By: Brad Marchetti

Despite being the undisputed middleweight champion of the world Jermain Taylor is out for respect. This Saturday night Taylor will get a chance to get the boxing world’s respect when he meets a hungry legit top-10 middleweight contender in Kelly Pavlik. Jermain Taylor is a -140 betting favorite at sportsbook giant BoDog.com.

Taylor has been mocked being called the undisputed Jr. middleweight champion for his three consecutive title defenses against natural 154 Lb. fighters. Despite the naysayers Jermain has always been extremely confident in his ablities and has never ducked anyone.

Kelly Pavlik has been gradually working his way up the middleweight ladder and seems to be catching Taylor at the right time after his thrilling upset victory of top middleweight contender Edison Miranda. On the same card that night in the main event Taylor tried to catch the elusive Cory Spinks for 12 rounds winning an ugly split decision.

Much hype has been placed in Pavlik’s direction leading up to this fight largely due to his pigmentation and his aggresive style. Despite the public interest in Pavlik, Taylor is the more polished and proven fighter heading into this bout with his two defining wins coming against all-time great middleweight Bernard Hopkins. This fight has been dubbed the perfect match-up by the media and the EinsteinPicks staff couldn’t agree more with a fight between two young undefeated pugilists for the tradition rich middleweight throne.

These two fighters already have a history with each other with Taylor having the one up winning against Pavlik in the amateur ranks over seven years ago. Can Pavlik turn reverse the outcome in the pros with the smaller gloves on? Will Taylor outbox Pavlik his long jab and footwork? Can the aggressive Pavlik break Jermain down with his two-fisted power and withering bodypunches?

Taylor looks ripe for the taking and if my 75% winning percentage for picking winners holds true we will have a new undisputed middleweight champion on Saturday night in Kelly Pavlik. Taylor is a bully that will get a taste of his own medicine. Pavlik throws alot of punches and I get the feeling that Taylor has lost his will to dig deep now that he’s rich. Both of these guys are tough though so the -125 proposition bet on over 11.5 rounds is tempting. I think that Pavlik can stop the champ though so I wouldn’t bet on it happening.

For a less experienced fighter Pavlik to me looks to be the smarter fighter despite Taylor having Manny Steward in his corner. Pavlik trains 9 hours a day and is a fresh 25 years old. Taylor trains 3 hours per day and is an old 29. I would advise my clients to wager heavy on this fight and put 10% of your betting bankroll on Pavlik to win.