By Gerard Wilson: Recently Jermain Taylor’s promoter Lou Dibella stated that No. 1 Middleweight boxing contender Kelly Pavlik is hyped up based more on “skin color” than ring accomplishments. “He’s been very well matched, and he’s also gotten better while being very well matched,” DiBella said last Thursday during a conference call. “He was made to be King Kong beating (Jose Luis) Zertuche and a couple of other guys who were fairly ordinary. And then he caught a guy who really couldn’t fight very well when that guy’s hype was at its highest in (Edison) Miranda. But he has gotten better. He’s a quality fighter and he’s white. Who the hell are we kidding, he’s white. It helps. Lets face reality.”
Now I would like to consider myself someone who is not naïve; therefore I will admit that there is some truth to Dibella’s statement. The truth of the matter is that Pavlik being white helps from a marketing standpoint (I don’t need to go into details). However, I will not sit here and allow myself to believe that his skin color overshadows his boxing ability. Kelly Pavlik is a heck of a fighter and Jermaine Taylor better have his A + game on this Saturday night or he will walk out of Boardwalk Hall without the Middleweight strap. Taylor recently stated regarding Pavlik: “I know I’m supposed to say he’s a good fighter, but he’s not. I don’t see that, I just don’t see it. The only thing I see is that he’s a strong fighter — other than that, nothing. He just doesn’t excite me. He’s just a normal fighter. I’m glad the hype is there, but I just don’t see it.” I hope that Taylor sees enough in Pavlik to take this fight as a serious threat to his middleweight reign.
Pavlik has 31 professional fights under his belt and 28 of his 31 opponents have not made it to the final bell. The one knock that some have on Pavlik is the lack of quality opponents that he has faced. Personally, that argument does not hold much weight with this writer. Before Jermain Taylor’s 2 fights with Bernard Hopkins, I think his choice of opponents could have easily raised a few eyebrows as well. Prior to his 2 fights with Hopkins, Taylor’s fight resume looked like a who’s who of blown up Welterweights and Jr. Middleweights. Even if you think Taylor was given gift decisions against Hopkins, you have to admit that he held his own against a first ballot Hall of Famer, who currently is the recognized champion at Light Heavyweight. Taylor’s lack of “quality” opposition did not hurt him against Hopkins in my opinion.
Pavlik’s journey to his first shot at the Middleweight crown is not much different from Taylor’s. If you actually think about it, Taylor did not have to fight a tough eliminator bout against someone like Edison Miranda before getting a shot at Bernard Hopkins. His 3 opponents leading up to Hopkins were: Raul Marquez, William Joppy, and Daniel Edouard. Those 3 opponents never had a shot against Taylor.
I will give Jermain credit for taking on awkward tough fighters in his last 3 fights. Kassim Ouma, Winky Wright, and Cory Spinks are not easy fighters to look good against. He took on these fighters and has taken heavy criticism for not putting on “legendary” performances against them. After his bouts against Hopkins, many had high expectations for Taylor. The fact that he has not had a dominant performance since stopping Daniel Edouard in 2005 (TKO 3rd round); has led many to believe that Taylor was hype created by the suits at HBO. Many people are high on Pavlik because of his high volume of punches and he knocks people out. The fact that he is white is just “icing”.
My prediction for this fight is that it will be an action packed fight that won’t go the distance. I am still uncertain on who I favor. Taylor has the edge in big fight experience and he has Manny Steward in his corner, who is one of the best trainers in the world. I think Pavlik is hungry and strong. Both fighters have chips on their shoulders. Taylor wants to remove the “funk” from his last few fights, which has even caused some in his home city of Little Rock, Arkansas, to jump off of his bandwagon. Pavlik wants to prove that he is more than a “marketable” white contender, who beat handpicked opponents.
Jermain needs to avoid being backed up against the ropes (like against Winky Wright) because Kelly punches harder and more often than Winky Wright. If Jermaine is able to keep the fight in the middle of the ring and utilize his jab, he could cause Kelly some problems.
Regardless of what you might think of each fighter, if you miss this “free” fight on HBO this Saturday night; you might miss a Throwback classic.