Pavlik would walk into counters and fail to hurt Canelo He might have marginal success sitting behind his jab.
Then how do you explain Canelos 2 fights with GGG? GGG has most of Pavlik's attributes and is an even harder puncher. Canelo lost that first fight with GGG but he could take the shots without crumbling even making a small comeback in the late rounds.
Pavlik at his very best grinds Canelo down. He was huge, would control distance with his jab, and push Canelo back with his pressure and two-fisted attack. I don't think the 2017/2018 version of GGG that Canelo fought would beat Pavlik either.
Quite the contrary. Clenelo is being overrated here. He arguably doesn't even beat Taylor. Prime Pavlik is actually underrated.