The Super Six Boxing World Classic Tourney from Berlin, Germany opened on a
hot note with local Arthur Abraham closing the show with former middleweight
champion Jermain Taylor of Little Rock, Arkansas, with stanza twelve KO at the
2:54 mark.
Part two of the Showtime televised twin-bill, from Nottingham, England saw
WBC champion Carl Froch nipping Andre Dirrell of Flint, Michigan via
split-decision.
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Abraham power right hand crushes Taylor...
The Abraham -Taylor thriller had all the ingredients of a classic
boxer-puncher in with a durable tough chinned pressure opponent - and
following an opening round of mutual note taking that went to Taylor courtesy
of an effective left jab, it would convert to a storm following the
calm.
Over the front side Taylor had his moments, but after couple warnings of
straying below the 38th parallel he would suffer a point deduction during
round six - one replay saw a Taylor power punch scoring below the protective
metal cup ala Cooney vs Holmes.
The unbeaten Abraham has a big stanza seven, grabs numero eight before scoring
with a straight right hand that wobbles Taylor - and the proverbial
handwriting was beginning to show on the wall.
Abraham late charge during round eleven steals the round and sets the table
for a dramatic finis come the final candle twelve - a slowed version of Taylor
is rocked by Abraham straight right hand.
Then with the round nearing a close its Abraham finding an opening in the
Taylor peek-a-boo - and drops the curtain with a sizzling straight right hand
between the eyes - Taylor falls backward to the canvas, landing back of the
head - is counted out at the 2:54 mark.
Post Scripts: Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) ~ age 29 - jumps to the lead with his
3-points in the Stage 1 scoring - only a stoppage in the November Mikkel
Kessler- Andre Ward pairing can match Abraham in points.
Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) ~ age 31 - was giving a good
account until fading badly over the back side. Scary ending when only seconds
left in final round - sent to hospital for observations. Unsure at this time
if Jermain will be cleared or able physically to resume come Stage 2 of the
tourney. Advice here is let it go Champ.
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Froch nips Dirrell via split decision...
Part two of the Showtime twin bill from Nottingham, England saw unbeaten
hometown veteran Carl Froch defending his WBC title with unbeaten
challenger Andre Dirrell of Flint, Michigan.
To their respective credit, both had a tough assignment - orthodox vs.
southpaw normally translates to sloppy - when one (Dirrell) goes switch-hitter
it can sprout to flat out ugly.
Froch easy to read but difficult to describe - likes the target to be there
for his power right hand - Dirrell is a runner in camouflage - he darts
left-than right - only lets the hands go when having no other choice.
Still, the stanzas he claimed was more about dodging the bullet with quickness
- watching this undefeated former Olympic medalist (bronze I believe) resulted
in a flashback I once heard of the late, great, Willie Pep, who allegedly won
a round while not landing a punch. Whew!
The confused referee in charge, Hector Afu became dizzy from all the warnings
to both, Dirrell for holding and Froch for rabbit punching - flipped a coin
come stanza ten that came up Dirrell who was tagged with a point deduction.
Scoring following 36 minutes of mixed confusion went Froch 115-112, 115-112;
Dirrell 114-113 - personally, I gave up the math somewhere around stanza seven
- but wasnt a bit surprised over it coming up split verdict.
Nothing really lost since the elimination Stage is still way down the pike -
Froch earns 2-points for the win - Dirrell still alive with zero points.
Closing comments: Froch ( 26-0, 20 KOs) ~ age 32 - retains WBC bauble - Stage 2
opponent a more conventional veteran Mikkel Kessler(42-1, 32 KOs). Should make
for easier scoring assignment than the Dirrell affair.
Dirrell ( 18-1, 13 KOs) ~ age 26 - tough future
in this tournament - next up Stage 2 foe Arthur Abraham
then Stage 3 its
Andre Ward. The corner brain trust should work on Dirrells speed-quickness
advantages - like cut down the unnecessary flittering about the squared
circle.
