As much as I want to see him fight at middle weight I have to agree he looked more filled out and muscular then I have ever seen him.
To this day it baffles me that people thought a Pavlik vs. Abraham MW unification would have been some knock-down drag-out war. It's Pavlik bouncing his 1-2 off Abraham's guard for 8 rounds, and then Abraham starts to sloooowly rev up the engine looking for a big shot but probably not finding it. Pavlik 117-111, not that hard to envision how it would play out.
To be honest, after watching both AA and Pavlik against Miranda, it wasnt hard to think Pavlik vs AA would be a war. But after seeing both AA and Pavlik schooled, I agree Pavlik wins a wide decision even in Germany. ----------------------------------------- Actually maybe not in Germany. But on neutral territory, Pavlik UD AA
Miranda is one of the only people to ever lure Abraham out of his shell and drag him into a war...and to say that he's FAR more sloppily aggressive and less technical & patient than Pavlik is a pretty big understatement. :yep Having his jaw broken probably also helped with Arthur's sense of desperation and will to mix it up the night of their first meeting, too. By the time of the rematch, the blueprint on Miranda had been lain down and telegraphed the world over and his psyche (and chin) was cracked.
Abraham/Simon was probably not widely viewed outside of Germany. I saw it on a pretty good live stream. Back then Simon would have been very good preparation for KP, so it's pretty easy to watch that fight, and see how KP/AA would most likely play-out. One point I think was important is this: Simon, who did not have anyhing close to Pav's power, split Arthur's guard with jabs regularly.
I hope Pavlik continues to use his left hand more. He's always had a great arsenal of punches, as people have said; scored many stoppages with the left hook to the body early in his career. Nearly took Miranda and Taylor's head off with the left hook, and uppercut.
Reading this thread and seeing Pavlik fans still being absolutely sure Pavlik would destroy king Arthur reminds me why this fight still Should happen. Both fan bases of each fighter still has so much faith on their fighters. :good