WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is tired of the critics going after him. He thinks he did more than some of the other middleweight champions in his era, like Arthur Abraham, who moved up to super middleweight last year and current WBA champion Felix Sturm. Pavlik says the critics go after him all the time and they rarely went after some of the other middleweight champions.
"The flak is always going to be there, but if people go back and think about it, Abraham got the middleweight world title by vacancy. He didn't fight nobody to win the world title. Who did Arthur Abraham defended his world title against? What big names did he defend his world title against and why didn't he get the flak? Who did Sturm defend his hand-given WBA title against? Nobody," Pavlik said.
David Benavidez vs Andy Ruiz Jr?! Jose Benavidez Sr. REVEALS Huge Fight Plans
David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
Next Saturday Pavlik steps in the ring with his most dangerous opponent since the 2008 fight with Bernard Hopkins. He takes on current WBC 154-pound champion Sergio Martinez, who nearly beat Paul Williams last year. A lot of people thought Martinez won the fight and so did Pavlik.
"I thought he won the fight too. To be honest with you, I had him by a round or two. I was impressed and I wasn't impressed. He got hit with a lot of punches. If Williams had a little more pop, it would have been a different fight. He does a lot of good and a lot of bad and sometimes his good could be his bad. He punches from different angles and sometimes that helps him and sometimes it leaves him wide open and get caught coming in," Pavlik said.
"He's definitely someone you have to respect and be careful and not come in face first trying to hit him. I'm proving to the people in the boxing world that I'm taking the dangerous fights because I never strayed away from big fights."
