Two Years of Injury, Defeat and Mismanagement: Can Kelly Pavlik Get Back on Track?

by Paul Magno

Two years ago, every informed finger was pointing directly at Kelly Pavlik as a "for sure" superstar of the future and, possibly, as the face of the sport as guys like Oscar De la Hoya faded from the scene.

You couldn't ask for a better back story or more impressive rise to glory.

Two big wins over a pound-for-pound Jermain Taylor, a destruction of the still well-regarded Edison Miranda as well as victories over fringe challengers like Bronco McKart, Jose Luis Zertuche and Fulgencio Zuniga; It all pointed to a legit pound for pound placement with a definite eye aimed at upward movement.

There seemed to be no limit to how big Pavlik could grow. A blue collar, pickup-driving Mid-west middleweight champ with an exciting style and, seemingly, not an ounce of pretense to him. Lord, this kid was destined to be a money machine!

But then Pavlik (or his people) veered off Top Rank's carefully prepared course and stalled in the proverbial roadside ditch.

A one-sided schooling to Bernard Hopkins at 170 lbs, injury, inactivity, listless performances and one public relations disaster after another have characterized the last two years of "The Ghost's" career.

Now, Pavlik's last real chance to get off the side of the road and back onto the path of glory will be coming this Saturday in Atlantic City against Argentine world jr. middleweight champ, Sergio Martinez.

A loss for Pavlik ends the wild ride and permanently sends him back to the full-time job of being Youngstown, Ohio's resident big fish in a small pond. But, in Team Pavlik's typical short-sighted fashion, even a win for Pavlik is not likely to regain his status of twenty four months earlier.

Aside from being a strong, quick-footed, southpaw, Sergio Martinez is also the fans' second choice of opponent for Pavlik with Paul Williams , who just beat Martinez in a thrilling war, being the consensus preferred opponent.

So, essentially, Team Pavlik has made it so that a win for Kelly in his biggest fight since the Hopkins debacle, will still be coming against the guy who just lost to the fighter that Pavlik is accused of ducking.

Martinez has a nightmare style for Pavlik that will force him to revisit the same technical flaws that cost him against Hopkins...Aside from that, Pavlik has to impress and convince the masses that this is the same Kelly Pavlik of old, fully recovered from a bad turn of recent events and a potentially career-ending hand injury.

This will be a real test of whether Pavlik truly wants to be at the top of the sport again and, as has been the case ever since he reached the spotlight, he'll have to do it all with his own team seemingly stepping on his feet every step of the way.

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Super 6 Boxing Classic Stage 2 All Set

March 6: Andre Dirrell vs. Arthur Abraham - Andre Dirrell will fight Arthur Abraham at the Rancho Mirage in California. This fight will open the second stage of the Super 6 Boxing Classic Tournament on Showtime, which Abraham tops at the moment. Could Dirrell make up for his split decision defeat to Froch?

April 17: Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler - Carl Froch will make his third defence of his WBC Super Middleweight belt against Dane Mikkel Kessler, in either the City Ground, Nottingham, or a venue in Copenhagen or Parken. The venue will be decided in the subject of a purse bid. Could Kessler get back on track or will the Cobra qualify for the semi-finals?

April 17: Andre Ward vs. Jermain Taylor - To finish off the live doubleheader on Showtime, Andre Ward will defend his WBA Super Middleweight belt for the first time against Jermain Taylor at Oakland. Ward suprised most by defeating Kessler in Stage 1, and should have enough in the tank for Taylor. Could Taylor roll back the years and outbox Ward?

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Good Grief, Jermain Taylor...

by Charles R. Horgan

Alright Jermain, you got me. Good one. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me three times, shame on me twice. I have to admit when I’ve been had, and I have to appreciate such an elaborate joke. I mean, to get Bernard Hopkins and even Winky Wright to play along, man, that was good thinking.

For the past 5 years I thought that you were something really special. You came out of nowhere with a sweet record. You were like twenty-three and oh, with something like seventeen knockouts. That’s pretty good. Then there was that jab; Fools were getting dropped by it, boy it was sweet. Then you came right on in and beat unbeatable Bernard Hopkins, twice. I know it was close, but you didn’t want it to look easy, you just wanted to give us a taste.

Now look at us, four years later and I just can’t get my head around it. That Pavlik fight was kind of a fluke, right? That’s what you wanted us to think. He caught you and that was it. The second fight and it was one of those things, like Pavlik just had your number. It happens to the best, Winky had Mosley’s number, you had B-Hop’s, it can happen to anybody. Anyway, you went right in and rocked Lacy, and then you were going to take that title from that 168 lb Vic Darchinyan named Carl Froch.

That jab was right there all night long. Froch tried, but he couldn’t get in there. You kept snapping his head back with those smart, straight shots, and then you dropped the hook on him… Damn, it was nice. Now we know you get tired going into those later rounds, but it would be okay, just coast for a few minutes since you already took the damn fight. I was already leaning back in my chair, ready to celebrate, a smile on my face, counting down the last round.

You got me though. Spit take, double take, yell at the television. It was a doozy. Bravo my friend. You let Froch storm right across the ring and shellac you. You got knocked down, remember that? You pretend like you can’t hold on so that we start yelling in our living rooms and the bars. You got up, and you still had a chance, man just ten more seconds. We’re at home jumping up and down, making fools out of ourselves and you get knocked out.

Come on, man. What the hell was that all about? You beat B-Hop, homie. What are you doing to me?

Anyway, you still got that solid base of knowledge and experience. You get gassed at the end, but now you know that. If you didn’t know it after Pavlik, you sure as hell knew it now, and you’d fix it.

Man, you even said that in one of those Ring articles. You said that you were training different; you said that you could last. I’m such a dummy. I couldn’t hear all the snickers at your training camp. I couldn’t hear you guys trying to hide your laughter when I was sitting down in front of my computer, getting ready to watch you beat Abraham.

I said on the message boards that I was still angry at you for throwing it away against Froch, so I predicted against you, but there I was, talking to Paul Magno and I admitted to secretly rooting for you. I’m sorry, I’m sentimental. Besides, you’re the best guy Abraham’s faced. The guy just covers up and then steals rounds. That’s no way to fight.

And you, you beat B-Hop. Abraham was coming up in weight, you’ve already done fought at Super Middle. It would be a little tough, but you know your limits, you wouldn’t get caught this time. Right?

Fool me twice, Jermain…fool me twice.

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Deja Vu for Taylor as King Arthur Lays Down Marker

Arthur Abraham KO 12 Jermain Taylor

Too skilled, too accurate and too good of a puncher, Abraham, 168, Berlin, Germany, via Yerevan, Armenia, outclassed, wore-down and ultimately stopped the brave Taylor, 166.5, Little Rock, Arkansas, in the closing seconds of the final round to take the maximum 3 points in the opening group stage of the Super 6 Boxing Classic. The two former middleweight champions battled in front of a packed crowd of 15,000 at the O2 Arena, Berlin.

Taylor started lively, outpunching Abraham to take an early lead in the first round. Abraham looked a bit tentative in the opening exchanges and kept a very high guard throughout the first two rounds. In the second round, Taylor was warned countless times for low blows and Abraham took a 30 second break for a punch that landed south of the border.

Abraham, 31-0 (25 KOs), had the edge in power, and while Taylor, 28-4-1 (17 KOs) utilized his jab in rounds three and four, the American got caught by wild left hooks in close that immediately got his attention. Neither blows took any discernible toll on “Bad Intentions”, and he exchanged combinations to the head and body with Abraham as the action warmed up in the fifth round.

As the rounds wore on, Abraham began to settle into the kind of rhythm on which he has forged his reputation. His right hand collided with Taylor’s chin several times, with increased authority, and the American’s punch output decreased significantly. Taylor’s punches lacked the kind of power that Abraham was able to demonstrate.

Taylor’s chin absorbed some more left hands and right hands in the seventh round before Abraham unleashed ominous series of left hooks to his rival’s body. With his confidence sky high, Abraham began to showboat, playing with Taylor and dropping his gloves. Taylor began to retaliate with a right uppercut that landed on the inside. This level of resistance by the former Olympian was not anticipated by Abraham or his team. Their expectation was that Taylor would crumble not long past the halfway point, but the American held his ground and was still in contention after round 8.

Taylor may have outworked Abraham in previous rounds, but the quality of punches were being thrown by the German based Armenian, who landed a hard right that wobbled his opponent in the ninth round. Remarkably, Taylor finished the round on his feet, but Abraham was confident that the win was already in the bag. “King Arthur”’s strength showed in rounds ten and eleven as he landed solid combinations of punches to the head and body of Taylor who was tiring rapidly, but he withstood a sustained assault over the final couple of rounds and stayed on his feet until 15 seconds from the end, Abraham landed a crunching straight and short right hand down the pipe which completely knocked Taylor out senseless. Taylor was counted out on 2:54.

The scores at time of stoppage were 107-102, 106-102, 105-103.

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Super Middleweights Make Weight

WBC Super middleweight beltholder Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch and his American challenger Andre ‘The Matrix’ Dirrell both weighed in at 167½ pounds yesterday in front of a massive crowd of 3,500 people at the famed Market Square in Nottingham, England. Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) made weight on his second attempt, having weighed in earlier in the evening at 168.4 lbs. He had up to two hours to make the official weight for the title fight, but only took 50 minutes to return to the scales at 167½.

Former IBF 160-pound titlist Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) weighed in bang on the super middleweight division limit of 168 pounds, while his opponent, another former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) tipped the scales at 166¼ pounds.

Froch (25-0, 20 KOs), a Nottingham native, will attempt to defend his title on home turf at the Trent FM Arena, where a sell-out crowd of about 8,000 fans is expected. The other two super middleweights will fight in front of another sell-out crowd of more than 14,000 fans at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany, Abraham's adopted hometown, on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The 12-round bout is one half of the first stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, and will be broadcasted live on Showtime.

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Will Team Taylor's Paranoia Pay Off?

by Paul Magno

"Taylor's people sent an advance man to Germany to look for bugs and cameras in the gym where Taylor will prepare for his Oct. 17 super middleweight fight with unbeaten Arthur Abraham. Taylor, the former middleweight champion from Arkansas, will not eat in the restaurant at his hotel; he'll dine out, unannounced, or his chef will fix something."

This is a blurb from an otherwise forgettable fluff piece in an Arkansas newspaper by writer Harry King, but this does touch on an on-going theme in German fight history.

There is a long line of gossip and innuendo regarding some pretty shady goings-on when it comes to American boxers fighting in Germany.

Strange things often seem to happen to foreign fighters there. The stories usually involve sharp, aggressive challengers arriving in the country, looking like killers in the pre-fight publicity and then showing up to the fight with glassy eyes and a lethargic workrate. After the inevitable loss, they wander the ring like zombies with absolutely no idea why they simply could not throw punches.

The stories of German foul play go back to the first Joe Louis-Max Schmelling fight at Yankee Stadium in 1936 (Schmelling's people were accused of drugging Louis' water before the fight) up to current walking dead performances by Sam Peter vs. Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers vs. Alexander Povetkin.

The theories run the gamut from laced food and water to tainted air supply from hotel air conditioning vents. Of course, none of the theories or cases are provable, but that never stopped trainers and managers, conspiracy theorists by nature, from acting on the stories.

A famous case is when Sam Simon, The Simpson's producer and former manager of Lamon Brewster, kept the reigning WBO Heavyweight Champion out of Germany for as long as possible before his defense in Hamburg with German contender Luan Krasniqi. Simon would go on to sequester his fighter under tight security for whatever time spent in his opponent's home country. No food or water was accepted, no casual walks in the park permitted, no air conditioning was turned on; Everything necessary was brought in by Team Brewster from the UK.

Brewster would go on to flatten Krasniqi via ninth round TKO in a bout littered with injustices ranging from questionable scoring to a 17-second count that allowed Krasniqi to get up following a knockdown in the eighth round. Eventually, it was Krasniqi himself who called an end to the bout after he was knocked down again in the ninth...Krasniqi was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Who knows if the tight pre-fight guard on Brewster stopped any potential sabotage from the German promoters or if just the idea of being protected made Brewster feel more confident. The fact is that Brewster and, four years later, Eddie Chambers (who was also allegedly shielded under tight security by his team) in his bout with Alexander Dimitrenko were the last two American fighters in recent memory to actually look good fighting in Germany.

Now, it appears that Team Taylor has stepped up their game in trying to shield Jermain from any questionable tactics. But who will shield Taylor from the questionable practices that often take place within a German boxing ring?

And, then, of course, he also has to deal with Arthur Abraham, one of the top fighters in the world today.

In other words, while Team Taylor is in Germany on their hands and knees, inspecting gyms and hotel rooms, they should also be using that time to pray for a miracle...Taylor's going to need one.

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Magno vs. The Machine (Stage 1): The Super Middleweights

by Dafs117 / Paul Magno


John Henry was a Steel Drivin’ Man

John Henry is a figure from American folklore, a symbolic representation of the modern man vs. machine debate.

According to the story, John Henry was a famously strong “steel-driver” erecting railroads with his co-workers across the mountains to the West.

When the greedy railroad boss purchased a steam-powered hammer to replace the railroad crew, John Henry issued a challenge: him vs. the machine for the jobs of his crew.

Henry ended up beating the machine, but he paid the ultimate price; His heart exploded afterwards and he collapsed on the same railroad tracks that he had just put down.

Now, Boxing Tribune editor-in-chief, Paul Magno takes up the battle as he goes toe to toe with Title Bout Championship Boxing in a 21st century boxing-related battle of man vs. machine.

In this series, both Magno and the Machine will make predictions for all the upcoming major bouts and records will be kept to see whether a modern day John Henry stands a chance against a multi-functional, mega-powered computerized opponent.

And where better to start than a double-header from the revolutionary Showtime Super 6 Boxing Classic.

Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor

Magno: Both fighters made a name for themselves eight pounds lighter in the Middleweight division and, now, both are trying to establish themselves as top dog at 168.

Despite the odds being stacked against Taylor, he still represents the best and most accomplished fighter, by far, that Abraham has ever faced.

In a lot of ways, Taylor and Abraham are similar in style and ability. Both are multi-talented boxer-punchers who are separated from 98% of the pack based solely on pure athleticism.

Taylor’s major defects have been focus and stamina, with both becoming legit liabilities as a fight progresses. Recent losses against Carl Froch and Kelly Pavlik were testaments to Taylor’s flaws as a fighter. In both fights, Taylor was solidly ahead and ended up suffering TKO losses.

But the question is whether Abraham’s defects as a fighter negate Taylor’s biggest flaws. Abraham, as talented as he is, couldn’t be described as a pressure fighter by any stretch of the imagination. He mostly fights in flurries, content to let loose for brief periods of time and steal rounds with his flashes of ability.
The questions in this fight will be whether Abraham can significantly pressure Taylor so that stamina becomes an issue later in the fight and whether Taylor’s natural ability can negate Abraham’s natural ability.

This is an evenly-matched fight that will come down to Abraham’s hometown advantage.
Taylor will make the final bell, but he’ll lose a unanimous decision: 116-112, 115-113 and 118-110.

Machine: As a bigger middleweight, Arthur Abraham should hold a slight advantage over Jermain Taylor, with a perfect physical condition in a much more favourable weight.

Fighting in his adopted country Germany, Abraham will be at an immeasurable advantage as the officiating is one of the most biased on the planet. Any close fight on the scorecards, will go Abraham’s way. Tough luck. That’s why you need to do more than just win a fight in Germany.

Abraham is seen as a pressure fighter. Not so. Just because he’s the aggressor against mediocre opposition, he rarely sustains an attack throughout the round to be styled as a pressure fighter.

The magnitude of his punches should be enough to trouble a post-prime Taylor, who still has the ghost of Kelly Pavlik tap-dancing in his mind under any kind of pressure.

Abraham has been described as one of the best finishers pound-4-pound in the sport today, in the same category as his super middleweight rival Carl Froch, for his outstanding punch accuracy and output when an opponent is hurt.

In front of the richest people in Berlin, Arthur Abraham will send a statement to the rest of the Super Middleweight fighters, with a quick stoppage victory over former Olympian Jermain Taylor.

Abraham hurts Taylor with a straight right in the early exchanges of the first round, and Taylor struggles to make it through the opening round on his feet. Abraham moves in for the stoppage in the second round, and punishes a negative Taylor who falls to the canvas under the heavy pressure from the Armenian. Taylor survives another minute, but it counts for nothing, as the referee judges that Taylor has received too much punishment and waves away the contest. Abraham is the winner by TKO in the second round.

Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell

Magno: This will be a fun match as two unorthodox talents with complete opposite skill sets and fighting philosophies do battle in a screamingly pro-Froch Trent FM Arena in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England.

Froch, the defending WBC Super Middleweight champ can be seen as a slow-footed pasty version of Tommy Hearns with arms down low and a desire to mix it up.

By far the more accomplished of the the two, Froch has already earned his place with wins over athletically gifted fighters Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor.

Froch’s success depends on his ability to lure Dirrell into a fight and not engage in a boxing match. He was able to do that with quick-fisted fighters like Pascal and Taylor, but Dirrell could be another story.

Andre Dirrell can be seen as the junior entrant of the Super 6 Tournament. He’s perhaps the most athletically gifted of the six, but also the least experienced.
Patterned after Roy Jones Jr., Dirrell is a speedster who, only recently, has started adding some power to his game. The question will be whether he can handle the pressure of fighting a guy like Froch in a place like Nottingham.

If the flat-footed Froch can’t lure Dirrell into a battle, he will be chasing the American all day and catching enough counters to lose rounds. Dirrell’s history suggests that, when pressed, he gets on his bike so that could mean big problems for Froch.

Despite the massive hometown advantage, Dirrell will prove to be too fast and too athletic for Froch. Dirrell wins this via split decision, 116-112, 115-113, 112-116.

Machine: The two unbeaten fighters should put on a show as their different styles will surely make a gripping fight at the Trent FM Arena. Could hometown scoring be a factor?

Froch will be defending his WBC super middleweight belt for the second time, against a switch-hitting speedster that has far superior footwork and a considerable hand speed advantage over the champion. The champion might be judged as flat footed, but makes up for it in the power stakes, as he will possess a serious threat to the untroubled Dirrell.

Dirrell is expected to be on his bike for most of the fight and his punch output should be greater than Froch, so if it goes to the scorecard, Dirrell will hold a major advantage.

Dirrell’s more eye-catching flurries are enough to win him the opening rounds on the judges’ scorecards, as he silences the Nottingham crowd. Froch takes the closer and gritty middle rounds to even it out on the scorecards. The champion edges ahead in a close 9th round, the best of the fight. Dirrell surprisingly thrives under the relentless pressure of Froch, and wins the final rounds to split the Showtime team... and the judges.

Both fighters think they have done enough to win it. Press row are all split with different opinions as the scorecards are announced. Dirrell wins a thrilling opening to the Showtime Super 6 Boxing Classic, with an extremely debatable split decision, 116-112, 115-114 to the American and 115-113 to Froch.

Current Scores: Magno 0-0 (0 KOs), Machine 0-0 (0 KOs)

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Does Jermain Taylor Belong in The Super 6 Tournament?

by Paul Magno

The answer to the question posed in the title of this story is No....and Yes.

For anyone who has read my writings before, you know that I'm not one to walk the fence...and I have the bitter online arguments to offer as proof.

But on this subject, there cannot be any real definitive answer; The issue is just too complex and the answers, too simple.

On a pure merit basis, Jermain Taylor does not belong in a tournament to determine the best Super Middleweight in the world. With only two fights at 168 lbs. and zero wins, he really has no right to be listed among the top six in the division, but, neither does Arthur Abraham.

The former IBF Middleweight champion from Germany, has only fought once at the Super Middleweight limit in four years. If you exclude Taylor on the basis of not belonging, Abraham must go too.

However, when putting something together on the scale of this tournament, some other factors have to be taken into consideration. Name recognition, drawing power and promotional affiliations have to enter into the selection process...It's in this area where the answer to whether Taylor belongs is a big "yes."

Showtime, the host of the tournament, primarily wants to reach their home market of US television sets. Jermain Taylor, for better or worse, easily has more name recognition among casual US fight fans than any of the other five tourney entrants.

While Robert Stieglitz, Sakio Bika and even Allan Green are more deserving of inclusion, Showtime has to pay attention to the basic responsibility and goal of putting butts in front of the TV to watch their programming.

Showtime could've included IBF Champ, Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade instead of Taylor and Abraham, but Andrade is with Golden Boy and the folks at GBP also won the purse bid on the upcoming Bute-Andrade rematch, effectively securing the bout for HBO.

So, Taylor is in and so is Abraham, another recognizable name who will bring some ratings to the battlefield.

It's only fitting that Taylor and Abraham be matched up against one another in the opening round of the Super 6 Tournament on October 17th. Aside from fighting for position in the 18-month battle for Super Middleweight supremacy, they'll literally be battling to see who really belongs there.

Discuss This Topic on The BTBC Fan Forum...Click Here

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There Can Be Only One : Part 1

by Simon Garner

On the 5th February this year, the man considered the king at 168lb, Joe Calzaghe retired from boxing. In doing so, he left somewhat of a void in the super middleweight division. What we’ve been left with, is a number of good fighters with varying degrees of experience, but no one who stands out.

The best case that’s been made for the throne came back in April when Carl Froch dramatically stopped Jermain Taylor in the final round of the WBC title bout. A fight which Taylor largely dominated until the later rounds only for him to tire and for Nottingham based fighter to take advantage.

The likes of Andre Ward and his namesake, Andre Dirrell have both fought since the retirement of Calzaghe but neither has stamped a big impression on the boxing world. The same can be said for Mikkel Kessler, the current WBA champion, a man who fought well against Calzaghe back in 2007, but has only entered the ring to face the likes of Dimitri Sartison and Danilo Haussler in recent times.

The other big name left in the division is ‘King’ Arthur Abraham, who despite his regal title has yet to make significant inroads in the division, with his only win coming last year in a rematch against Edison Miranda. A man who was also recently defeated by Andre Ward

Therefore, due to the confusion in the division, a plan was devised by Ken Hershman, the head honcho of boxing at Showtime to make all of the aforementioned combatants fight it out to find out who is the best in the divison.

The concept devised is an ingenious and unique one, never tried to such an extent before in boxing: a modified round-robin tournament to create an undisputed divisional leader. The winner of each bout will receive three points for a KO victory and two points for a decision. One point will be awarded for a draw. The preliminary rounds will begin in October and each participant will engage in three initial bouts. From this, the top four highest points scorers will advance to the semi-finals in January 2011. The winners will then fight in the final in May/June 2011.

This tournament is similar to others of yesteryear that sought to establish lineage in a crowded divison. The most recent example of this came in a smaller game back in 2001 when the top middleweights fought to establish a champion. First, the Executioner, Bernard Hopkins outpointed Keith Holmes. Then Felix Trinidad knocked out William Joppy. And finally, Hopkins shocked the world by putting on a boxing masterclass and finally stopped the seemingly unbeatable Tito to become the first undisputed champion at 160 since Marvin Hagler.

In contrast the super-middleweight division hasn’t been without a leader for nearly as long. However, by bringing together the top fighters at the weight, all under different promoters, is something that should be applauded. The “Super Six” tournament will turn heads and as Lou DiBella put it recently, it will provided an “international jolt of adrenaline for boxing”

In Part 2, I will consider all the participants, their strengths, their weaknesses and their chances of victory. Finally, I will then state who I think will be crowned as champion in 2011.

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