By Daniel Ciminera: With a long and busy year of boxing ahead of us, I thought I would make some predictions for the most talked about fights that lay ahead of us. I’ll start with round two of the super six world boxing classic, as this tournament continues to excite me as it is a fresh idea and has a no nonsense best fight the best approach.
Dirrell v Abraham
There is a vague chance that Dirrell’s awkward defensive style could see him out box Abraham over the twelve rounds, however, he lacks any real power. Especially the kind which would be required to dispatch Abraham so keeping him at bay like he did unsuccessfully against Froch is going to be the real challenge. Instead, I see Dirrell managing to hang on for the early portion of the fight as he has such an awkward style of defence. Though I think that in the mid stages of the fight, Abraham will use his power to blast his way through to Dirrell’s chin to get the knock out in convincing fashion.
Kessler vs Froch
I’m especially looking forward to this fight in 2010, previously I thought Kessler would easily beat Froch. Now the first round of the super six has passed, I am not so sure. Kessler looked shot against Ward. Yes, he was head-butted and elbowed constantly but, there wasn’t even a glimmer of the man I thought was going to school Ward that night, and he clearly doesn’t possess the same power he used to. Kessler has taken on a new trainer but, no trainer will be able to make that much of a difference in the next couple of months. He’d have probably been better off sticking with Olden as he knows Kessler and would be better equipped to address the weaknesses he has started showing. I think Froch will have the better of him though, he will be throwing big shots all night and on the evidence of the Ward fight, will be getting through. I don’t see there being a stoppage, but I see a twelve round battle in which Froch comes out on top via unanimous decision. Look for Kessler to retire after the tournament.
Taylor vs Ward
I thought I’d mention this fight as the super six tournament is exciting me. However, as I expect more of the same from Andre Ward. Dirty tactics against the more experienced fighter, I am not so looking forward to this one. Taylor has shown in his last few fights that he still has the heart to be competitive in a fight but, his body is slowly running out of gas and will probably retire after the tournament finishes (hopefully he wont decide to pull out of the tournament as it would be a shame). Ward is going to win this one easily.
Haye vs Vitali Klitschko
In my opinion, Haye is going to shock the world in this fight. He knows it’s going to be a battle, and I can see him coming into it bigger, more powerful and faster than ever. Haye is a proper athlete, the likes of which the heavyweight division has not seen for a long time. Klitschko is not the same fighter he was. Haye would not beat a prime Vitali but, lets nobody kid ourselves, he is not in his prime and I also believe Haye hasn’t peaked yet either. It’s just a shame for Haye that, once Vitali is out of the way, there are no more top top heavyweights left for him to prove himself against.
Mayweather Jr vs Pacquiao
If this fight goes ahead, which it has to because the money, pride and reputations at stake are all too high. Before I start, I am a fan of neither but, make no mistake, Pacquiao is going to win this fight when it happens. Either by early stoppage or by a heavily lopsided decision. Mayweather is the consummate professional inside the ring, technically he is one of the best ever. The one failing he has as a boxer, is that his knock out power is not what it will need to be in order to stop the relentless onslaught that is going to be the angry Pacquiao’s attack.
Khan vs Maidana
I can’t make my mind up yet about this one. If it happens, There are numerous possible outcomes. If Khan can impose himself without standing and trading with Maidana, he can win either by stoppage or by out-pointing him. On the other hand, Khan’s feet are going to have to be laced with lightning for him to avoid taking solid, clean shots from Maidana. If Maidana can corner Khan, or draw him into fighting his type of fight, there is no doubt he can get Khan out of there with a single shot. One thing is for sure, like the rest of 2010, this fight has unpredictability, and excitement written all over it.
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