I just can't see Pavik beating Hopkins

Bhops is just trying to hang on with the younger big names . . . and this is a bigger risk for Pav than for Bhops.

 

Yes it is an odd match-up. Here's the upside:

BHop is the #2 LHW in the world accoring to Ring Magazine. If the middleweight champ moves up and beats the #2 LHW in the world, that is a significant accomplishment.

BHop is #4 on Ring's p4p list. KP is #7. This is a chance for Pav to move up the food chain.

Hopkins is a living legend. Pavlik only came to national attention about 2 years ago, and came on the international scene just last year. At this point beating a legend is HUGE.

Out of all the opponents that were mentioned as possibilities, and were actually available, Bernard is very obviously the best available opponent. That shows Team Pavlik taking the high road.

Now here's the downside: Hops is 43, and coming off a loss.

It's really tough to predict how people would interpret a Pavlik win. If BHop wins at this stage of the game, that's HUGE.