It was an exciting fight from the beginning as Taylor came out
aggressively, landing the first punch, an overhand right.
Taylor looked a bit nervous, bouncing around and throwing lots
of wild punches—until Pavlik’s jab started connecting. Pavlik
fought smartly and followed his jab with big rights, one that
sent Taylor backwards. Pavlik landed the cleaner punches and
easily won the first round in spite of Taylor’s early efforts.
Pavlik looked relaxed compared to the hyper Taylor, who wasted
too much energy early on. Pavlik was boxing well when
suddenly, Taylor threw a barrage of punches and a straight
right crashed into Kelly’s face and wobbled him. Pavlik was
hurt. Taylor went for the finish and Pavlik went down
awkwardly. It didn’t look like Kelly would make it through the
round. There was still over a minute to go and Taylor was on
the hunt for the finish. But somehow, Pavlik dug deep and
survived. Taylor was unable to land the finishing touches.
Taylor also looked a bit spent at the end of the round. Pavlik
joked with his coaching staff in his corner during the break
and assured them that he was okay. He looked fine.
In the third round, Pavlik was pressing the action behind the
jab that kept Taylor moving backwards. Taylor threw some
combinations in spurts and was boxing better as he started to
get his nervousness under control. Although Taylor had the
faster hands, Pavlik landed the better shots.
In the fourth, Pavlik continued to pressure Taylor with his
jab and the combinations that followed. Referee Steve Smoger
warned Taylor for hitting low and that was the only warning in
the fight. It was a pretty close round but Pavlik did more
work.
Taylor was well conditioned in the fifth round. He showed a
good chin, taking a lot of Pavlik’s punches and using decent
footwork to negotiate the ring with the taller Pavlik, who
consistently used his jab and was blocking most of Taylor’s
punches.
In the sixth, Taylor landed good shots from the center of the
ring. Then, Pavlik pressured him into the corner but Taylor
fought his way out and managed to land more punches in the
round. Pavlik’s nose was bleeding a lot and he was breathing
through his mouth. Taylor landed a big right hand before the
bell and managed to win the sixth.
They boxed cautiously at center of the ring in the seventh,
until Pavlik pressed Taylor towards the ropes again and this
time, landed an unsuspecting straight right hand flush into
Taylor’s face. Taylor was hurt and he tried to disguise it as
he moved into the corner but Pavlik continued to pressure him
and Taylor took a lot of shots again and again and fell down
onto his knees in the corner of the ring. The ref stepped
between the fighters and waved Taylor out. Taylor stayed
there, with an empty look on his face. He didn’t protest the
stoppage nor did he try to get up.
It was over. Kelly Pavlik had won Jermain Taylor’s WBC and WBO
Titles.
Congratulations to Kelly Pavlik, who overcame adversity and
went on to win by TKO in dramatic fashion. It will be
interesting to see how Pavlik handles his business now. With a
rematch clause in the contract, will he fight Taylor again
immediately or will he go after another titleholder, like IBF
Champ Arthur Abraham or WBA Champ Felix Sturm?
Word is that Bob Arum wants both fighters to fight interim
fights before a rematch. John Duddy was mentioned as a ‘next
up’ fight for Pavlik. If Taylor fights either Sturm or Abraham
next and wins, he’d be bringing another Title to the table in
the rematch—that is if both were to win their interim fights.
Imagine the powers that be actually allowing the possibility
of a unified Champion in ANY division in pro boxing? I can’t.
But hey, you never know. Since boxing is not based on the
merit system and all those top contenders in the division will
have to sit by and watch as Bob Arum chooses who fights who
next, there is one fight I’d like to see, if Arum is
listening—Jermain Taylor vs. Edison Miranda!
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