Are there any legit contenders that can beat Pavlik. I think Duddy or a Taylor rematch would be a suicidal tendacie for either of there careera
At 168, there are guys who can beat him. Obviously Calzaghe and Kessler come to mind immediately, but Lucian Bute, Carl Froch, Jeff Lacy, Anthony Mundine would all have good shots as well. However, all of them could lose to Pavlik as well, so we'll see. And if Chad Dawson moved back down to 168, you would have to give him the edge based on his athleticism, speed, and craft. At 160, I don't think anybody beats him.
I think Calzaghe would beat him. He's not too quick Pavlik, and I think Joes handspeed would really cause him problems. That said, Pavlik appears to have some serious firepower, and finishing ability.
calzaghe, kessler, abraham probably, at a 170 pound cath weight chad dawson woops dat ass 4 damn sure
At middleweight maybe Abraham. Kelly is not unbeatable. He's a little slow and can be outboxed. But his power and relentless pressure makes it very hard toi beat him. You have to remember that he has fought alot of good fighters but they were also made to order for him. They didnt move and elected to slug it out with him. i dont think Abraham would be that stupid but probably still lose. Winky doesnt hit hard enough to keep Pavlik off of him but he wont knock Wink out. You could forget about that. Maybe Wink could out point him...maybe
At 168 Calzaghe, Kessler and mabye even Bute would be favored over him. Daswson could move down and school him. Lacy and Green both have a chance as well.
I think a fight with Abraham would be very intriguing, but looking at it and breaking it down, I think you've got to give the edge to Pavlik.
Abraham puts his head in his gloves and covers his body with his arms for the first 2 minutes of every rounds while his opponents wail away. Then, he throws punches for the last minute of every round in flurries. I DESPISE this fighting style. His defense (put head in gloves, cover body, sit on ropes) takes no effort at all, yet noones been able to crack it. I think he is terrible for boxing. That said, he would have a chance vs. Pavlik. He is good at throwing flurries, which Pavlik is bad at defending. Also, I have no idea whether or not Pavlik will be the first to crack his defense. If Pavlik knows how to break the turtle shell, he wins EASILY. Otherwise, it's a rough fight.
The people who are saying he's unbeatable at 160 are stupid. He's befuddled by hand speed, he can be hurt, and he's slow. He can punch but his power if more accumulative, Taylor and Miranda were come forward brawlers, he would struggle against a boxer.