I cannot believe how underated Kelly Pavlik is

At middleweight, I'd pick him over everybody. UD over Abraham, TKO over Wright, KO over Duddy, Lockett, Sylvester, Sturm, Rubio, etc.

His size, ability to use his reach, punch output, and left jab are very formidable. He grinds guys down with a steady diet of power shots and puts them away in the mid/late rounds. But he's more than just a puncher; he's a cerebral fighter who always seems to enter the ring with a gameplan. I'd like to see him sharpen up his defense (picking off the jab,blocking punches, and using more head movement). A tighter defense would be necessary against Abraham. Another thing for him to work on is going to the body with more consistency, especially with the right hand. When he throws body punches, they have a big effect. Not many fighters stay at these higher weight classes anymore to really build a legacy. Let's hope Pavlik can continue to make weight for a few more and rack up 10 or more title defenses.

As far as him having the best punching skills/combinations/technique since Carlos Monzon, how about Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Julian Jackson, Roy Jones Jr, Gerald McClellan, and Bernard Hopkins?

 

If Kelly had a bit more speed..God help everyone...he can get beat to the punch by certain fighters

 

When considering Jermain Taylors questionable performances leading in to the Pavlik fight, there's no surprise that Pavlik still has to prove himself as a great.

Jermain looked pretty ordinary against Spinks, and his two wins over Hopkins were close, questionable decisions.

Ali didn't hang up his gloves after defeating Sonny Liston for the second time, and neither will Pavlik. Time is on his side.

 

Pavlik would eat Kessler for breakfast, Im sold on Kelly the two Jermain fights and his brutal KO of Miranda didi it for me. Kelly won his title the old fashion way he earned it fighting dangerous and quality opposition! this is a different animal than the hype jobs and cherry pickers that proliferate the game. Kelly is top 7 P4P for sure.

 

A fighter like Winky Wright, even at his now advanced age, has the tools to grind out a UD against the likes of Pavlik. Winky doesn't get hit a huge lot, and with Pavlik throwing that one-two combination, he'll be open for counters all night.

Winky likes fighters to come at him, and he successfully defeated Mosley on two occasions, who at middleweight, poses more speed and technical ability than Pavlik. Taking this into account, I have to ask myself, do I see Kelly Pavlik stopping Winky? No, Winky has never been stopped, and his defensive skills are some of the best out there. Do I see Pavlik outpointing Winky? So far I've seen very little variety from Pavlik to suggest he could break through Winky's defense and land more shots than Winky does counters. Just my take.

I feel the same could be said for Hopkins, and considering I see Pavlik losing both fights, I couldn't make a case for him being up there with Monzon, Hagler, Robinson, or Hopkins.

 

He hasn't even made one defence yet, don't get too carried away. Also JT was giving him a boxing lesson in the rematch until he started running out of gas.

 

He'd have alot of trouble with Hopkins, due to counter punching:deal

 

Agreed. I'm high on Pavlik at 160 but not on Pavlik at 168 or 170 (the catchweight that a Hopkins fight would likely occur at).

Calzaghe would thrive on Pavlik's style, too. As would Mikkel Kessler.

 

He definitely was early on.

 

I could make a case for Joe Calzaghe being faded on his performance against Hopkins but I'm smarter than that.

Winky Wright is still a great fighter, who I feel deserved the decision against Jermain Taylor when those two fought.

Ultimately, he was out hussled by Bernard Hopkins, a defensive and cagey fighter himself.

Against Pavlik, Winky would be up against a live opponent, who is throwing shots at him, and using up energy. I see most of those one-twos Kelly throws hitting Winky's arm, who then uses his excellent timing to throw counters. Styles make fights. A fighter like Winky performances better on the back foot with shots being thrown at him. That will happen against Pavlik.

I only see Pavlik winning from a knockout, but why would I anticipate that happening when Winky has never been stopped and hardly gets hit in his bouts?

Tell me how you think he defeats Winky?

 

:yep ( YEP )

 

Let's not forget that Wright had trouble with Sam Soliman and even more so, Jermain Taylor. With Soliman, it was the punch output and aggressiveness. With Taylor, it was the longer jab in the center of the ring.

I see Pavlik outjabbing him as well, keeping him at a distance, and using his superior physical strength to make Wright back up (which would already decrease his effectiveness because Wright prefers to come forward in a high volume style). Wright's lack of legs at this stage is going to be his downfall. The high-guard works great against smaller opponents, but when faced with a larger one, it can be broken. You can bet Pavlik would break through it after a while and really start to bust Winky up.

If he didn't stop Wright, he'd at least win a clear decision.

 

...and China_chin_Joe is whose alias?

 

Now that ya mention it ( southpaw ) ....Has Kelly ever fought any god southpaws??