Jermain Taylor moving up to 168 after he fights Pavlik

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Taylor going up in weight to 168
By Chris Givens (Contact)

LITTLE ROCK — Jermain Taylor’s reign as middleweight world champion will end in September, regardless of the outcome of his proposed fight with No. 1 contender Kelly Pavlik.

Taylor, who is very close to signing a deal to fight Pavlik at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 29, said that WBC and WBO title fight will be his last as a middleweight, which has a limit of 160 pounds. Taylor, even if he makes his fifth consecutive successful title defense against Pavlik, will vacate his championship belts and begin a new title quest in a new weight class.

Key members of Taylor’s camp told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Sunday that the undefeated champion from Little Rock will be moving up to super middleweight (168 pounds) immediately after the Pavlik fight. Taylor is in Orlando, Fla., on a family vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment, but has been in close contact with Ozell Nelson, his coach and co-trainer.

 

He might wanna stay and keep fighting jnr middleweights after Pavlik kicks his ass.

 

WAR PAVLIK!!!

 

i don't understand why he'd make this decision ahead of time, or more importantly, why he would publicize it.

 

Simple - if he loses, he was weight drained, and wasn't fighting at his full capacity.

 

exactly.

 

He'll just Make those Jr Middles Fight him @ 168...

No Biggie...


REED

 

Taylor vs. the winner of Berrio/Bute for the IBF title.

 

He'd be wise to stay away from Kessler and Calzaghe.


That is of course if he gets past Pavlik.

 

Now he can finally start fighting middleweights.

 

:bears::bears::bears:

 

Mundine would be an interesting fight..

 

Pavlik can be a dangerous fight for Taylor, but as long as Jermain stays sharp with counter rights and followup hooks and keeps his defense tight, I think he wan win in in impressive fashion.

 

when has Taylor "ever" won in impressive fashion? and why would he suddenly start now?

the question is whether or not he'll deserve the decision and he manages to get it.

 

Taylor has only really been impressive against Jr Middles, and thats the truth. I never liked Jermain
But Pavlik leaves himself open to the right hand, it's a flaw that could get him caught and hurt, I'm impressed with Kelly's stamina and workrate though

 

i think Pavlik brings things to the table that Taylor's never dealt with before. he brings power. youth. stamina. pressure. confidence. Taylor has never had to deal with all five of those at once.

granted, Pavlik hasn't faced anyone like Taylor either, but based on what I've seen, I think he has to be the favorite.

 

not going to happen...any more than Lacy was going to KO the Welsh Fraud "Calslappy" or Tszyu was going to KO Ricky Hatton.

You'll be wrong again. Taylor will stop Pavlik and move up and get beaten by Calzaghe.

 

what makes you so sure Slappy gets by Kessler?

 

How exactly is Jermain going to keep Pavlik off him? He couldn't deter Winky or even Ouma, and Pavlik dwarfs those guys and hits like a mule.

Jermain wins one way and one way only. Stink. Otherwise it's Pavlik by KO.

 

I certainly hope so. (Pavlik by KO) As low as my opinion is of Taylor, he's still by far the best guy Pavlik has fought.

How well can he adapt? Hopkins or Wright don't hit as hard as Pavlik, but they had loads more experience at the world class level that him. Regardless of what you think of the decisions, Jermain was in those fights from beginning to end.

Pavlik better be in great shape and have and a backup plan if simple pressure fighting doesn't work.

 

And he should be the favorite, Taylor is lethargic and often does just enough to get the decision, Pavlik is a punching machine and is exciting to watch, however the right hand problem and also the fact that he probably wont use his height will put him at more risk than he needs to be in

Depending on the odds I may put coin on this one

 

Now that Taylor moves up to super middleweight maybe he will finally fight some real middleweights...

 

:nono: Silence!. Taylor socks Pavlik up a bit, humiliates him, it's simple, once Pavlik beats an incredibly overrated fighter, it was only natural, that he were to become incredibly overrated himself, take for example, what Zab did to Scrubdomir's status, and then what Zab, having not won a fight in years, was able to do to Cotto's status, turned him into an unstoppable beast, when struggles against opponents like Oktay Urkal are not uncommon with Miguel, and till this day, Cotto has beaten no one of formidable significance, but he's being entered into pound for pound lists unquestionably,..The overration and popularity is simply inheritant, and we are experiencing that now with the very slow, and sloppy Kelly Pavlik. Kelly is nothing but a celebrated crude brawler with an awkward technique, yes, he is endearing to fight fans, all respect to him, but Jermaine's superior foundation of skills are designed to make Kelly look like he's come straight off the streets, Jermaine is a seasoned professional, Kelly would have to rely on any traces of bitch in Jermaine to have any chance of victory, but unfortunately for him, a guy who prevails over eye searing swindlers like Hopkins, Wright, and Spinks, obviously possesses the fortitude of confidence and skills to complete the job, undeterred.

 

Slow and sloppy pegs it pretty well.

Pavlik is slow of foot and slow of hand. His punches are also wide, his defense is lacking as is his head movement.

We'll see how well he plays the aggressor when he's not hitting his target as regularly and is getting hit in return.

I think people are taking his stamina for granted...it will be interesting to see how he carries it late - if he doesn't get the knockout so many seem to be expecting - in a big occasion like this...especially given that he doesn't have a whole lot of experience going into the later rounds (let alone championship rounds).

If his stamina goes, he could get hit a lot.

 

Sure,Pavlik is SLOWER & SLOPPIER than Taylor,but let's NOT Pretend that Jermain is Some SPEEDY,FLUID Fighter,Cause he ISN'T:nono: ...

Jermain is Borderline ROBOTIC...He has Piss POOR Footwork,BAD Balance,RARELY (if EVER) Controls the PACE of a Fight,Consistently OVERSHOOTS his Right Hand & is EASY to Hit HIMSELF...Not to B Racist,but Jermain is 1 of the More UNathletic Black Fighters U'll EVER See...

This Cat has Been SWOLLEN Up N 2 of his Last 3 Fights,Against INFERIOR Punchers than Pavlik...Jermain WILL Get Hit & Pavlik CAN Punch...

Yep,Pavlik WILL get Hit Himself,but Jermain HAS YET To Prove Himself to B a "Puncher" Against a TRUE Middleweight...Kassim Ouma's Chin is SHAKY & he had NO Problems w/Taylor's Shots(N a Fight where Taylor Spoke OPENLY about Scoring a KO)...

Winky Wright Used a High Guard EXCLUSIVELY (No Headmovement WHATSOEVER)& DEFIANTLY Walked Taylor Down for 12 Rounds,yet Pavlik CAN'T Do it???:dunno:

REED will Give Jermain Taylor ALL the Credit N the WORLD if he Wins this Fight...Cause Right Now,REED Can't Fathom how he's Gonna BEAT Kelly Pavlik...



REED

 

come on now man, there are plenty black boxers alot stiffer, maybe your comparing him to top black fighters, but jermaine is unathletic?? what, i think you are using, well i dont think, but i know you are using the wrong word, thats not what being athletic means.

plus i dont jermaine looked to stiff against spinks

 

Mass - he's talking at the top level. Of course, almost every journeyman and fringe contender out there, black ones, are probably at least as UNathletic as taylor.

On a world class level, he's not particularly athletic. He looks fairly clumsy and robotic, he is not that fast, and doesn't have much snap and energy.

 

According to Btalk everything isn't so rosey in Little Rock lately for JT. It seems his fans and the local sports media have turned on him due to his dismal performances lately. I'm glad to hear it and I'll be rooting hard for Pavelick to KO this fucking disgrace. Now he's moving up in weight even though he's fought enough actual middle weights to count on 1 hand.

Juan Diaz, JT, 2 guys who've already been conquered badly in Lacy and Juarez? Man the next generation sure does suck. Why is boxing's future going to be okay again?

 

Thats Serenas excuse. Tell Taylor to get his own fucking excuses.

 

We all need our excuses. Once I did some pretty crappy posting and believe it or not I got owned. So I simply blamed it on not haven eaten for 6 or 7 hours and my reputation never faltered.
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