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BIRTH OF A BOXING FAN
-My own story of how this obsession came about.
ERIC 'THE PRINCE' MARTIN
1958-2007
-My tribute to my friend and former Bay Area
boxing great
-My own story of how this obsession came about.
ERIC 'THE PRINCE' MARTIN
1958-2007
-My tribute to my friend and former Bay Area
boxing great
Taylor proved the purveyors of conventional wisdom correct in gaining a unanimous decision over
Jeff Lacy. Taylor looked good and couldn’t seem to miss the muscular Lacy. He repeatedly caught
Lacy with booming right hands which I was certain would take out the former super middleweight
champion. To Lacy’s credit, he took whatever Taylor offered and never stopped trying.
“This is my announcement,” Taylor said. “This is my comeback for being on top.”
He could not have picked a better foe for a comeback bout. It appears that his work with former
amateur coach Ozell Nelson is starting to gel and this was probably Taylor’s best technical exhibition
to date.
“I was in shape. I thank all of my team for getting me in shape,” Taylor said. “I felt great. I’m so
proud of myself for working so hard. This one was a hundred percent.”
Lacy kept pressing and in the fifth he landed a glancing blow off Taylor’s shoulder. Taylor was off
balance and dropped to the floor. The fall was correctly ruled a slip but both fighters reacted as if it
was a knockdown.
But Taylor was too much, looking very much like the veteran taking a younger fighter to school. He
played matador to Lacy’s bull and won quite convincingly.
The super middleweight division is filled with some good fighters. When you consider it isn’t too
much of a jump from middleweight to super middleweight this gives a lot of options for some very
intriguing fights in the next few years. Here are my rankings of the top super middleweights going
today, as of November 15, 2008.
1.Mikkel Kessler 41-1 (31) : The Great Dane is alone at the top. Needs a great victory to
propel him to an elite status of pound for pound player. Appears to have the talent to belong there.
2. Jermain Taylor 28-2 (17): Former Middleweight champion should make for intriguing
bouts. He can hold his own with anyone on this list.
3. Lucian Bute 23-0 (18): Got damn lucky against Librado Andrade. Damn lucky. He is,
however, a busy and crafty southpaw who won’t be an easy night for anyone.
4. Carl Froch 23-0 (19): Undefeated heir apparent to Calzaghe as the United Kingdom’s
premier super middleweight. The big test for “The Cobra” will come against Jean Pascal for the vacant
WBC crown.
5. Anthony Mundine 34-3(23): Loud mouth Australian who has some speed and skill.
Losses to Kessler and Manny Siaca prevent him from being considered a true threat to the elite. Now
seems content to fight fringe contenders and club fighters for pay days.
6. Andre Dirrell 17-0(12): Time is now for the American Olympian to make his move,
looked spectacular against Anthony Hanshaw. Ready to take that step up.
7. Sakio Bika 27-3(17): Rugged dude serves as the division’s gatekeeper. Will not upend the
champions but will keep out the pretenders.
8. Denis Inkin 34-0(24): I haven’t seen this guy fight yet but he is an undefeated Russian
fighting out of Germany. He is the WBO champion.
9. Librado Andrade 27-2(21): The division’s answer to Tex Cobb. STEEL chin. Absorbs
way too many punches. Seems impervious to pain and fatigue.
10. Jean Pascal 21-0(14): Quick and slick, has big shot against Carl Froch for the vacant title.
Some folks are calling him the Canadian Roy Jones.
Looking to break through: Andre Ward*, Carlos De Leon Jr, Karoly Balzsay
*I actually think Ward is in the top three talent wise but we'll have to wait for his achievements to
warrant a higher ranking.
Jeff Lacy. Taylor looked good and couldn’t seem to miss the muscular Lacy. He repeatedly caught
Lacy with booming right hands which I was certain would take out the former super middleweight
champion. To Lacy’s credit, he took whatever Taylor offered and never stopped trying.
“This is my announcement,” Taylor said. “This is my comeback for being on top.”
He could not have picked a better foe for a comeback bout. It appears that his work with former
amateur coach Ozell Nelson is starting to gel and this was probably Taylor’s best technical exhibition
to date.
“I was in shape. I thank all of my team for getting me in shape,” Taylor said. “I felt great. I’m so
proud of myself for working so hard. This one was a hundred percent.”
Lacy kept pressing and in the fifth he landed a glancing blow off Taylor’s shoulder. Taylor was off
balance and dropped to the floor. The fall was correctly ruled a slip but both fighters reacted as if it
was a knockdown.
But Taylor was too much, looking very much like the veteran taking a younger fighter to school. He
played matador to Lacy’s bull and won quite convincingly.
The super middleweight division is filled with some good fighters. When you consider it isn’t too
much of a jump from middleweight to super middleweight this gives a lot of options for some very
intriguing fights in the next few years. Here are my rankings of the top super middleweights going
today, as of November 15, 2008.
1.Mikkel Kessler 41-1 (31) : The Great Dane is alone at the top. Needs a great victory to
propel him to an elite status of pound for pound player. Appears to have the talent to belong there.
2. Jermain Taylor 28-2 (17): Former Middleweight champion should make for intriguing
bouts. He can hold his own with anyone on this list.
3. Lucian Bute 23-0 (18): Got damn lucky against Librado Andrade. Damn lucky. He is,
however, a busy and crafty southpaw who won’t be an easy night for anyone.
4. Carl Froch 23-0 (19): Undefeated heir apparent to Calzaghe as the United Kingdom’s
premier super middleweight. The big test for “The Cobra” will come against Jean Pascal for the vacant
WBC crown.
5. Anthony Mundine 34-3(23): Loud mouth Australian who has some speed and skill.
Losses to Kessler and Manny Siaca prevent him from being considered a true threat to the elite. Now
seems content to fight fringe contenders and club fighters for pay days.
6. Andre Dirrell 17-0(12): Time is now for the American Olympian to make his move,
looked spectacular against Anthony Hanshaw. Ready to take that step up.
7. Sakio Bika 27-3(17): Rugged dude serves as the division’s gatekeeper. Will not upend the
champions but will keep out the pretenders.
8. Denis Inkin 34-0(24): I haven’t seen this guy fight yet but he is an undefeated Russian
fighting out of Germany. He is the WBO champion.
9. Librado Andrade 27-2(21): The division’s answer to Tex Cobb. STEEL chin. Absorbs
way too many punches. Seems impervious to pain and fatigue.
10. Jean Pascal 21-0(14): Quick and slick, has big shot against Carl Froch for the vacant title.
Some folks are calling him the Canadian Roy Jones.
Looking to break through: Andre Ward*, Carlos De Leon Jr, Karoly Balzsay
*I actually think Ward is in the top three talent wise but we'll have to wait for his achievements to
warrant a higher ranking.