Good for him. Glad that Ward fight didn't happen. Didn't need to see drunk Pavlik in the ring again. Wish him well.
Dbouz, I've always felt you're a fair fan. :good Now that PAvlik is retired, you can't jump in the GGG bandwagon if you want.
i think it was quite obvious after the hopkins loss that he wasn't mentally right any more. he tried to come back but was beaten by martinez. he was done as a top level fighter. if he feels in his heart and mind that's it's over, then he's made the right decision. no point going out there when you're not at your best as this is a tough sport. it's hard enough when your mind is in the right place. but fighting when vulnerable, forget about it. i wish him well. he gave it his best shot, can't ask for more than that.
Reading between the lines of what he said about wanting to retire around the espino fight I think it's clear that the Hopkins fight was his swan song. Looking back on it he actually gave a good account of himself during the Martinez fight. It kinda goes under the radar of all the booze jokes that he fought Martinez a few weeks after he got out of rehab and barely made weight. That's not to say he would have won under ideal circumstances but considering all that he still gave what Martinez even said was his toughest fight. That's not bad. He was underrated then he was overrated (guilty) and the truth was probably somewhere in between. Dude was the legit champ of one of boxings banner divisions. Hopefully that's enough for him to hang his hat on and not drink himself into some dire straits in retirement.
So retire from fighting which can hurt your health and go back to drinking which can hurt your health. Pav had a big pay day out there!
Pavlik was a very good middleweight with world class power. He is right to retire though. He has no place at 168 and was never the same after the hopkins fight. Not the most skilled fighter but great power and great heart.
Would have been nice to see what Garcia could do with him though. Kelly never fully looked comfortable with implementing what Garcia was teaching him and you could see him having to think. I wonder if Garcia's training made him realize something?
Ward's announcement was weeks ago, so why the delayed response? Me thinks Paulie fell of the wagon again and does not want another rehab stay to hit the press. He'll be back.
Agreed. To many fighters stay in the game to long. He had a good career, hopefully he'll be wise with his money.