The Showtime super middleweights: Act I

Examiner.com9th September, 2009

There will be nothing equivalent to a 24/7 build up. The media tour will fall under the radar from the aftermath of Juan Manuel Marquez v Floyd Mayweather, Jr. No pay-per-view buy numbers will be generated and nobody will be fighting for The Ring super middleweight title. Regardless, something special in boxing begins next month when Arthur Abraham locks horns with Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch takes on Andre Dirrell to kick off Showtime's super middleweight championship tournament.

Abraham v Taylor:

Arthur Abraham. King Arthur has had limited exposure to Americans; however, he is like Winky Wright with power. Abraham is a slow starter who prefers a defensive shell with sporadic incidents of explosion in the early rounds. Once he has figured out his opponent's game plan, he will turn up the offensive pressure. Only 6 men out of 30 have survived a full fight against Abraham, and one of them, Edison Miranda, had to break Arthur's jaw to do it.

Jermain Taylor. Speed? Check. Technical skill? Check. Former world champion? Check. Chin? No. Stamina? No. Taylor's high water mark arrived after his two victories over Bernard Hopkins. His encore was a mediocre reign as middleweight champion before losing his title to Kelly Pavlik in 2007. Rather than contend for the title in a rematch at 160lbs, Taylor elected to move up in weight for the bigger paydays (he lost a rematch to Pavlik in a non-title fight at 164lbs by unanimous decision). His resume at 168lbs, however, is not impressive. Yes, he owned Jeff Lacy, but who hasn't? He also dominated Carl Froch before Froch launched a 12th round assault and knocked Taylor out.

Conclusion: Abraham has no experience with Taylor's speed and movement, which will allow Jermain to take the early rounds. Taylor, however, struggled with the defensive minded Winky Wright in 2006; therefore, Arthur is going to give him fits. Abraham has power in both hands, which will be difficult for Taylor to handle after the halfway point in the fight. Expect Abraham to stop Jermain before the 10th round.

Froch v Dirrell:

Carl Froch. Froch, another relative unknown to the American audience, has spent the last few years playing he loves me, he loves me not with Joe Calzaghe. Unfortunately, the two men never fought, but like Calzaghe, Froch is undefeated. He is not flashy or technically sound, but he has a beard of concrete and the stamina of someone who does urine therapy after drinking a case of Red Bull. He can be hit, he will be hit, but he will be there and hitting back for all 12 rounds.

Andre Dirrell. Don't let the 18 professional fights fool you because Andre Dirrell has skills. When Dirrell chooses to use them, however, is the bigger question. The great jab is not as consistent as it needs to be and his defensive arsenal is highly questionable at this stage of his career. Boxer? Slugger? Runner? Nobody knows the real Andre Dirrell yet, but he gets better with every fight.

Conclusion: Froch is probably too much too soon for Dirrell. This one is most likely going 12 rounds with a unanimous decision for Froch being the probable result in what will be an action packed fight.

The buzz coming out of October will be Arthur Abraham, which will last about two hours before Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fever consumes us (if it hasn't already). It is still a long way until the main event in November though, but the match-ups above and several others represent a full slate of undercard fights in September and October to properly set the tone.

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