A few seconds ago Abraham said in an interview after his mandatory defense he wants to fight Pavlik or dela Hoya.
rofl this de la hoya calling out is getting ridiculous, i know everyones trying to make a buck, but damn.
Kelly definately is the more active and would win over 12 rounds but this fight showed that AA can counter well and perform up to the level of opposition...if Kelly tries to bang with him it will be lights ou and we would have a NEW world middleweight champion...
Yup, this would be the main event in one of boxing's glamour divisions. A unification title fight between WBC/WBO/The Ring Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik vs. the IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham.
I've always felt Abraham was the best MW out today. I personally think it's a pickem between him and Pavlik, but I think Abraham could probably pull it off.
The real question for me is whether Pavlik will be able to punch through the guard... Abraham has the Winky style, but less active and with much more power. If Pavlik can't make a dent early, I think you're going to see Abraham lulling him into traps and then teeing off... but Pavlik has good defense...this fight could end up another war of blocked shots... Or an explosive KO of course.
Ill be rooting for Pavlik but Abe is going to be a stylistic nightmare for him. Abe can effectively block all of Pavlik's shots and there is no doubt in my mind he will be able to land some big shots on Kelly. Im not a fan of Pavlik's chin either, but unless Pavlik surprises us and shows us he can fight on his backfoot, Im picking Abraham.
Pavlik seems to have a good beard. But he definitely seems better on his feet when he sees the punches coming...when he sees them, he takes them well, as shown against Miranda and a few of his previous opponents before that. But Abraham could very well catch him while sleeping...