The I'm Far From Convinced About Kelly Pavlik Thread!!

:deal that's about the long and short of it.

 

I keep going back to the Hopkins fight. And this is why? Were are talking about a 40plus year old Hopkins. Not the Hop that was a BEAST from 1999-2003. And he made Pavlik look like he was standing in Quicksand.

Now I know Pavlik is not the most "Fleet of Foot" fighter. But that was eye opening to see. So then immediately after that fight, he goes and fight two "stand there and hit me" fighters (Rubio and Espino) after postponing vs. Williams several times.

In this up-coming fight...Martinez moves very well, can use either hand and has a little "slick" in his style.

I just can't see Pavlik winning this fight...If he does, more props to him, But I see Martinez winning...EASY!!!

 

Pavlik had a great 2007 and was in the top 3 of FOTY that year but 2008 and 2009 has been horrible for him. Pavlik needs to reassert himself as an elite star in the sport soon cause as it stands now hes just a 1 hit wonder.

 

Martinez is a LMW fighter and even if Pavlik beats him it really doesn't prove anything because he is "suppose" to win!!!

Martinez has the style the can be problems for Pavlik but he is a true LMW and Pavlik needs to step up the comp against true MW and prove something!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah...I think Pavlik should chase the belts at MW.....Sylvester first then Sturm....maybe not the big money fights but when he has these belts he then goes to SMW for the big cash

 

Well, Jack just had a guy face Sylvester and said his belt would be the easiest one they ever picked up for Kelly. Sturm? Still a money problem with making that fight.

 

First let me say I am a fan of Abraham but that does not mean I dislike Kelly or that I think he sucks or anything like that.

Having said that, I'm not convinced either though it's not really his fault. The competition at MW is pretty dreadful. I just don't think that there are many fighters in that division that would give him problems. Sturm? I think Pavlik wins that easy. Plus, Sturm's still having contractual problems last time I checked. Gevor? He may have a harder time with Gevor than Sturm but at the end of the day I think Pavlik still wins that one as well. In my opinion promoters got in the way of a MW between him and Abraham. I honestly don't think either is afraid of the other but they both happen to be one of the prize cash cows in both Arum's and Sauerland's stable...and though I don't doubt that Kelly wanted the fight I don't trust a promoter who basically says "the fans can go **** themselves" over a big matchup (Gamboa/Juanma).

In the end Pavlik can really take a step forward if he beats both Martinez and Williams and then move up to 168 where there is a lot of talent. I do think he'll always have problems with slick fighters, but he has time to prove himself. The big thing to look out for in the Martinez fight is if Kelly has been "exposed" or if the Hopkins fight was a one-time thing. What I mean by that is probably best shown by ODLH vs. Tito where Oscar exploited vulnerabilities and then later Hopkins pretty much used a similar game plan even more effectively. So look out for how Kelly adapts to a slick fighter.

 

one-two basic fighter whose plan B is to "double the ****king jab".

How anyone can see that as anything special is beyond me.

 

I don't think people necessarily see it as special as much as it has been effective for him thus far in his career with the exception of the slick and clever Bernard Hopkins. His style may not exactly be Mayweather-esque but he knows who he is, he's a really tall and rangy pressure fighter with accumulative power who utilizes those advantages whenever he can.

 

The bottom line is Pavlik needs to fight top level competition so we as boxing fans feel he is a truly worthy MW champion!!! All the talk about him being the MW champ for 2 1/2 years(although true)sounds better than it actually is!!!

 

While this is true, a little bit of respect should be given for taking a fight with Hopkins even if he was the favorite and got his ass handed to him. As far as middleweights, the only big fight out there for him is Paul Williams if you count him as a middleweight. They should fight at 160 and then Kelly should move up to 168 if he wins.

 

I copied and pasted a good share of this post from a post on another thread. It's all relevant, and copying and pasting is easier and quicker than typing.

In a debate such as this one historical context matters. Pavlik knocked out the undamaged, undefeated, undisputed middleweight champion of the world 29 months ago.

It's only been 24 months since the rematch. The Taylor rematch was not a title defense because of the 166 pound weight limit. The weight was Jermain Taylor's stipulation, not Kelly's. It was all written into the original contract. Hopkins tried to beat Taylor twice, and failed. Winky Wright tried to beat Taylor, and failed. When KP scored a pretty clear UD over Jermain he succeeded where a a living legend, and a sure fire hall of famer failed.

Three months later Pavlik fought WBO mandatory Gary Lockett. Boxing fans seem to have very short memories. At the time everyone understood that Arum, Warren, and HBO manipulated Lockett's ranking because he was an Enzo Calzaghe fighter. At that time Slappy Joe could barely speak in complete sentences without saying "Kelly Pavlik." At the end of the day Joe ran the other direction.

The situation with Calzaghe left Kelly without a fall 2008 opponent. Top Rank tried to get Winky, but good old winky priced himself out. He refused $1.4 million and other considerations, and then sat on his ass and whined. Next they tried to get Williams because PW had been running his mouth as usual. Williams turned down what would have been a career high pay day, and priced himself out. BHop stepped up and ask for the spot. Kelly and Bernard made a deal in about a weeks time. There was no bull**** from either man. Both guys just said "let's do this." (Anyone who thinks KP ducked Abraham so he could fight Hopkins is out of their ****ing mind!)

A short 4 months later Pavlik handed Rubio a beating. Rubio has 11 fights at 160. His only loss at the weight was Pavlik. He won a legit eliminator, and then got thumped. Since then he has fought twice, and won both by KO.

After that it was time for KP to renegotiate his deal with Top Rank. Arum tried to shove Sergio Mora down Kelly's throat, but that fight disappeared during the negotiations for a new deal with Top Rank. By this time KP had already stated that he wanted the summer off to spend time with his family since his wife just had a baby.

Then the staph infection turned into a serious problem. After a brush with death, two surgeries, a hospital stay, and two failed efforts to make the PW fight happen, the WBC told KP to fight before the end of the year, or they would strip him. Top Rank had to find a ranked opponent KP could beat with one good hand, who would take the fight on short notice. Espino, to his credit, stepped up and took his shot.

Pavlik's hand came through just fine. Afterward Pavlik and Arum stood center ring and laughed at Williams. The deal that would net PW a career high pay day and a shot at the prestigious middleweight championship of the world is still on the table. Goosen took Williams into protective custody, but Sergio Martinez took the fight.

Arum, Dunkin, and Team Pavlik all wanted Kelly back in the ring no later than mid April. Considering the time frame, and the sorry state of the division, Martinez is the best fighter who is available, and actually willing to fight.

I've spent a considerable amount of time studyng Martinez lately, and I do not believe he is a particularly difficult opponent. History says small middleweights with less than stellar defense do not last more than nine rounds with Pavlik. I expect a KO somewhere between the 5th and 8th rounds. The win won't prove much. It will only prove that KP can still terrorize small middleweights who have many defensive flaws. Zuniga, Taylor, and Miranda were all better wins than Martinez will be, but this is a step in the right direction.

 

The guy almost ****ing died due to a staph infection that seriously threatened his life, now that he is finally better we should see the pavlik of old again, fighting anyone in his way and knocking them out.

 

Nah, I think Pavlik is very good. The Hopkins ownage took a lot out of him and may have hurt his confidence. I hope he gets past Martinez and we continue to see him in big fights.

 

I give him little credit for fighting Bhop but to tell you the truth everyone though Pavlik would win because Taylor beat Bhop twice and Pavlik beat Taylor twice!!

Even the betting lines were 4-1 in favor of KP and most people were wondering why Pavlik was fighting "old ass" Hopkins!!!

People wanna give KP credit after the loss but very few though he would lose in the fashion that he did and if he won it was against an past his prime Bhop after Taylor already beat Bhop 2X!!!!