Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor

Arthur Abraham

Jermain Taylor

Keys to the fight: (Abraham) - Apply pressure. Abraham can take a solid punch and has a better chin than Taylor. If the fight gets into the later rounds, the advantage goes to Abraham because Taylor has shown in the past that he wears down in the championship rounds. Abraham doesn't throw a lot of punches, but makes the ones he throws count. Abraham has good power, but this will be his first fight at super middleweight since early in his professional career. Taylor fought his entire career at middleweight before moving up to 168 lbs. three bouts ago.

Keys to the fight: (Taylor) Utilize the jab. Jermain Taylor has a very effective left jab and should use it in this bout to stop Abraham from applying pressure. However, Taylor tends to bring his jab back low and this has led to him getting hit with right hands his entire career. Taylor is the better boxer and possesses the skills to out box Abraham for 12 rounds. The question is - will he? Taylor has faded late in his past fights, most notably when he was stopped by Carl Froch in the 12th round of his last bout. Some observers had Taylor winning on the scorecards heading into the last round. Can Taylor come back after suffering a dramatic loss to Froch and win his very next fight against an opponent the caliber of Arthur Abraham? Taylor's career is essentially on the line in this fight. Assuming Taylor loses, he could potentially drop out of the top ten depending on the outcome. A decision loss may keep him ranked as a contender, but suffering another knock out defeat may result in Taylor retiring. Get yourself a new punching bag and save with $2.95 shipping.

Prediction: I am picking Jermain Taylor to win via 12 round unanimous decision. Some people may call this prediction an upset. There is more on the line for Taylor if he were to lose than Abraham. A loss for Taylor could signal the end of a career. I believe Taylor can use his boxing ability to weather the storm of Abraham's pressure because Abraham does not let his hands go enough. Taylor will get hit, but he knows what happened in the past. He knows what he has to do in the later rounds to not allow that to happen again. I think facing this adversity will make Taylor come out victorious.