also have the home field advantage since Memphis is a short drive from Little Rock.
Wright has been a steady professional but at age 34, the only question may be whether he is slowing down. He struggled with Sam Soliman in his last fight, which may have been caused by the flu. Still this world-traveling champion has logged a lot of rounds in what has become an outstanding career.
I expect Wright to fight the way he always fights, which is walking forward, hands high, working behind a stiff jab. Wright likes to let his hands go but that can cause potential danger from the counterpunching of the more powerful Taylor. Wright also has sneaky power but Taylor has shown a good chin up to this point of his career.
Wright needs to get respect from Taylor. It is unlikely he will enjoy the physical advantage he had over both Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad.
This shapes up as a very interesting bout. It will come down to which fighter can impose his will onto the other.
We all know the accomplishments that Wright has gathered in his career. He dominated Trinidad and licked Mosley twice.
Taylor on the other hand has to be given credit for his two wins over future Hall of Famer Hopkins, especially in light of the way Hopkins just handled Antonio Tarver. Twenty-four rounds with a guy like Hopkins are worth a hundred rounds of experience against other fighters.
This is another one of those fights that can go either way, which makes it very difficult to pick a winner. I keep flip-flopping on whom I like. I am reluctantly going with Taylor to win a very close decision in a fast paced bout.
Boxing purists are going to love this match up. We will see skill, conditioning and great character from both participants.
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Originally Posted by p4pking
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