Some advantages for both:
Pavlik
Youth
Workrate
Heart
Hopkins
Great counterpunching skills
Defensive wizardry which usually frustrates opponents and kills workrate
Ring intelligence
Size
Who's taking it?
dude....if anyone has bad stamina its taylor....and it took pavlik 11 rounds to get him with something good.....pavlik didnt carry the wieght well, and taylor has mediocre defense(for the record, taylor is one of my 10 favorites, and hopkins is my most hated fighter) and just a smidge of lateral and head movement along with a smarter approach to foghting gave pavlik hell...hopkins has superior movement, superior counterpunching ability, superior stamina, and is smarter...hopkins gets robbed in the cards is my pick...
Don't you remember when Hopkins faked a low blow against Calzaghe because he was so worn down that he couldn't keep going? If not for that break, I think there's a decent chance the fight may have ended up being stopped. At 44 years old, he just can't handle that kind of work rate for 12 rounds anymore.
As for Taylor, he fought a very smart fight in the Pavlik rematch. Kept his hands high, fought in spurts and showed a much tighter defense than I've seen in the past. I mean, Jermain Taylor is not some bum off the streets -- he's the former linear middleweight champion and a former top 10 p4p guy who beat this Hopkins cat twice (first one was somewhat controversial, but he clearly outpointed B-Hop in the second).
Hopkins quite simply cannot match Pavlik's output in this fight and will therefore lose a (possibly close) clear decision.
pavlik mid to late round STOPPAGE...
What the hell?
Aren't you a Hopkins fan? You should know what a badass chin he has.
I'm shocked that anyone thinks that the middleweight is going to KO the LHW with the excellent chin.
Pavlik has power, but not devastating one hit KO power. He just wears you down with his power. Hopkins is notoroious for killing workrates and defending against everything, power, speed, punches from angles... he just has an almost perfect defense.
I think he frustrates Pavlik and wins a UD. An ugly UD, but a UD nonetheless.
These discussions tend to waver my pick of who I think will win. That said, I still think Pavlik will win this fight. At least, that's the first impression I got as soon as I heard about the fight. But who knows? Pavlik's stronger, but maybe Calzaghe tired B-Hop with his workrate.
Don't get me wrong, Pavlik is a busy fighter, but Calzaghe kept B-Hop active throughout the fight, so that may be why he looked finished.
B-Hop may not become exhausted as he was with Calzaghe, but he might have to endure some of the most painful punches of his career, especially at his age against a prime, undefeated knockout artist.
I'll be happy for B-Hop if he wins, but I'm gonna' go with Pavlik on this one. I THINK he will win, and I WANT him to win.
If B-Hop snags the victory, wow! That would just be amazing to witness! Can't wait! Now I'm pumped!
This is going to be another great year for boxing! :boxing:
dude....if anyone has bad stamina its taylor....and it took pavlik 11 rounds to get him with something good.....pavlik didnt carry the wieght well, and taylor has mediocre defense(for the record, taylor is one of my 10 favorites, and hopkins is my most hated fighter) and just a smidge of lateral and head movement along with a smarter approach to foghting gave pavlik hell...hopkins has superior movement, superior counterpunching ability, superior stamina, and is smarter...hopkins gets robbed in the cards is my pick...
mind you, this prediction is based on me having faith that hopkins will fight well....theres a big possibilty that he will be too much of a homo to do anything but run and hug.....(nothing to do with his age, thats just who he is)
dude....if anyone has bad stamina its taylor....and it took pavlik 11 rounds to get him with something good.....pavlik didnt carry the wieght well, and taylor has mediocre defense(for the record, taylor is one of my 10 favorites, and hopkins is my most hated fighter) and just a smidge of lateral and head movement along with a smarter approach to foghting gave pavlik hell...hopkins has superior movement, superior counterpunching ability, superior stamina, and is smarter...hopkins gets robbed in the cards is my pick...
i cant see how people can pick pavlik by KO after the 2nd JT fight......
Because Hopkins will be completely EXHAUSTED in the later rounds and there's the possibility that Pavlik will get to him with some clean bombs.
That said, I'm picking Pav by UD.
I cant wait to see Pavlik have to walk someone down who knows how to give angles and move around the ring. I still think he wins but it's interesting.
Hopkins is getting stopped for the first time in his career. It'll be in the late rounds when he's exhausted and it'll be from a straight right left uppercut combo.
I don't see how anyone could pick Hopkins after seeing how he did against Calz. But good for B hop, he's making some good money in these last fights of his career.
Some advantages for both:
Pavlik
Youth
Workrate
Heart
Hopkins
Great counterpunching skills
Defensive wizardry which usually frustrates opponents and kills workrate
Ring intelligence
Size
Who's taking it?
I would say if Hopkins wins, he will either stop Pavlik early, or will cut him up.
Bernard cannot fight for 3 minutes a round anymore and Pavlik throws too many meaningful punches, so beyond round 3-4, it will be Pavlik dictating and he will win a decision.
I cannot see Hopkins winning a decision over Pavlik, but stopping him is a decent possibility.
Some advantages for both:
Pavlik
Youth
Workrate
Heart
Hopkins
Great counterpunching skills
Defensive wizardry which usually frustrates opponents and kills workrate
Ring intelligence
Size
Who's taking it?
Im going with Pavlik. Hop is starting to slow down and Kelly will put the pressure on and hit him harder and more often than he's been hit before. That said, Hop still has the ability to make Pav look bad while winning a UD.