Pavlik vs. Duran at 160 -- Who wins?

EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID I ALREADY KNOW..OF COURSE RAY WASN'T AN ATG WHEN DURAN BEAT HIM..I'D RANK RAY HIGHER ON AN ATG LIST NE DAY OVER DURAN!!....NO FIGHTER WAS AN ATG 3 YEARS INTO THERE CAREER..:nono

 

I think Duran would beat him - he was still a hell of a fighter at that weight, and Pavlik is too predictable for such a smart fighter as Duran. The past-his-prime Duran that beat Barkley put on a great boxing display, and I think he'd do the same to Pavlik.

A better question might be: who would win between Barkley vs Pavlik? That would be a better matchup - and I gotta give the edge to Barkley there..

 

Incredible fight. I have to give the edge to Barkley also. The guys who beat him usually did not stop him but outsmarted him like Nunn or Toney. Benn stopped him but on the 3 knockdown rule. I always thought that if that rule did not apply, Barkley could have come back and won. But Benn was much faster than Pavlik. I would think Barkley could land a haymaker and stop Pavlik in about round 4 or 5. Barkley would enjoy going to war.

 

Me 2. And, along the same line of thought, Barkley over Calzaghe as well.

 

I could see Barkley beat Pavlik but not Calzaghe. Calzaghe would outspeed him and bust him up and probably stop him late like Toney did.

 

No, he wouldn't. Barkley wouldn't be 40. And Calzaghe isn't James Toney (or even a Nunn, Benn, or Kalumbay).

 

Stylewise I could see Barkley knockout Pavlik and overwhelm him, but Calzaghe would be hard for Barkley to beat. Calzaghe would use his speed and slapping punches to win rounds and bust up Barkley and he would probably stop him. Different styles. Pavlik has the style which works in Barkley's favor.

 

Barkley won't be 40 so he won't be "bust up" by Joe. Barkley has been in with better opponents than Joe (and only Toney & Benn (and that stoppage was premature (3 KD rule as you said) in a great round in which Benn was hurt as well) stopped him - the early (Sims) and late ones are hardly relevant - Adolpho Washington at cruiser). If he can go the distance competitively with prime Nunn or Liles, then fighting Joe is no problem at all. If anyone gets stopped it's Calzaghe. Joe fought Eubank then no one as decent as that version of Eubank until 2006 (generously considered). He had two fights (JL & MK) and then two more against non-peak ATGs (one a complete shell) and called it a career. He never really campaigned as a LHW, he was never a power puncher, and he was never that formidable. He was good. Very good even. But not great. Really, his record is completely misleading. Barkley's power would have greatly troubled Joe (and there are a few dozen guys that would have done the same). Consider all the really mediocre (on a historical basis) guys that Joe struggled against.

Who are the victims that Joe looked so amazing against that would lead you to believe that he "busts up and probably stops (prime) Iran Barkley"? Jeff Lacy? Mitchell? Kessler? His struggle against Eubank? His struggle against a 43-year old Hopkins? His struggle against Salem? His less than amazing performances against Brewer or Bika? Or, his struggle with Robin Reid? After this (and Woodall and Sheika I guess) the rest were basically cans (maybe I'm missing somebody else off the top of my head).

When you think about it, even considering styles, isn't it more likely that at best, Barkley versus Calzaghe would be a really tough fight?

 

Lacy,Kessler,Hopkins,Jones. Calzaghe showed great speed and skills. Barkley fought some great guys with Kalambay and Hearns and Nunn and Benn and Duran but he was still busted up by all of them. It is just my thinking that Calzaghe with top rated guys beat them all and used speed to do it, and that was always Barkley's achilles heal.

 

The endurance of Roberto Duran will win this great fight.
And the mobility and boxing technique of Pavlik can also beat Duran

 

I would say yes

 

I gotta go with Duran on this one.

 

How do you rank Floyd ahead of duran at lightweight?? He beats duran h2h IMO but he doesn't rank higher?? :huh At 130 Floyd is the GOAT IMO!!

 

No Poll? I honestly can't choose, I'd say eaither way...

 

I would think the IBRO (International Boxing Reseach Organization), would know a little bit about boxing, since that's why they exist.

They have voted Duran 2nd as a lightweight, and 20th at Welterweight (Leonard was ranked 2nd at WW). On a p4p basis he was ranked 7th.

Now I know this is the collective opinion of a lot of boxing experts and there can be differences, but you're way out in left field when it comes to appreciating Duran at lightweight.

Personally I've seen most of Duran's fights, and when he's on his game he's a master. That doesn't excuss any of his losses but if one assumes he'd be fightiing Kelly at or near his best, he'd have a great chance of winning. Why? One basic word, Defense. Duran had the ability to hit and not get hit extremely well, and he would neutralize the size difference by making it an inside fight and staying close to him. If it's one thing Hopkins exposed in Kelly it's his lack of defense.

Now having said that it's not a given that Duran wins and it's not an easy fight, but this is my best prediction.