People are ripping this fight, and they have reason to, considering we will probably see a very, very similar fight as we did when Hopkins fought Calzaghe, only without the knockdown in the first round. Pavlik by uneventful, close but clear UD.
Anyway...as to how this fight got put together, here's my theory. The DLH sweepstakes have apparently been narrowed down to Pacquiao or Cotto, both Top Rank fighters. My gut says that DLH told Schaefer to tell Arum that he would fight one of those guys--Top Rank fighters--for his finale in exchange for Hopkins getting a shot at Pavlik.
Agree/disagree?
I don't know how much of a payday this will be honestly. If it's PPV, I think the numbers will be pretty shitty. 250k at the very, very maximum (very unlikely I think). I think Hopkins' last two fights has made viewers weary of tuning in again and Pavlik is still not a big star yet to sell a big PPV event.
I gotta stay up till 5AM to watch...But at least i don't gatta pay ppv..
Anyone else lookin forward to the fight!?
I am!
He's not getting a shot at Pavlik. The fight is at a catchweight for no titles.
I was referring to the $$$ involved for Hopkins, not the title.
This isn't a case about creating a big event for GBP, it's about getting one of their 'partners' PAID. Seems plausible to me.
On a side note, it kills me that Winky-Paul Williams was nearly a done deal before this made Mosely-Mayorga move and squash that. Ugh. (that was according to Dan Rafael).
Disagree completely.
Hopkins offered to fight Pavlik early on and was declined. There were much better fights for Pavlik:
Sergio Mora
Paul Williams
Allen Green
Abraham
Calzaghe
Winky Wright
Unfortunately Abraham and Mora both have mandatories to deal with, Paul Williams, Allen Green and Winky are idiots and were asking for too much money and Calzaghe obviously has Jones.
So, either Pavlik could fight another bum like Rubio or another no name, but after fighting Lockett they felt they needed a bigger name and a more difficult challenge. Hopkins deal was still on the table and is really the only "big" name out there at the present time.
No conspiracy there.
Yeah agreed. And Hop is still rated top 10 P4P