stujones wrote:Fair enough at the moan of his previous opponents, and while Kelly Pavlik isn't that great - there isn't much else in terms of the available talent. 42 year old Glen Johnson?, Arthur Abraham (0-3 in his last 3), Dirrell has been out of action for 18 months, Ward and Froch are unavailable.... Kessler seems to be going for Steiglitz.
Pavlik is perfectly acceptable.... had Froch been facing Pavlik and not Johnson there would be no criticisms.
The problem with a Pavlik fight is that its legitimacy as a test for Bute is based on Pavliks past achievements, at a lower weight, rather than on current form. If Kelly has his head together, is properly prepared and has his 2006-8 game head on then it is a real test for Lucien. If, however, Pavliks many problems outside the ring still impact his performance, Bute could blow him away with a few rounds and it'll be dismissed as another easy fight for Bute. It's one that will really only be known in hindsight, unless Pavlik can prove his current level in a decent performance before going in with Bute.
Put another way, assuming Bute wins and fights the winner of Froch-Ward, the respective paths (Fights over the same period) to that match up would have been...
Ward - Kessler, Bika, Green, Abraham, Froch
Froch - Dirrell, Kessler, Abraham, Johnson, Ward
Bute - Andrade, Miranda, Brinkley, Magee, Mendy, Pavlik
