Fair point, I wasn't too biased to concede that Gary did have a 'bad day at the office' v Monaghan (1), which is one of his worst performances that I've seen if not THE worst. I think he answered a lot of questions in the 2nd fight. IMO he won that first fight but he certainly didn't perform the way he should have/could have. I also think MM lacked a lot of grace after the 2nd fight claiming it shouldn't have been stopped (as he did v Carl Froch) but again thats no disrespect to the guy, you've got to believe to get in the ring. In respect of MM I also think there was a certain amount of gamesmanship in his comments, perhaps trying to get another fight and raise his own profile too, this is a business to a large extent these days after all.stujones wrote:Mmm... Now don't get me wrong, I don't like the tone and the language used by the likes of search concerning Lockett - its as if Gary has shagged his missus or something. However, I do think to say Gary "clearly" beat MM "no question" also shows bias.... I would say the vast majority of people see the fight differently.chris_23 wrote:We've established our thoughts on the Pavlik fight I think, as you say..
Re: Monaghan, for me he won the fight but granted he had a bad day at the office but there is no question that he won clearly. Gary took the rematch at short notice (as he had done the first fight too) and proved a point, although once again Monaghan had another moan about the ref stopping the fight. You've probably picked out one of Gary's worst performances there too..
No disrespect to MM but he isn't in Gary's class, his record has more defeats than wins for gods sake...http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?hu ... &cat=boxer
I personally think it is okay if a British fight fan doesn't want to support a fellow Brit on his world title question. For me, personally Boxing is the one sport in which I would like to see the best man win - irrespective of nationality.
However, the tone in some of the anti Lockett posts have been deplorable and must be stopped... at the same time I think maybe the people who are friends of Gary's must not rise to the bait. I personally don't think it is "wrong" not to be cheering on Pavlik, just because his opponent comes from these shores.... don't get me wrong, I'll be cheering for Gary - but thats because Pavlik is not my kind of fighter, not because Gary is Welsh.
Just going back to your other point; I agree that in boxing you want to see the best fighter win on skills/performance and not supported just because they are Welsh/British. I, personally wouldn't support someone just because they are Welsh/British although obviously its great for sport in this country (Britain) to be seen to competing on a world scale. I think its a great time for british boxing at the moment with a number of world champions compared to the few in years gone by.
I like Kelly Pavliks style/attitude because he the genuine article and even a defeat for Lockett with a good performance raises his stock considerably so it is a win-win situation for him. Having said that and not wishing to sound defeatist I do actually think people are underestimating Lockett and perhaps cherry picking examples of poor performances to highlight there own case, some more so than others and perhaps as you said they have an axe to grind somewhere down the line.
Personally I think lockett hasn't fought in the same class as Pavlik. Ironically aside from the Miranda fight this is a criticism Manny Steward levelled at Pavlik himself prior to the first Taylor bout. But as Pavlik himself said you can only fight the people they put infront of you at any given time. I think its widely accepted that Locketts career has stalled slightly in recent years but there is little an individual boxer can do to make fights happen, thats the promoters job.
Pavlik and Gary are very similar in some respects: both stellar junior amateurs (Pavlik US U19 champ/Lockett European U18 Champ), both were chucked into the seniors at 17 and defeated as kids effectively and both have had slow patches in their development. They are both big hitters and I think it makes for a cracking fight. Gary is under no illusion of what he's up against and has shown a lot of heart himself in the past eg Tsarenko fight (1) to come back from that and hasn't done himself favours by sometimes having had a less than brilliant relationship with promoters but being "your own man" never was easy was it..
Come June 7th, Gary gets the opportunity of a lifetime and I think he has a fantastic chance to show the world how good he is. I think its fantastic not because he is my friend or Welsh but because he is a tremendously talented fighter who deserves to be on that level. His record was a junior amateur was phenomenal culminating in Euro Jnr Gold and it would be a crying shame for that talent to be lost to a combination of poor decisions/performances/health. That level of amateur success comes from talent, I don't care what anyone says you simply do not win Euro Jnr Gold without the talent.
At one stage he had his boxing license revoked by the BBBC for a couple of years and it looked like this day would never come. After the license was reinstated he was playing catch up (too fast in my opinion) and was thrust (based on age not experience) into a position he was not yet ready for. The other major factor was weight - prior to the break of 2-3 years which is a long time, he was fine at light middle but he filled out and by 24 he should have stepped up to MW then but even killing himself to make weight had enough to stop Kevin Kelly. In the last 2 years he has matured greatly as a boxer and a person and I think he will do himself justice regardless of the outcome and prove to people why he deserves to be there.
He has a great chin, tremendous power and bigger heart than people realise. This is his chance to realise his potential and he's grabbing it with both hands - fair play to him!!
Whatever peoples opinion is of him, its not cut and dry by any stretch and Kelly Pavlik will know he's in a fight when he gets there and Gary could shock everyone!!