A Tale of Two Fights

by user KMcRae

Tonight in Memphis, Tennessee one middleweight fighter emerged as a star and one saw his star fade.  In an action-packed all out war Kelly Pavlik utilized his superior boxing techinque and power to knock out the durable Edison Miranda in the 7th round.  Pavlik set the tone right away using his power shots to back up an obiviously confused Miranda. For seven rounds the two fighters traded nothing but huge power shots. But as the fight went on it became clear that it was Pavlik's night to shine.  All week long Pavlik and his team portrayed Miranda as a tremendous puncher but someone who could not fight while backing up.  That strategy proved to be dead-on as Pavlik scored the convincing victory and established himself as Jermain Taylor's mandatory opponent for the WBC title.

In the main event of the evening Jermain Taylor retained his middleweight championship over twelve rounds by scoring a split decision over Cory Spinks. Scores were 117-111 Spinks and 117-111 and 115-113 Taylor.  This observer scored the bout 115-113 for Spinks.  The performance was lethargic at best for Taylor who often looked confused against the smaller man's defense and speed.  Instead of imposing his superior power and size on the smaller man Taylor was often content to stalk Spinks around the ring without throwing many punches.  All the while Spinks outworked if not outlanded his opponent with the right jab and straight left hands. 

In the post-fight interview HBO's Larry Merchant pressed Taylor about the potential for a mega-fight with Pavlik in his next bout.  It was during this sequence that Taylor did his best ducking and dodging of the night declaring Pavlik a great fighter but one he would not promise to step into the ring with.  Taylor was unequivocal about his goal to make the most money and not the best fights.