Super Six: Good as advertised…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
After watching hours upon hours upon hours of high school softball all last week, it felt good to watch some boxing Saturday night.
Showtime presented the first two bouts of the Super Six Super Middleweight Classic, and it was solid. A great night of action.
But you know I love Jermain Taylor and everything he has represented. And it’s probably why I didn’t post something Sunday because my heart was still going out to Taylor after being brutally knocked out by Arthur Abraham in the final seconds of the 12th round.
I don’t think this was a case of Taylor tiring down the stretch, but more it was Abraham simply coming on and making his imprint in the fight.
Taylor had the edge through six rounds but didn’t do enough to make me think it wasn’t going to be a sad end.
He jabbed like nobody’s business, but it wasn’t effective and he didn’t follow it with a right and left hook. It was just a double jab into the ear muffs of Abraham.
In round 9, Taylor was buzzed something awful. Thought it was done, almost hoped it would be. I knew if it wasn’t, that maybe something even worse was in store.
And in the final half minute of round 12, it happened. Abraham wasn’t looking for the kill shot but found it anyway with a right hand. Taylor went completely limp and thudded on the canvas.
When he hit the ground, his gloves remained in the air. In other words, stop counting referee. Amazingly, Taylor gave a postfight interview but has been said to be suffering from memory loss and of course has a nasty concussion.
Big win for Abraham in front of his home crowd. Not sure where Taylor goes from here. And honestly, not sure if I want him to go anywhere from here. That’s three brutal KOs in two years. Retire and live the good life.
In the other bout, didn’t expect much from American Andre Dirrell as he took on England’s Carl Froch.
Boy was I wrong. Dirrell is the real deal, even if two of the judges didn’t see it that way.
Dirrell lost a close split-decision by scores of 115-112 twice for Froch and 114-113 for Dirrell. I believe The Boneman had it 115-113 for Dirrell. Don’t remember what round I had even.
Thought Froch was out of line in his postfight interview, lambasting Dirrell for how he fought. Which is it: did Froch want to show he had some skills like he said before the fight? Or did he want it to be a rough affair where he gets away with every dirty trick in the book?
A day later, not too peeved about the decision. Live, I was frustrated. More for American boxing than anything else. It was a close one, and Dirrell didn’t do what he needed to do in the 12th round on foreign soil.
The interesting thing to me is the first five rounds. That’s where this fight was won or lost by Dirrell. It was just a lot of ‘blah’ and running and an occasional flurry by the American. But Froch had no answer. Didn’t cut off the ring and landed next to nothing, too.
After the fifth round, the action heated up, and I know that Dirrell hurt Froch at the end of the 10th round but didn’t press it enough. I know it. From the way Froch’s body language was and his legs unsteady, he was there to be had.
Either way, chalk it up as a W for Froch and the first loss for Dirrell.
More thoughts and analysis Tuesday on the Super Six as this has kinda got me pumped about the boxing/MMA world again after a couple of listless weeks following Ultimate Fight Night.
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