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Jermain Taylor vs. Arthur Abraham
By
J.J. Lehmann
Can Taylor’s chin take it?
Jermain Taylor possesses all the tools that make a professional fighter – good.
He’s blessed with first rate hand speed, a pretty powerful left hook and the
ability to box and move. His defense is above average as he showed in the second
Kelly Pavlick fight. He’s also the same guy who defeated living legend Bernard
Hopkins…not once, but twice.
His stamina in his last few fights has come into question along with
what could be possibly be his biggest flaw…
On October 17th in Berlin, Germany Taylor takes on the unofficial number one
seed, “King” Arthur Abraham who comes into the fight sporting a gaudy 30-0
record with 24 knockouts. Abraham won the IBF middleweight title in 2005, and
has proceeded to defend it ten times. He hasn’t faced the same level of
competition as Taylor but still he defeated the tough Edison Miranda twice, the
last time by stoppage. There’s no doubting Abraham’s toughness as his jaw was
broken in two places in the first Miranda fight. He’s known for his versatility,
strength and punching power. He tends to throw his combinations in bunches which
will undoubtedly give Taylor problems. Like Taylor his stamina has come into
question.
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Taylor needs to find a way to turn back the clock and become the guy who
defeated Hopkins. He has to move and jab and hold and then gain Arthurs respect
by drilling him with some punches. Mentally this could be tough. He speaks of
how confident he is but he’s coming off a heartbreaking lost to Carl Froch. He
was ahead on two of the three judge’s scorecards entering the 12th round, but
was clearly exhausted. Froch knocked him out with 14 seconds remaining in the
fight. Is Jermain over that lost? Is his biggest flaw his suspect chin? Taylor
is without doubt a pretty resilient guy. He fought Pavlick again right after
getting knocked out and to the surprise of many gave Kelly a pretty tough fight.
Don’t be surprised that at least for awhile, he turns back the clock and fights
Abraham on even terms.
Abraham knows all about Taylors last few fights and is probably licking his
chops. He’s on a roll now but might enter the fight a bit overconfident;
thinking that one little tap to the chin will take Taylor out. This could be a
mistake as he could find himself on the end of one of Taylor’s hooks. Jermain is
only twenty eight years old but another lost could bee devastating. Abraham is
hungry and will come right at him throwing punches, looking for the opening that
could end the fight. The question is how soon he sees’s it…
It’s probable that Abraham will continue to pound on Taylor, who in turn will
get tired and stop moving. Forced to slug, Taylor will need every skill he has
to hang with the powerful Abraham. He won’t stop trying, but Abraham who is also
blessed with an iron chin will probably wear Taylor down and win by a TKO in the
mid to late rounds.
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