By Scott Gilfoid: Boxing fans are going to get the pleasure of seeing two of the most talented fighters in the sport show their stuff at the end of the month on December 30th with defensive wizard Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) facing Darryl Cunningham (24-2, 10 KO’s) in 10 rounds of action, and former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KO’s) back in action against Jessie Nicklow (22-2-3, 17 KO’s) in a 10 round fight at the Morongo Casino & Spa in Cabazon, California.

I know more than a few boxing fans think Taylor is shot, but I think he’s far from it. Taylor only needed to have a little time off from boxing after suffering a series of concussions starting with his 7th round TKO loss to Kelly Pavlik in 2007. Taylor never really got enough of a break to rest his head after that loss and to come back from it the right way. Instead of resting, Taylor had an immediate rematch against Pavlik followed by fights against Jeff Lacy, Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham. I couldn’t think of a worse bunch of fighters than that.

I mean the Lacy fight was no big deal because Lacy’s once dangerous left hook is no more after his torn rotator cuff injury, but the Froch and Abraham fights were bad medicine for Taylor. Another problem Taylor had during this time was he getting too heavy in between fights, forcing him to take off massive amounts of weight in training camp before his fights. That left Taylor weak and unable to fight hard for more than six rounds without fading. He’s taken care of that problem finally and came into this training camp already in excellent condition so that he won’t have to deal with weight issues.

Taylor has got some of the best skills in boxing with his fast hands, excellent power and good defensive skills. I think now that he’s in shape and no longer vulnerable to suffering knockouts due to his head having had a long rest to heal, I see Taylor dominating like he did before. Taylor is going to open some eyes in the boxing world with this comeback and I see him winning title at middleweight before long.

Dirrell will be the real prize on December 30th, because he’s clearly got the best skills in the super middleweight division if not all of boxing. He’s been resting for the past year after suffering a bad foul against Abraham last year in March. My prediction is that Dirrell will look nothing short of amazing against Cunningham and will score a quick knockout after opening up on him with a flurry. Dirrell will soon be fighting for a title against one of the super middleweight champions, likely WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward.

I can’t wait to see those two amazing fighters going toe-to-toe in 2012. Andre and his brother Anthony Dirrell are the only ones in the division that can give Ward any problems because of their hand speed and excellent boxing skills.