They would suit his style more than the attributes which Hopkins and Martinez brought. I'd choose Froch/Kessler over him though
Last time i checked Pavlik was struggling to make weight and indeed was thought by some (following defeats) to be drained. Surely the logical step therefore would be for him to go up to SMW?
Obviously if at 160 Pavlik would most likely be the winner. As he weighed in at 179lbs on the night against Martinez, I'm pretty sure he'd be comfortable weight wise at SMW though. Lots of good fights that could be made at 168!
Everytime we see a Kelly Pavlik fantasy fight thread it's some hater pitting him against an all time great, or someone from a higher division. And it invloves a ridiculous double standard. When was the last time you saw a Kessler/Jones at 168 thread? When was the last time you saw a Monzon/Abraham thread? That sort of **** is a daily occurence with Pavlik.
I'm not talking about anyone specific and I certainly don't hate him. Just I think there are more good fights for him at SMW which would be good contests. Froch vs Pavlik for e.g would be a great fight and Froch would actually suit KP's best attributes IMO. Possible fights could include Froch, Andrade, Kessler, Bute, Green, Miranda rematch, Abraham etc. I just see more for him at 168 (which with his frame i'm sure he'd be comfortable with) than at 160. At 160: Martinez rematch, Williams, and that's about it in terms of big fights really.....
I agree with most of your points. However, if he can stay at 160 without risking his health, he should do it. If he were to win a rematch with Martinez, the Pavlik/Martinez/Williams triangle could take a couple years to resolve. By that time, a bunch of young talent will be ready to step up. If he can't make 160, he needs to move to 168 the right way. That would mean a couple of tune-up type fights before taking on anyone in the top 10. His performance the other night did not look like the same kid I watched come up through the ranks. I'm really not sure he has much left. He's only 28, but he's been boxing since he was 9 years old.
There's definitely something missing. I don't know whether it's confidence or maybe even ring-rust. He didn't fight a live opponent for 18 months which is a long time. Similar to Kessler before he fought Ward. After that fight a lot of people commented on Kessler not looking the same either. In a rematch i'd still pick Martinez, i'd however pick Pavlik over Williams if he shows a bit more aggression. Williams has next to no defence and just comes in square on a lot of the time. Of course, Williams is very hard to beat for most fighters simply due to his workrate but it's a winnable fight for Pavlik IMO. At 168 I think a rematch with Miranda or possibly Bika would be good first options before moving on to something bigger.
Would be interesting. I'm glad Kessler got the win tonight but even with that he's not what he once was(not mentally, he just doesn't have the same precision as he would have against a guy like Froch a few years ago). Froch, is a lot craftier than I originally thought. I think I'd have to favor them both against Pavlik at 168.