Kelly
Pavlik Unanimous Decisions Jermaine Taylor
February 17, 2008
by Hal Clarke
Bout of February 16, 2008.
It was bittersweet redemption
for Jermaine Taylor last night as the Arkansas native survived
twelve tough rounds with the hard-throwing Youngstown, Ohio bomber,
Kelly Pavlik. The sweetness in the bout came via Taylor's stick
and move mentality, jabbing to break up Pavlik's rhythm while
throwing a handful of intense combos each round; the bitterness
arrived when the decision was read: a definitive, unamimous victory
for Pavlik.
After their previous fight 4
1/2 months ago, when both tasted the canvas with Pavlik eventually
scoring the decisive TKO in Round 7, expectations were through
the roof for their second outing. Both men were fired up, determined
to prove themselves once more to the casino crowd gathered at
The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the end it was Pavlik's
ability to throw more punches that was the difference, earning
him the win and moving "The Ghost" to 33-0 (29 KOs).
With the loss Taylor falls to 27-2-1 (17 KOs).
In a difficult fight to score,
it came down to what you value in a boxer. Pavlik threw many more
punches than Taylor yet Taylor seemed to land the cleaner, more
effective blows. Altering his style dramatically from their first
fight, Taylor kept his left hand up, effectively parrying Pavlik's
strong jab and straight right. Pavlik, for his part, was just
as aggressive as before, moving forward and throwing a lot of
punches. Taylor's movement, however, was not the same and seemed
to give him the advantage this go 'round. "Bad Intentions"
circled left instead of falling straight back which allowed him
to stay off the ropes until he tired significantly in the final
two rounds. The 11th round was particularly interesting, with
Taylor dominating until the last 30 seconds when Pavlik caught
him with a wicked body shot. Holding on for dear life until the
bell, Taylor survived, but who won the round? Was Taylor's movement,
good jab, and flurrying enough to pull out this and other close
rounds or was the steady, piston-like punching pursuit of Pavlik
more effective? According to the three judges at ringside, it
was the latter, all scoring the fight for Pavlik. We at Undependent
Media scored it 115-113 for Taylor, but a two point swing either
way or a draw seems fair.
Even though we thought Taylor
edged a decision all kudos to Kelly Pavlik. In his last two bouts
Pavlik proved he has the power, aggression, and recuperative powers
to mix it up with anyone in or around 160 pounds. He still seems
vulnerable with his leaky defense, straight up stance, and plodding
offensive attack, but with the kind of one punch power he possesses
any fight he takes can be over in a matter of seconds. I don't
particularly enjoy Pavlik's fighting style and would pick Mikkel
Kesler, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, and Joe Calzaghe over him
in a heart beat, but the young man has proven without a doubt
he will fight the best and can be more than a handful.
Taylor, likewise, has proven
he isn't afraid of anyone. In fighting top opponents Pavlik (twice),
Bernard Hopkins (twice), Winky Wright, Cory Spinks, and Kassim
Ouma as his last six opponents, Taylor has shown he is willing
and able to fight the best in the world again and again, something
very few in any weight class attempt these days. It is a testament
to Taylor's gamer mentality that he has done so and worthy of
the highest praise. Now that Pavlik carries the mantel of middleweight
champion of the world it will be interesting to see if he fights
the same level of competition as the falsely maligned Taylor.
Whatever the case may be, I look forward to following these two
great pugilists for years to come.
Here is the official scoring
of the fight:
117-111, 116-112, 115-113
(all for Pavlik)
My Scoring of the Fight:
| Round |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Total |
| Pavlik |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
113 |
| Taylor |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
115 |
Quote of the night from
HBO Commentator Larry Merchant:
"They call them super
flyweight but I prefer bantamweight... it makes them sound bigger."
(referring to the preliminary 115 lb bout).
Quote of the night from
HBO Commentator Jim Lampley:
"She's had more big
fights than any fighter." (referring to one of the ring card
girls who received a nice slice of air time).
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Want to tell Hal Clarke he doesn't know anything
about anything? Or maybe you agree. Email him at halclarke@undependentmedia.com
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