Could Pavlik go the same way as Lacy ????

[the patriot]

I mean there a a lot of similaraties between them :-

Both unbeaten.

Both big-punchers.

Both deemed "the next big thing"

Both totally outclassed by boxers deemed in the twilight of their careers.

Lacy has never been the same since Joe Calzaghe took him to school, I wonder how Pavlik will bounce back????

[Rocky Balboa]

Pavlik will bounce back by moving back down to MW & defending his titles. I can't see Pavlik being a similar case to Lacy, I just can't see it. However, I could be wrong. Hopkins did indeed school Kelly. Pavlik did not have B-hop in trouble once. Kelly should try learning a lot from the defeat.

I hope he can come back a better fighter for the loss. He's only 26 & therefore plenty of time to adjust, work on his weaknesses & make improvements.

Maybe Hopkins could help Pavlik in getting over the loss? Bernard has done the same in the past himself so why not? After the fight, B-Hop even gave Pavlik some encouragement & said he would take Kelly to the gym if he had to lol!

[steve689]

I think this is an extremely valid point. As I mentioned in a previous post, Pavlik filled out quite a bit and despite being tall for Middleweight it appears that the extra strength down there suits him. I suppose in the past like Lockett mentioned, Pavlik had been drawing himself thin and then re-hydrating into a Light-Heavyweight and using the physical advantages as an extra weapon. At the supposedly more comfortable weight limit he was faced by a man who had bulked up to the same weight and therefore he was unable to impose himself as well. Just a theory that one.

I said before and I say again that I feel Abraham beats Pavlik at Middleweight, unless Pavlik can set a torried workrate then Abraham will conserve energy and catch him with pot shots. He'll fancy his chances even more now.

Pavlik's next move should be back down to his former weight and then see how he fares. I'm sure Paul Williams will be permanently staying at Middleweight now he has seen the way Hopkins dismantled Kelly.

[Rocky Balboa]

Pavlik's next move should be back down to his former weight and then see how he fares. I'm sure Paul Williams will be permanently staying at Middleweight now he has seen the way Hopkins dismantled Kelly.

Williams is a good fighter, no doubt about that, but just because Hopkins took Pavlik to school does not mean Williams will do the same. If Pavlik-Williams were to happen at MW, I'm sure Kelly would be significently bigger than Paul come fight.

Hopkins is a great, great fighter & Williams has a long way to go before he achieves anything near what the great Hopkins has!

I'd love to Williams-Pavlik though!

[Adamj1987]

I mean there a a lot of similaraties between them :-

Both unbeaten.

Both big-punchers.

Both deemed "the next big thing"

Both totally outclassed by boxers deemed in the twilight of their careers.

Lacy has never been the same since Joe Calzaghe took him to school, I wonder how Pavlik will bounce back????

he'll bounce back as most of his challengers at SM or M are made for him its only top defencive fighters like hopkins that will beat him, and you can bet his defence will improve in later fights and add a Plan B

[whiskey]

He was outweighed by 13 pounds on the night.

Hopkins dried out to make 170lb..wheras Kelly ate himself up to the weight.

[ALI]

No way can Pavlik be considered in the same regard as Lacy. Before Lacy got tanked from Calzaghe, name me his best victory?

Pavlik beat Taylor, twice, and i hold Taylor in the very highest regard. He's a hell of a fighter and for Pavlik to KO him was something pretty special, then to get the points verdict (even if it was razor thin) is exceptional IMO. Styles make fights, and its obvious now that Hopkins was Pavlik's worst nightmare, but i'm sure he'll still be the man at middleweight. Saying that, a fight between him and Abraham is mouthwatering and a hard one to call.

No matter what happens to Pavlik from here on in, he's no Jeff Lacy and never will be!

[ALI]

He was outweighed by 13 pounds on the night.

Hopkins dried out to make 170lb..wheras Kelly ate himself up to the weight.

That is a point, Hopkins did look to me to be the much bigger of the two. However, had they met at middle weight, i still could not see Pavlik beating Hopkins. Styles make fights and Hopkins beats Pavlik everytime.

[banjo]

Pavliks will always face problems against skillfull and accurate fighters like Hopkins because he is so easy to hit, I doubt he'll go the same way as Lacy but he'll never be an elite fighter

[tonyevs]

Pavlik will need to re-establish himself .. and the only real way to do that is against Arthur Abraham.

The Hopkins fight was all wrong for him from the word go .. it really was a lose-lose situation.

Anybody read the Hopkins tribute in BN this week? ... the writer was/is obviously a big big fan of B-Hops, as great as Hopkins wins have been ... the style he`s often gone about them will never put him on par with the former greats at the weight.

[WildWaylon]

No way will Pavlik give up. His pride has been shattered not just by the loss, but by the landslide victory inflicted on him by Hopkins, even so he will still bounce back. Must be hard for him being taken apart by a man 17 years his senior who he was confident of beating. I dont expect him to fight anytime soon but when he has to he will. I expect to see him have a much tighter defense in the future and I am pretty sure he will only fight at middleweight or SMW.

[WildWaylon]

Pavlik will need to re-establish himself .. and the only real way to do that is against Arthur Abraham.

The Hopkins fight was all wrong for him from the word go .. it really was a lose-lose situation.

Anybody read the Hopkins tribute in BN this week? ... the writer was/is obviously a big big fan of B-Hops, as great as Hopkins wins have been ... the style he`s often gone about them will never put him on par with the former greats at the weight.

I agree Abraham is the man to beat to put him back on top but FFS not straight away. His confidence has been badly shattered and he needs a Lockett type fighter to feel his way back.

[caffrey]

Pavliks will always face problems against skillfull and accurate fighters like Hopkins because he is so easy to hit, I doubt he'll go the same way as Lacy but he'll never be an elite fighter

agree. Pavlik is a good world class fighter but to have him at number three pound for p;ound as some had him is ridiculous.To be an elite fighter you need to have the complete package power,heart,skill,defence and stamina and pavlik falls short.He was way overated and got taken to school by a supreme athlete

[BAMBI]

He is still Dominant in 160 division. But will his body hold up at that weight for long? I do think Kessler will beat him @ SMW, if they ever do meet ?

Lacy was exposed at his weight class, pav was schooled at a class he has never fought before (not saying the weight was a huge factor for the fight on sat night).

But all salute goes to HOPKINS, he was the reason why pav looked shit.

If lacy can score a KO over Taylor, then maybe he can resurface back into the mix.

[stujones]

Pavlik isn't dominant in any devision yet... he's made 1 defence of his title vs Gary Lockett - since when does that make you a dominant fighter. Oh he beat the man, he beat the man who many (if not most) believe has won one world title fight against Kassim Ouma. Taylor hardly looked like a reign of terror.

As for him coming back, well personally I don't think this loss is going to do much physical harm (Lacy was physically damaged good as well as mentally shot). However, Hopkins exposed him as limited and 2 dimensional, but then IMO so did Taylor untill the power got him out of Jail. Having said that - who is screaming out of me from the Middleweight devision as the 2nd coming.... nobody.

I think Pavlik vs Abraham would be a nice fight, between to good, but not potentially great, fighter with limitations - as I would feel the same with Sturm and the other champs/contenders and I thought that pre Hopkins.

[observer1]

Pavlik is much much better than lacy imo.

[Gray-Fox]

Agreed.

[Carbo]

While Hopkins dominated, schooled and befuddled Pavlik, and even rocked him a couple of times, Calzaghe really put the beat down on Lacy. Pavlik was simply befuddled by a the swan song of a genius, but Lacy really took an awful beating.

I think Calzaghe actually didn't so much expose Lacy, as ruin him.

[Poncey]

Lacy ain't no Pavlik. He's a David Reid. Kelly's just a big, strong, middleweight.

Be interesting to see how he handles a 160 pounder with a good jab.

[Tykemania]

Massive differences between the two - although both were built up to be big bad monsters, Lacy was a genuinely big one punch hitter with limited technique, whereas Pavlik was mor of a pressure hitter. Pavlik has beaten better men than Lacy ever did too.

In terms of the fight I think the difference is that Pavlik was stuffed but never really hurt, whereas Lacy was comprehensively humiliated, and should really have been stopped in the sixth.

I actually think that what was really surprising Saturday was how ripped Hopkins looked at 170 - I think the act of having to work off those extra five pounds seemed to have given him more snap and stamina.

[Autobarn]

It COULD all go wrong. He's fought at 169 and 163 (or so) in his last 3 fights. He is big at middleweight, and he could really weaken himself making 160.

Then again, Abraham seems to be in the same boat. Made himself sick making weight in last fight, Raul Marquez. Having KO'd Miranda at catchweight in the fight before.

Pavlik and Abraham may have to fight at super middleweight. Should they instead gun for the title holders at super middle (Bute, Inkin & vacant crowns)?

So Pavlik has a potential war with Abraham, and there's some tricky fighters at 168, and some big strong guys at 168 (Pavlik won't be able to bully as well as he did at 160). Let's see how he handles it. I don't think he'll fall off as bad as Lacy did.

[stujones]

Is it confirmed it was weight making difficulties for Abraham that caused his sickness?

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

He was outweighed by 13 pounds on the night.

Hopkins dried out to make 170lb..wheras Kelly ate himself up to the weight.

Source???

Pavliks been better fighters than Lacy ever did AND has only 2 threats at 160, Williams and Abraham

[Asterix]

Hopkins did look physically bigger than Pavlik, especially in his arms.

[El Raincoat]

It's very possible, i also wonder the same about Cotto.

I think Pavlik can drop back to 160 get a few fights against the likes of Rubio & Duddy etc these guys should help him rebuild his confidence. I'd be tempted to go after Paul Williams then too.