ARTHUR ABRAHAM KO12 (2:54) JERMAIN TAYLOR

One must feel sympathy for Jermain Taylor. For the second fight in succession he found himself crunched with the finishing post in sight. First, it was against Carl Froch in April, when Taylor had only to stay on his feet to win. On Saturday night in Berlin, Taylor was behind in the scoring but looked sure to hear the final bell when Arthur Abraham’s perfectly timed right hand dramatically flattened him. Who said lightning doesn’t strike twice?

The fight kicked off Showtime’s tournament involving six of the world’s best fighters in the super middleweight division and while it wasn’t a classic contest it always held the interest — and the conclusion was spectacular.

This fight was a rarity in that it followed exactly the pattern that one would have expected: Taylor in front early, then Abraham coming on strongly.

Taylor boxed very well indeed in the first four rounds, but Abraham took over from the fifth. Abraham looked extremely strong in his first fight in the 168-pound division (unless you include his catchweight KO win over Edison Miranda). His heavy-handed bursts of punches overcame Taylor’s more stylish boxing.

What surprised me was the way Abraham outjabbed the taller man in several rounds. Taylor’s swollen and battered right eye showed the effects of Abraham’s left-hand work.

Taylor never stopped trying and he showed a big heart. He looked almost gone when a big right hand buckled his legs in the ninth round, but Taylor held on, got his legs moving again, survived and fought back. I liked the way Abraham smiled at him and touched gloves in respect as the round ended, as if to say: “Well done, Jermain.”

After the ninth-round calamity it looked as if Taylor would at least have the satisfaction of staying the course, but he was under siege again in the last round. Instead of clutching or getting on his bicycle, Taylor chose to go out fighting. He tried to take the fight to Abraham in the waning moments of the bout and got drilled as the German fighter threw a quick left hook and then drove that impeccably placed right hand through the middle of the American boxer’s guard.

Abraham is a deceptive sort of fighter. There are times when he seems to be getting tired, dropping his hands by his sides, but he is capable of exploding into action, and he can do so very late in a fight: this was Abraham’s third 12th-round KO win and he also scored an 11th-round knockout victory.

There is nothing artistic about Abraham’s style — hands up high, elbows tucked in, letting the other man punch away at the defensive shield, then going to work, but he is highly effective at what he does, and it helps that he punches so powerfully.

Taylor’s continuation in the tournament looks in doubt after his second traumatic KO defeat in succession. Abraham goes on to meet Andre Dirrell, whose split decision loss to Carl Froch was still being debated by fans as these words were being typed on Sunday afternoon.

This tournament works beautifully because it keeps fans involved. The trend now is for a fighter to disappear for months at a time after a fight, or to box on a broadcast that isn’t available to everyone. Subscribers to Showtime can follow this tournament from start to finish and get to identify with the fighters, and if only for this reason it is a brilliant idea.