Pavlik Fans... Honest Question..

He should move up to '68, yes. There's nothing left for him at 160. But the Super Six tournament might of put an end to moving up given all the best fighters are tied up for a while. Unless he's going to fight the winner of Bute v Andrade (Bute).

 

fair question...

i've always said i was nervous about the fight. for one, b/c i think williams is a tough fight for anyone 147-160. but more importantly b/c kelly has much more to lose than williams. williams loses its sucks for him but at the end of the day its no big deal b/c he can just clean house at 154 and still beat anyone else at 160. if kelly loses, you are right, it will seriously hurt his career. i know any fight against williams would have a rematch clause for kelly, but still.

having said that, if kelly really wants williams, then he should fight him. i can't imagine it doesnt weigh on any fighter that he moved up a weight class b/c he didnt think he could beat a fighter that he wanted to fight (or that it just wasnt worth the risk). i think that would **** with a fighters head too much. and 168 is a shark tank at the moment. kelly needs his mind right if he is gonna move up. wanting williams at 160 but moving up to 168 b/c the risk/reward for williams isnt there for his handlers may not be the best move.

they are the two best mw's in the world. didnt you just make a thread on why the best don't fight the best

 

i hear ya...

its a tough spot for kelly. he does have a lot to lose if he fights williams and loses at 160. a lot to lose. but at the same time, if he wants paul, thinks he can beat paul, but is convinced by his handlers to move up anyways b/c its too risky...i dunno if that would mess with his head. that he has unfinished business (considering that the fight was on/off/on/off,etc.) or that maybe his own people dont have confidence in him.

think about it like that.

Kelly: i want paul and think i can beat paul...make the fight happen...

Cam/Jack/Mike: i dunno kelly, its too risky...maybe you should move up instead...

these are guys that have been with him since day 1 and to hear them not want kelly to fight a guy b/c he's too risky and to move up instead might start making him doubt himself as well.

just a thought...

edit to add in support...if this is his division and he's the mw champ, he'd be running out of his own division w/o even putting up a fight? that has to **** with someone's head. i can't say for certain b/c i don't know what was running through his head, but jt had to be saying something like that to himself..."damn i'm being run out of my division and have to move up." again, just a thought...

 

I think 168 would be his best bet. If he beats Williams then he has wasted a year of his career to fight and beat a large welterweight. If he loses to Williams his career starts to slide off the radar.

At 168 he matches up well with Froch stylistically. I think he should go after a fight like that down the track. If he loses to a top dog at 168 it won't do irreparable damage. But the fact is if he is as good as he should be, he should knock Williams out, then he can worry about moving up, cause theres certainly nothing happening at MW, one of the weakest divisions in the sport.

 

A loss to Williams would be devistating.

I think a guy like Pavlik would still earn a nice living in the ring as a good journeyman, ESPN would have him on a couple of times a year etc. Micky Ward like,

 

we all saw jermain taylors move to 168... look what happend

 

ohhh pavlik would ****ing Kill froch thats a No brainer

 

I am absolutely confident that Pavlik will KO Williams emphatically. I'm also confident that he is not a natural Super Middleweight, and that there are a lot of guys in the division that would give him close, hard fights (Andrade, Bute, Abraham) and some that would beat him (Kessler, maybe Ward, maybe Dirrell). If he's looking to make a name for himself, beating Williams is the way to go. After that, unification is a boost to his legacy if he can achieve it. Otherwise, he needs to move up very carefully to 168 and try and capture a belt or fight the winner of Bute/Andrade.

Williams has had enough of Team Pavlik (and I can't blame him after how they've messed him around). That's not to say that the fight will never happen, because it's probably going to be Pdub's biggest payday (especially seeing as no-one at 147 wants to fight him), so he might change his mind. If it doesn't happen, it'll be unfortunate for Pavlik: in my view, Williams is tailor-made to make Pavlik look good. He's the kind of stand-up guy that would produce an exciting fight, but he's just not big enough to compete punch-for-punch when it comes down to it.

Both career-wise, legacy-wise and popularity-wise, Williams is a dream come true for Pavlik. Let's just hope it happens.

 

I don't see why you think Williams is a harder fight for Pavlik than the possible fights at 168 (which isn't even Pavlik's weight).

 

well??:think

 

no

Pavlik should definitely stay at 160 and stalk the Williams fight. HBO wants it and its a fight that Pavlik will likely win in dominant fashion by KO. After the win, the Pavlik haters will go into a spin, repeating all the things Williams detractors had said about Paul to diminish what Pavlik has accomplished.

"oh he already lost to Quintana"
"he only ever beat an old Winky and had trouble with Margarito who Mosley destroyed"

Anyways, Pavlik is making all the right moves. The correct move was not to fight with the staph infection. The next correct move will be to make the Williams fight. If he can do a tune up first at this point that might be good seeing how long he has been off now.

 

I don't really understand the question, Kelly is having serious health issues and that's number one priority. If he has to take some time off to recover that would be wise.

As for the Williams fight I always want him to take it, Williams hype is huge, and undeservedly so. I know Pavlik will KO him and hopefully the hype can be put back in it's rightful place. Same as the Miranda situation, same result as well.

WWM you should start focusing on Sergio Martinez, the KP fight is gone.