So I finally caught the science class sheep's heart dissection that was Pavlik vs. Jaco (Kelly got an A+! ). Did Pavlik even land a clean right hand? He barely seemed to throw any. He did pretty much all his brutal work with the left hand. Set-up jabs and then baseball bat left hooks to the top of the head. Both the knockdown toward the end of the 1st and the one that lobotomized Jaco in the 2nd were scored with that rarest of Pavlik weapons. This has never been the highlight of the Ghost's arsenal, obviously - but he has mixed in some hooks before. Never before this to my knowledge has he featured them or employed them so liberally to the point of exclusion of his money punch. It kind of reminded me of Wladimir Klitschko - also known as more of a 1-2 artist - annihilating Ray Austin with nothin' but left hooks. That was also a monstrous KO2. Would Pavlik be better served to keep this shot in his back pocket as he steps his competition level back up, or can he effectively hook with some of the hookers and johns at 168? :think I thought it looked good enough for primetime use. Then again...Jaco is only Jaco. :conf Anybody who thought this was going to end any way other than it did (regardless of what punch was used) must have been a victim of Jedi Mind Tricks. :deal
KP showed an excellent left hook in the Rubio and Miranda fights. He tripled it up at times against Rubio. Earlier in his career Pav scored several KO's with the left hook, especially to the body. This time out he was in there specifically to practice the left hook, and the fight was really short. So, the left hook was the dominate punch we saw. I'm just guessing, but Garcia probably saw Pavlik's left hook on tape, and decided that particular weapon could and should become more dangerous than ever.
IIRC, the hook - while present - wasn't prominent enough in those performances to overshadow the jab and right. Was it more so in the very early going of his career? ...and yeah, wise move on Garcia's part IMO. There's a difference between an old dog learning new tricks, and an old dog really drilling some already kinda familiar tricks to give itself more ways to hang with the young dogs.
He used it more than usual agaisnt Rubio aswell. I guess he works on different things when the opportunity presents itself.
Slightly surprised to see the poll (early on) reflecting a pretty wide majority thinking he should incorporate a lot more LH even as the caliber of his opponents starts to increase again. :think
I remember back when Pavlik beat Rubio people were whining "But he didn't take him out in the first round..." That win has gotten better and better as the years go on.
****, really? So what... because Jantuah happened to do it, there's no other acceptable result against Rubio? :roll: Let alone that Pavlik's was a prolonged systematic destruction that was even more decisive than one of those quick one-shot deals that can be written off as a fluke...
His KO of Zertuche was set up with a nice, quick little left hook. In fact, although he only landed a few in that fight, they were highly successful. Considering that was my only live Pavlik fight (and his first HBO appearance), I've always looked for him to utilize that punch more throughout his career. Being able to land some thunder with both hands makes Kelly a more dangerous fighter.
Pavlik was destroying dudes to the body with his left hook earlier in his career. That's an underrated punch that he's always had. The left in general is a good bet for his team to commit to, moving forward.
I think Jaco was the first opponent that KP ever straight up beat the **** out of with a left hook. However, a nasty left hook has always been there. I'll speculate that it was something Garcia noticed and said "Let's work on using that more." Makes perfect sense when you factor in that Pav is a converted southpaw. The left is actually his strong hand. I always thought that was the reason for the jack-hammer jab.
Pavliks left hook looked real good maybe he should use it more, but I am sure he will figure out when and how often to use it compared to me. I can't wait till his next fight he should be even sharper. It is Very exciting times to be a Pavlik fan.