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The coveted return of Wacko's Drunken Round by Round Taylor vs Pavlik!!!
After a long hiatus Wacko’s Drunken Round by Round is back.
There’s no poll for this one & probably no room for discussion, or atleast not much need for it, considering that we have an official poll already up & plenty of pages bearing much heated debate…but I’m always one for rehashing old shat…ya’ll know that by now.
If you blindly missed it…here’s the link : http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxing_fo...?topic=50010.0
Anywho…once again it’s on.
It’s been quite some time since many American boxing fans have been excited about a match up at 160lbs…especially one centering on our current “Undisputed Middleweight Champion” Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor…but again…here we are…scratching our collective heads wondering just how when & where are we going to see these mythical “Bad Intentions”?
Yeah…all that current “Undisputed Middleweight Champion” malarkey was as hard for me to say as it probably was for some of you to hear…but what’s done is done & forward we go.
Saturday, September the 29th, 2007 Ole’ Wacko will be couch side with laptop in tow to bring you, my fellow saddites, that same ole’ boozed up sticky fingered coverage that you’d all become so accustomed to. HBO’s cooked up another night of exciting & intriguing matches coming atcha live all the way across the pond from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall with World Championship Boxing cranking up around 10:15 p.m.
The main event will feature the return of the middleweight divisions two most compelling figures…the fact that they‘re both undefeated fighters just sweetens the honey in the pot…no offense Jermain.
On the one hand…we have the heavily scrutinize Middleweight Champ & Little Rock, Arkansas native Jermain Taylor (27 wins, 1 draw, & 17 ko’s) & the other is Youngstown, Ohio fan favorite & hopeful Kelly Pavlik (31 wins with 28 ko’s) as they battle for dominance in what many of us are hoping is going to be 12 round all & all out championship war!
One can only hope…
Now…depending on how you look at things, Jermain Taylor is coming into this bout with a bit of an edge…depending on how you look at it. I’ve read the majority of our “Official Poll” & many seem to believe that Taylor will have the upper hand based on his boxing abilities alone & that Pavlik can ride only so high with his knockout win over Miranda.
While that is a…logical way of looking at the overall situation & match up…I disagree.
Kind of.
Here’s the thing, while many writers & Taylor fans argue that Jermain has successfully defended his middleweight crown against superior fighters like Bernard Hopkins & Ronald “Winky” Wright, I will not be one of those in Taylor‘s corner. While I was a rabid supporter of Taylor back in the day…those days are long gone for me. Personally, I just don’t believe that Taylor is worthy nor has he upheld the mantle that he was handed in his first 2005 “win” over Bernard Hopkins…to compound that point, I also don’t feel that he earned a draw against Wright…and then to add insult to injury…he looked horrible against Spinks & underperformed against Ouma.
While all of that sounds harsh…I’d urge you to look back on some of our former middleweight champs & compare Taylor to them. Don’t try racking your brain by matching apples to apples because you’ll come up with a half full bucket…that being my main argument with Taylor’s status…the kid just don’t add up. He started off like gang busters & was a force to be reckoned with with Pat Burns in his corner, but it seems to me that when he brought Steward into the corner his feet left the ground as HBO’s rising star & he’s been plummeting ever since.
I know that most do not share this view & that might sound idiotic, but Taylor was one hell of a competitor in his younger days. He was a gutty kid & a fierce contender that knew exactly what he wanted & that the only way to get it was by putting the man across the ring from him on the seat of his pants…& that was just how got it. Now it seems that he’s more of a suit & tie poster boy that’s all S*** & giggles with little of the previous pop that used to command his performances. Anyone that has followed Taylor as I have knows that he‘s capable of so much more than he’s shown over the last two to three years. The kid could reach greatness if he would only perform.
He‘s got more athletic ability & boxing savy than most of the top 10 contenders at 160 or 168lbs. Boxing fans will know & acknowledge that that’s a broad statement when you factor in names like Kessler, Wright, Sturm, Mundine, Pavlik, Abraham, Calzaghe, & Froch…but if Taylor could renew his drive, a win over those names might not be such a long shot…but as I said earlier…those days are done for me.
Even with a win over Pavlik. Sound odd? Let’s go on then.
Who is Kelly Pavlik? I mean really. Most fans didn’t even know his face prior to the domination of Miranda…& just who the hell was Edison Miranda? Nothing more than a heavy handed one dimensional brute, right? So what does that make Pavlik?
It’s questions like that that lead to some of our best arguments on this forum…so believe you me when I say that if you don’t know who Pavlik is or you hadn’t seen him fight until the Miranda fight…you need to do your research.
Let’s get into just who & what Pavlik is.
I’d like to start by reminding you fellars about an article that I posted on the front board a couple of years back about all of the middleweight contenders & champs…I believe it’s still up. Anywho, when I mentioned Pavlik’s name, several had a good chuckle over that & even more went away scratching there collective noggins. Kelly Pavlik has been in the wings waiting for quite some time. He’s had a few injuries here & there & then a few high profile matches that were made & then scuttled due to bigger names matching with bigger names. Many fight fans had either never seen him or just skipped the under cards of the big bouts. Pavlik was destined to toil in obscurity…that is until HBO featured Pavlik in an under card bout against Harris in 2005. Pavlik destroyed him in two rounds by standard form.
Oddly enough, Pavik fell off of the network’s radar for a bit. Prior to that win over Harris, Pavlik had knocked out all but three or four of his opponents, to my knowledge. Not too shabby. Pavlik would then go on to face middleweight southpaw gate keeper Bronco McKart in 2006 & he impressively blasted him out in six rounds.
It was all up hill from then. Pavlik was ranked as the number two contender by the WBC & WBO. He would go on to slaughter a few more rank opponents & then breeze back to HBO for another devastating win via knockout against Jose Luis Zertuche. In eight brutal rounds Pavlik battered him from post to post once again garnering as many fans & more praise as our current belt holder Jermain Taylor.
Pavlik had arrived…again.
Four months later he would be back on HBO in what many felt would be a no hoper against 160lb danger man Edison Miranda.
Across the globe fans not in the know were on the edge of their collective seats with their jaws resting comfortably on the floor as Pavlik outboxed & then precisely destroyed Miranda in seven rounds. After the match ended most fans & writers came down with a bad case of what Wacko has affectionately dubbed BFFF (Boxing Fan Fickle Fever) & wrote Miranda off after the fact.
Prior to the Pavlik bout, fans world wide had deemed Miranda the next big thing…a bit one dimensional…but the next big thing all the same. The minute Pavlik dropped him he became unworthy after the fact. It needs to be respectfully noted that taking out Miranda (no matter what any one critic thinks) was a huge break for Pavlik & a great accomplishment for any rising contender…but Pavlik is much much more than that & has been for quite sometime.
He’s about to have a shot at proving that fact against, arguably, the best of the best at 160lbs.
While I do believe that Taylor is the better boxer of the two, I’m still going to have to favor Pavlik.
Why Wacko? Why would you do the opposite of what you believe in? Why would you favor a heavy hitter over a boxer when you know that most boxers always find a way to beat out brute strength?
Honestly…I don’t know if I believe that HBO’s in Taylor’s corner anymore. I know that this is going to sound crazy…maybe even a bit wacko…but I truly believe that Taylor’s star has lost it’s luster & HBO is looking for someone that blazes instead of barely shines.
While that my sound silly & maybe even a bit conspiracy-ish…I believe that it’s true. I think that Taylor’s had a few handed his way lately & I honestly believe that it’s hurt his reputation & HBO’s. There are a lot of fans out there that think what I’m saying…they just don’t want to say it.
If the Taylor of late shows up…Pavlik has enough to beat him. I truly believe that. I also believe that if Taylor does indeed go toe to toe with Pavlik, many will be shocked at the outcome. Taylor’s never been hit by a truly heavy handed hitter at 160lbs. Wright landed some bruising hits that rocked Taylor in their match up…& most fans know that Wright is not known for hurting you with just one shot. Back track to the first Hopkins bout & watch rounds seven through twelve…Hopkins hammered Taylor twice in the ninth & once in the tenth to many a shocked fan’s surprise. Taylor didn’t respond to it as well as one would have thought.
As always with boxing it’s the “IF’s” that set the outcome.
THE BIG IF’s!
IF : the Jermain of late does indeed show up…I would look for Pavlik to drop him & probably stop him by the 8th or 9th round due to the fact that Taylor now fights like an aging prize fighter on the slide.
IF : Pavlik comes in hungry & confident…I’d look for an early stoppage.
IF : Taylor has had enough of the criticism & the thoughts of facing a worthy opponent spark him enough to come in focused & fighting then…Pavlik’s fwocked. The fans will be blessed though as we’ll all have a hell of a fight before us & Pavlik will have one tuff customer on his hands. It’ll be a great night for those not in the ring. I’d look for Pavlik to possibly take a hiding…but I’d be surprised if Taylor stops him.
IF : Jermain shows up half assed…he’ll run the distance & we’ll have another unworthy “gimmee” on our hands. It’ll be a shame if Pavlik get’s robbed.
All that being said…I encourage you once again to join me…live & direct from the couch as we cover one of the most anticipated bouts of recent middleweight history.
Break out the chips & salsa, toss aside that remote, crack open the caps, & pour up your beverage of choice as we settle in for some couch coverage…it’s time for yet another installment of Wacko’s Drunken Round by Round.
As always…I say to thee…cheers…& koneecheewah bitches.
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welcome back Wacko missed you 
Originally Posted by ICE COLD BOXING
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