Kelly was taking in very little calories and burning nothing, despite working his ass off, just weeks before the fight. The extra muscle was a huge detriment to him losing weight. The loss of nutrition likely contributed to the cuts bleeding as badly as they did (I still think the cutman could have done a better job) and his fatigue late in the fight. Bottom line: Martinez fought a great and smart fight from the 9th round on.
nor do i, he should build up against guys like Macklin, Barker and Lee. Fighters in which all offer different things, if he beats them then i would say he was ready to step it up again. Im really not sure how to gauge the Jacobs victory but im pretty sure the guys i mentioned are a step up for Pirog.
I think fernando guerrero is next in line for pirog , thanks to the NABO, NABF titles he secured. If fernando doesnt take the shot i wonder would he defend his regional titles against mcewan, lee, jacobs maybe?
The transcript of Pirog's Russian Post Fight Press Conference is on B.S. Pirog said he would fight Pavlik at a catchweight. Before the Martinez fight it was the last 5 pounds that caused KP all the problems, and he exhausted himself the last few days before the fight. At 164-65 Kelly squashes this guy.
If HBO will buy it, there a plenty of reasons. Stay busy, make money, show the fans he's not half shot, acclimate to a new weight, and most of all, kick a turd out of an over-hyped paper titlist on international TV. On Pirog's end Pavlik at a catchweight would be very foolish. Get's his ass kicked by a veteran but keeps his title, sound familiar?
if pavlik loses this fight it is over for him and infact he will be remembered as a c+ fight with one B level win.
I can see Guerrero being Jacobs'd tbh. Guerrero definitely needs some more experience. Guerrero Lee would be a fight i'd love to see. Pirog sounded as if he's been watching and studying Pavlik for years and years. I imagine he's had a gameplan devised for quite a while.
This discussion is premature. As it turns out the whole time Arum and Team Pavlik have been talking, Kelly was in Hawaii on a sort of second honeymoon with his wife. KP knew nothing of the discussion, and his comments since he returned seemed to be directed toward putting everybody in check. Pavlik moving to 168 is still far more likely than Pavlik fighting anybody at 160.
If a nutritionist comes up with a plan for KP to make 160 and be strong and healthy, he should still try to fight Chavez junior, not Pirog. I think we can expect Goosen and diBella to anounce the Martinez/Williams rematch any day now. I believe Williams will probably win again. Beating Chavez would make Pav the WBC's #1 contender, and PDub's mandatory. Dan Goosen could then take his demand for a 50/50 co-promotion and shove it straight up his ass. On the other hand, the orgs are weird. If Pavlik fought and beat Pirog, he would become the WBO world titlist, and the WBC probably wouldn't even rank him. Goosen could keep his dog and pony show going forever. In the immortal words of Rocky Balboa, "It's strategy man!"