Pavlik has 3" on Mayweather's reach, which is nothing, considering how poor Pavlik's head movement is and how fast, sharp and accurate Mayweather's punches are. For the record, Sugar Ray Robinson also had 3" less on Pavlik, but I guess if Mayweather is too small, so is Robinson, right? You say that Pavlik gets Mayweather on the ropes? Then what? He stays on the outside and throws his slow, long jab? Maybe "doubles it up" then "throws his ****in' right"? You think that is going to Mayweather, who has made a career, a legacy put of avoiding this kind of attack from much better punchers than Pavlik?
So? Chavez was great on the inside and mid-range, which Pavlik isn't. I'm not saying Mayweather doesn't have issues with pressure, it's his biggest weakness, but there are different types of pressure. Mayweather has never struggled on the outside, and Pavlik can't fight anywhere BUT the outside. Like I said, if Pavlik had an inside or mid-range game, he would win. Problem is, he doesn't.
He goes to the body instead of head hunting. You can move the head quite a bit (as Dirrell showed Froch and Abraham), but the body on the ropes, especially the corner? Not so much.
The entire Espino fight was on the inside because Kelly's left was still hurt and he couldn't control the distance with it. I have to assume you don't watch Kelly's fights at all.
Reach is a function of height, also. Pavlik is over 6' 2". Mayweather is 5' 8". He'd have to jump to reach him. Robinson is taller, and has significant firepower. Mayweather has nothing he could do to stop Pavlik walking all over him. 1. Mayweather is not hard to hit on the ropes. Going to the ropes is the last refuge of the damned who can't handle the pressure. You may block a few of your opponents' punches, but they're still doing some damage. It's a very inefficient defensive strategy. 2. The only punch I haven't seen Pavlik throw is the left uppercut. Against fighters like Mayweather, he throws body shots as well as straight punches to the head. 3. If Mayweather goes to the ropes, he will get pulverised. Mayweather has never faced a very big puncher at 147, let alone a monster Middleweight. Even if Pavlik's punches are mostly blocked, they'll **** Mayweather up badly from the weight. Going to the ropes is suicide against a bigger man. It's the worst possible move. If Mayweather has a chance (which he doesn't), it's keeping the fight in the middle of the ring and trying to move around. atschatsch Pavlik is actually a mid-range fighter in many respects. He can fight inside, too. This and the "he only throws the 1-2" comment suggest a massive deficiency on your part as far as footage of Pavlik is concerned. Believe me, I've watched the guy, he can throw more than one combination. It's irrelevant anyway, since Mayweather going inside is, again, the worst possible strategy. It makes Pavlik's strength advantage count even more. Utterly extraneous. As if Mayweather is going to be dictating the range in this one!
It's obvious he hasn't, but then very few on ESB have watched more than Pavlik/Taylor I & II and Pavlik/Hopkins. (Maybe Pavlik/Miranda.)
Two head hunters, though. If Mayweather was getting hurt to the body, he would just make sure it wasn't available. His feet are fast enough to avoid getting trapped by Pavlik, who doesn't know how to cut the ring off.
I've seen Pavlik knock opponents who weighed close to 170 pounds over sideways with left hooks. I've seen Pavlik come very close to knocking opponents down with punches that landed on the gloves. There's video on You Tube of Pavlik sparking a guy with a lead right thrown off the back foot. There's video of Pavlik throwing fast-accurate combinations off the back foot. I saw Miranda bully the **** out of Abraham, but when he tried that with Pavlik, he got beat up. Winky ****ing Wright could not out jab Jermain Taylor. Pavlik did that TWICE. Bernard Hopkins tried to beat Jermain Taylor, and failed TWICE. Pavlik knocked JT out, and then scored a clear UD in the rematch. Kelly Pavlik is one of the biggest, strongest middleweight champions in history, and by age 16 he was already boxing well enough to win multiple national amatuer championships. Little Floyd would have to choose between getting brutally knocked out, or losing a boring UD.
floyd ud if it goes the distance...dont act like he would "walk over floyd"...it would be a competitive fight man