29.09.07 – By Matthew Hurley: In a scintillating middleweight showdown Kelly Pavlik rose from a second round knockdown to stop Jermain Taylor for the title in the seventh round. The highly anticipated bout started fast and the tension level never let up until referee Steve Smoger waved the contest off with Taylor slumped in Pavlik’s corner after two successive right hands and a vicious uppercut.
Pavlik’s title bid looked in doubt in the second round when Taylor, fighting surprising well off the ropes, hammered his bigger challenger with a wicked barrage of punches that sent the Youngstown fighter to his knees. Pavlik rose and tried desperately to clear his head as Taylor went berserk with a misplaced placed headshots. By the end of the round Pavlik seemed to have steadied himself..
As the fight progressed Pavlik began establishing a stiff jab while Taylor fought constantly going backwards. But just when Pavlik would seem to be taking over Taylor would leap forward and keep the rounds close with his hand speed. At the time of the stoppage, Taylor was ahead on the official judges scorecards, but that was all negligible.
“I wasted too much energy in that second round,” Taylor said quietly to Larry Merchant after he had left the ring. “Just too many wasted punches. I spent too much energy.”
That may be the case but Pavlik proved beyond a shadow of a doubt not only his toughness but also his skill. Pavlik also proved that he can come back from adversity.
“Believe me, Taylor can punch and the kid is as tough as a mule,” Pavlik said after the middleweight belts were strapped around his body. “He definitely shook me, but I proved that I could get up and take it.”
There is a rematch clause for this fight that states that a return bout can be held at a weight higher than 160 pounds. Taylor maintained after the bout that he wants an immediate rematch but Emanuel Steward may talk him out of that after reviewing the tape of the bout. The fact remains, regardless of all the criticism Taylor has received in the wake of his fights against Cory Spinks and Kassim Ouma, two undersized opponents, he did fight Bernard Hopkins twice and then took on Winky Wright. He cannot be accused of taking on soft opposition. And he gave everything he had against Pavlik.
The decision lies with Taylor because Pavlik already signed the contract (but contracts are usually broken). There has been speculation that the winner of this fight would set himself up for a match against the winner of the 168 pound unification match between Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler. But Taylor and Pavlik provided fans with such a great fight that they may be made for each. One could argue that either Taylor punched himself out when he tried to knock out Pavlik in the second round or that Pavlik will simply beat him every time the face off as professionals. Still, this was a great fight and Taylor, should he want it, certainly deserves a rematch and Pavlik immediately stated that he wants it as well. Let’s do it again