Jermain Taylor vs. Winky Wright

There's no bad blood here. There's been no trash talking, no pre-fight scuffles, no intense stare-downs, and no bitter history between these two fighters.

There hasn't been any calls for blood, no threats of violence, and no publicity stunts. These two couldn't be more different as fighters, but the one thing they have in common is an unusually laid back personality for boxers.

So why am I so damn excited for this fight?

Because this is a classic clash of styles. It's a clash of different experiences. It's a clash of training preferences. It's everything a pure boxing fan could hope for. Save the theatrics for WWE, it's the fights themselves that matter, and this one has the potential to be one of the all-time greats. And it's airing tomorrow night on HBO.

Here we have an atypical situation where the older, more experienced fighter is both lesser known and the challenger to the title (Wright, 50-3 with 25 KO's, pictured on the right) while the younger fighter with less experience is the celebrated champ (Taylor, 25-0 with 17 KO's, pictured on the left).

Wright is known for his near-impenetrable defense and amazing technical abilities, while Taylor is known for his aggressiveness and knockout ability.

Wright built up the bulk of his career overseas, becoming quite well known in Europe, but failing to get much hype in the states until recent wins over Sugar Shane Mosely and Felix Trinidad. Taylor, on the other hand, has had his career scoped out since he was an olympic bronze medalist in the Atlanta games in 2000, and has reached an unbelieveable amount of hype after two hard fought decisions over Bernard Hopkins.

Wright is looking to finally cement his legacy throughout the boxing world. Heads are up on him after his absolutely dominant wins of the past few years, but a win over Taylor and the chance to call himself Middleweight Champion could put him over the top and grant him status as one of the best ever.

Taylor is looking to add one more notch to his still-perfect 25-0 record. He's been questioned as to whether or not he really won those fights against Hopkins, but the fact remains that he is the champ, and he may be the most dangerous middleweight in the world. If he can get the victory over a man who some feel is pound-for-pound the most technically sound boxer on the planet, he may find himself at legendary status.

This is one of the most important fights in a very long time. And we don't even need PPV to watch it.

Saturday, June 17
HBO @ 9 PM

My prediction: Wright by unanimous decision