The fact that Sergio isn't a great finisher either makes that aspect of the fight extremely slanted in Pavlik's favor. He CAN finish Sergio, Sergio can't finish him, it allows Pavlik to sort of get wild.
I understand you. I like JT and happen to be a huge Meldrick Taylor fan and hope to get their fights before this year is up. Talk about potential...:-(
i agree. many people think a sergio win is a foregone conclusion just like many think a pavlik win is a foregone conclusion. taylor and hopkins were both top 5 p4p fighters when they fought kelly. hopkins is hardly elite"ish." i am very disappointed w/ how everything has gone since kelly became champ. but there is more than enough time to make up for lost time. he's young.
Funny thing is that Hopkins had Taylor hurt in the later rounds of their fight but because Hopkins isn't really aggressive at finishing opponents he let JT off!!
In fairness, the "-ish" was aimed more at Taylor than Hopkins. He burned very brightly for a year or two but then seemed to fade. Yeah. Kelly definitely still has time. It's a shame, really, as he seems caught in a bit of a no-man's land at middleweight through no fault of his own. The bigger beasts are battling it out at super-middle, and the likes of Martinez/Williams/Cintron are in that weird no-man's land where they can't decide to move-up, move down, or stay where they are.
Problem will be worse at SMW after the tourney because you will now have 6 losers (because of Taylor pulling out). Something will have to change to make the division exciting again from the casual fan stand point. The winner of the tourney fights the winner of Pavlik/Bute and then what is left for him?
Good point. Although it depends on how they want to play it. Nobody looks at the 70's heavyweight division as being bad, even though there were a lot of big beasts in there and they all fought and lost to each other. I guess we'll have to see how the tournament plays out.
there is a lot of talent that will be coming up at mw in the coming years. if kelly can stick around long enough he'll have some very solid fights. (bigbone's mw thread has them all). but "haglerwon," you are very right about the current landscape.
Pavlik had a nice two year stint but unlike Taylor his handlers has put him up against weak opposition!! JT after gaining Belts Bhop(again) Wright Ouma Spinks Pavlik 2X Lacy Froch Abraham KP after gaining Belts Taylor(again) Lockett Hopkins Rubio Espino When your a MW champ or X-MW champ you should have a resume like Taylor's!!
this is a much better than those damn trolling ass "pav is champ" threads that litter this board. thought i'd share that :good
rubio just won yet another title eliminator he won't be installed as the mandatory just yet from what i gather. but still....shows the current depth of the mw division. but many good young fighters are on the way. kelly will have a crop of good fights to choose from. and... seeing how bernard is on the warpath to right previous wrongs... don't be surprised to see hopkins/taylor III soon... (i kid i kid)