Taylor - Pavlik: Closer Than the Judges Saw It

Aside from the Joe Louis documentary, the Taylor-Pavlik replay was a great technical fight to watch. Since I hadn’t bought the PPV, I had to satisfy myself until last night with the accounts of other boxing sportscasters. My view today is that they came up short and let me down somewhat. Taylor came close to winning the fight, in my humble opinion, and the judge’s scores seemed wide. The last two rounds were up for grabs and I had Pavlik with an edge in the 11th and the rounds even in the less exciting 12th. One could make the argument that the fight was a draw, in which case the decision properly might go to Pavlik. I can’t help thinking that somewhere within Jermain Taylor is a great fighter waiting to come out. And waiting.