TAYLOR SPINKS NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE BOXING: PAVLIK STEALS SHOW

Posted on | May 21, 2007 | 1 Comment

WRONG MAIN EVENT HIGHLIGHTED ON HBO SATURDAY
BY: Rich Bergeron

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Yet another hyped up boxing match failed to live up to expectations—just another symptom of the sport’s recent suffering. Only the undercard bout could save the show Saturday on HBO.

Undefeated Middleweight Kelly Pavlik showed tremendous power and technical expertise to match. Beating Edison Miranda into a stupor over seven impressive rounds, Pavlik was always on the attack, living up to the game plan he’d set for the fight.

The willingness of Edison Miranda to slug it out with Pavlik might have been his downfall, but it certainly pleased the crowd. Miranda proved he could put on a show, but his power proved useless in stopping the advances of Pavlik. All he could do was keep punching, which he did, even when he had nothing left.

Instead of picking up on the hint of the preceding fight, Cory Spinks and Jermain Taylor fought a lackluster 12-round sleepfest that Larry Merchant compared to a sparring session people were paying millions for. Even Promoter Lou DiBella stood up at one point from his seat next to Don King at the fight to scream something as the fans booed both fighters.

Cory Spinks managed to outbox Taylor for a few of the early rounds, but as soon as Taylor started storming in to throw a few bombs the scorecards leaned heavily in his favor. Though Jim Lampley called the one dissenting judge on the carpet for ruling in Spinks’ favor, his criticism overlooked the fact that Spinks was by far the busier fighter through the entire match. Though he didn’t land many potent or damaging blows, he proved to be elusive, fast, and crafty through all 12 rounds. Lampley suggested that Dick Flaherty never be allowed to judge another championship fight if he really saw the fight as a Spinks victory, but Lampley also contended that the fight was “dreadful” because neither fighter really showed the kind of aggression they were capable of. Even Taylor’s trainer Emanuel Steward was furious at his fighter leading into the last round, insisting Spinks would come away with a “bullshit decision” if Taylor didn’t start to fight. “You gotta fight,” Steward yelled at one point.

ROUND BY ROUND:

MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KO) vs. Edison Miranda (28-2, 24 KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Miranda began landing hooks early. Pavlik responded by jabbing well and sticking some of his own hooks. Miranda had his 1-2s going strong, and he landed a couple booming body shots. Pavlik kept on coming forward and throwing straight shots. Both fighters were slugging through the whole round. Finally, Pavlik trapped Miranda in a corner, but after a few heavy blows landed on his face, Miranda fought his way out and finished strong.

ROUND TWO

The nearly equal reach of both fighters made the contest entertaining, and both fighters spent the round trading moments of dominance. Miranda unleashed his best, but Pavlik still stalked his prey relentlessly. Pavlik landed some huge straight rights and right hooks, and it was easy to see Miranda starting to feel it. He landed a nice left hook before getting cornered again, valiantly battling back with right hooks and a nice uppercut. Pavlik came back with another solid straight right, but Miranda fought back right to the bell.

ROUND THREE

Both began by pawing jabs at each other for a while, resting up from the early slugfest. Pavlik began finding his range, walked through a right hook, and began really working 1-2s and right hooks that landed with serious pop. Miranda started bulling back. Both landed some bombs in some great exchanges. Miranda wound up getting warned for low blows at one point. Both were giving and taking well. After Pavlik saw some fantastic moments early, the third was more of an even round, and it seemed Pavlik might be tiring.

ROUND FOUR

Both fighters picked apart each other’s body early. Pavlik nailed Miranda with better head shots and took control later by stringing together combinations of straight rights and hooks. He went back to the body for a moment and landed the 1,2,3 combo with ease as Miranda pawed back at him. He pushed Miranda up against the ropes at one point, and the damage started to really show itself as Miranda’s left eye began closing. Pavlik took complete control in the round and would not relinquish it through the remainder of the contest.

ROUND FIVE:

Miranda started off jabbing more, mixing in a few hooks and uppercuts. Pavlik, sensing he had seized the advantage, tried resting a bit, throwing mostly straight punches. Eventually he stepped it up again, landing clubbing hooks and taking Miranda’s best with ease. He snuck in some uppercuts in the last minute. Using all of his punches well, Pavlik poured it on. Miranda kept right on giving and taking, and he did land some big rights and right hooks at the end. Still, Pavlik kept on storming in after him.

ROUND SIX:

Both started out keeping their distance until they both waded into the fray with hooks blazing. Pavlik landed a left hook, and Miranda landed a right hook. They moved toward the center of the ring where they both traded some punishing blows. It seemed that Pavlik was the one getting more jabs in, and he followed them up with some ominous hooks. Miranda came back later in the round with his own jab, but then Pavlik unleashed a 1-2 that folded Miranda against the ropes. Piling on a few more hooks, the onslaught from Pavlik crumples Miranda to the canvas. He managed to make it to his feet only to get wobbled again a few moments later, and finally a series of heavy combinations send him down for the count again. The referee wound up taking a point away when Miranda intentionally spit out his mouthpiece to earn a brief reprieve. Saved by the bell, Miranda goes back to his corner where his trainer tells him he needs to do something miraculous if he wants the fight to go on.

ROUND SEVEN:

Miranda seemed to be recovering well at first, but then Pavlik began unloading with straight punches and big, dangerous hooks. Miranda was simply overwhelmed and out on his feet by the time Pavlik managed to land the final harsh blows. The referee finally stepped between the fighters to save Miranda from another faceplant. He wandered back to his corner with his eyes both swollen seriously.

PAVLIK WINS BY TKO

After the fight Pavlik told Larry Merchant he just “stuck with the game plan that we had” and indicated his opponent came in heavily overrated. “The media created Miranda,” he said. “I knew if I could keep him going back, he can’t fight going back.”

Pavlik did take some great shots early from Miranda, but his own power proved to be his edge. “It don’t look like much on TV, but once they get in there with me, it’s like, ‘Whoah this guy is strong,’” he said.

As far as who’s next, he hopes he can slug it out with Taylor. “Everybody wants to fight the World Champion, of course I want to fight him,” Pavlik told Merchant.

JERMAIN TAYLOR (27-0, 17 KO’s) VS. CORY SPINKS (36-4, 11 KO’s)

ROUND ONE:

Spinks started off strong, biding his time, looking to land his jab consistently. He landed a clean straight left when Taylor stormed in and threw a 1-2 combo. Spinks fought a smart first round after figuring out he’d get hit hard every time he tried to wade in. A brief late exchange lived up to the hype for a few seconds, but it didn’t last more than a few fleeting seconds before the bell ended the round.

ROUND TWO:

Spinks’ straight combos and speed seemed to be winning out early. Taylor began using a sparing jab. Spinks kept on using his speed, but none of his shots were doing damage. The unhappy crowd rained boos down meant for both fighters. The round featured mostly jabs from both men with the occasional right hand and virtually no hooks.

ROUND THREE:

Spinks danced and maintained the same pace with his flinging jab, and Taylor seemed content bouncing in place, waiting for a big opening. Spinks landed a speedy combo that woke Taylor up for a moment. He bulled in and landed a 1-2 and a few more straight punches that started catching Spinks off guard.

ROUND FOUR:

Spinks spent the whole round re-establishing his distant jab. Taylor, lulled into the pace set by Spinks, refused to chase his opponent down. Spinks kept landing quick combos and darting back out of range. Both landed less than 10 total shots in the round.

ROUND FIVE:

Spinks maintained the same old pace, really only throwing punches that aggravated Taylor more than any that could actually hurt him. Taylor began pouring it on a little bit late in the round. The first round that could really be given wholeheartedly to Taylor, for his late aggression alone, he wound up landing 14 total punches to Spinks’ seven.

ROUND SIX:

Still waiting for openings through much of the round, Taylor did manage to throw some nice bombs that connected. One huge right hand from Taylor made Spinks rethink his whole strategy and stop punching for a few moments. Taylor then began landing more jabs. He finally became more active and showed better defense. Near round’s end he landed a right uppercut that again backed Spinks off.

ROUND SEVEN:

Spinks decided to mix it up more, and Taylor still sat back waiting. Taylor connected with a straight right that landed on the button. He stuck Spinks with a jab and a hard uppercut later. Spinks responded well and countered accurately, but he still lacked serious power in his shots. Taylor waded in at one point, and Spinks nailed him with one of his best jabs. A left hook landed from Taylor moments later. Clearly just doing enough to start taking control, Taylor won over two judges and the ringside announcers by landing the heavier blows late in the fight.

ROUND EIGHT:

Taylor took a cautious approach to start out, and Spinks took advantage by landing fast, accurate jabs. Taylor kept coming in wild, and finally it paid off when he landed a left hook and a couple nice jabs. There was a furious exchange late in the round, but neither fighter really did enough to win the round decisively. Spinks’ pace had him throwing way more punches, but nothing he landed was all that effective. Taylor spent the whole fight picking and choosing his moments to be the aggressor, and for the most part the punches he did land were sloppy.

ROUND NINE:

Spinks went back to all jabs. He also landed a few body blows. Taylor connected with another overhand right and a looping uppercut to follow up later. He hit home with another straight right and threw a few more power shots near the end of the round. Still disgusted by the lackadaisical performance, the crowd voiced their general displeasure, and even Larry Merchant weighed in with his own “boo!”

ROUND TEN:

Taylor took the hint from the crowd and started to jab more and land some combos, and the early snapping jab was gone. He could only sneak the jab in from time to time, fearful that Taylor would make him pay now that it seemed the champion had found a second wind.

ROUND ELEVEN:

Taylor kept on scoring more jabs, but Spinks still looked relaxed. A 1-2 landed from Spinks after Taylor connected with a bombing right. Still keeping their distance and refusing to really fight, both fighters spent the round avoiding each other more than trading.

ROUND TWELVE:

Back and forth sporadic action had both fighters landing pawing jabs in the early moments. Eventually a powerful 1-2 landed from Taylor. Still, he couldn’t lock onto his target. Later a jab and wide right hook landed and a follow up combo knocked Spinks’ mouthpiece out. Spinks danced around until the end of the round with his arms raised.

TAYLOR WINS BY SPLIT DECISION

117-111 Spinks
117-111 Taylor
115-113 Taylor

With only 186 punches landing from both fighters combined, the fight was easy to criticize. However, after the fight, Taylor didn’t sound like a man who felt like he could beat anyone and would fight anyone, which is what he promised at the pre-fight press conference when he said, “Whatever it takes, whoever want to fight!”

Larry Merchant caught up with Taylor after his glorified sparring session. “He ran the whole time, man, I couldn’t get my punches right,” said Taylor, “You can’t take a championship running. You gotta fight the champ if you wanna be the champ.” He neglected to remember that he didn’t exactly try to catch Spinks, either.

Taylor did herald Pavlik for doing a “great job” and added he had “mad respect” for the undefeated contender. “I will fight anybody, anybody, I’ll fight anybody,” Taylor told Merchant before amending the statement by adding that he’d only fight Pavlik if it was the fight that would give him the most money.

It’s no surprise that Merchant ended his commentary by saying, “The night belongs to Kelly Pavlik.” He won the crowd, the fight, and Taylor’s ultimate respect. Unfortunately, Kelly Pavlik’s camp is not really rolling in the dough, so the chances of a near-future match-up between the two are pretty damn slim.

Whatever happens, Pavlik deserves a title shot and should get it. For once Taylor should try to aim to secure status as the best fighter in the world rather than chase the big money fights. Pride and bragging rights are worth much more in the long run than even the biggest pile of cash. Illustrating a major symptom of what’s really wrong with the sport, Taylor is just another backtracking smack talker who can’t stand behind what he says in the public eye. Ultimately boxing’s ratings will suffer from a serious collapse if the title holders keep consistently ducking the best available opponents in order to make bigger paychecks.

Not only do Taylor’s actions reveal the problem of poorly planned match-ups, they also betray an even deeper problem tearing the sport to pieces: the lack of genuine role models for youngsters to look up to. Where are the Muhammad Alis and George Foremans of today? What has become of that old school fight anybody mentality? Though Larry Merchant mentioned the idea of smaller gloves as a way to cure boxing, it will take much more than that. More so needed to put the sport back on a winning track are smaller egos for the flamboyant, trash-talking pariahs like Taylor and bigger paychecks for the worthy, scrappy, fight for every penny you earn hometown heroes like Kelly Pavlik.

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