much has been made about pavlik only being 26, already undisputed champ with a lot of time to improve. well honestly i don't see how he will, fighters with that style don't change much.
I agree that he's at his peak. Now it depends on his discipline at maintaining his force; He definitely looks to be a disciplined fighter, and the amount of damage he receives.
Yes he can and will get better. In the future we will probably start to see a little more head movement, a little less head hunting and more emphasis on body work. He's a helluva body puncher, but he sometimes relies to much on the double-jab - right-hand to the head. As he moves up in weight I think we'll see more emphasis on defense, and less emphasis on work-rate. Right now there are times when he seems to throw defense out the window in favor of moving forward throwing both hands. As he moves up in weight he will need to change that up a bit, and I think he will. Just for shits and giggles go back and look at the skinny kid who went to war with Zuniga, and compare that kid to the Pavlik of today. Over the next 3 years Kelly will improve almost as much as he did over the last 3 years.
that just proves he'll have all he can handle against someone with similar stamina, workrate, a punch and chin. :deal
This is a truly amazing thread. Before the Miranda fight a good 75% of the posters on this board said Pavlik would lose to Edison. They critisized his resume' by saying he hadn't fought anyone, and claimed miranda was to big and to strong for Pavlik. They critisized his chin because after all he suffered flash knock downs in two fights. Surely someone that chinny would not be able to handle Miranda's power. Kelly shocked the boxing world by eating Miranda's best shots like they were ****ing M&M's, and handed Miranda a beating. Pavlik TKO7 Miranda. Before the Taylor fight a solid 80% of the posters on ESB critisized Pavlik's resume' by saying he had only one quality win, and that Miranda didn't mean much because he was just a crude slugger. They also critisized Pavlik's level of experience, and claimed that JT's experience on the world stage gave him a significant edge. And finally, they criticized Pavlik's boxing ability and said Taylor was to fast and to atheletic for Pavlik. Pavlik TKO7 Taylor. Pavlik UD12 Taylor. Joe Calzaghe spent 7 months calling Pavlik out. Pavlik said yes at least 3 times. Bob Arum said making that fight was his #1 priority. An offer of 10 million pounds was made to Calzaghe. On or About June 12th or 13th Joe misplaced his balls, and now opts to fight a VERY shot version of Roy Jones. And Now The Criticism Is That Pavlik Is As Good As He Is Ever Going To Getatsch
i understand what u say about his styles and the little room for improvement, but there is always room for some fine tunning and ring IQ growth, add to that some valuable experience, and i say there are some final touches that could make a big difference.