Vintage... Pavlik?

[New England]

I watched this one again last night actually! Thats a great analogy u make - fine wine/hard stuff! Love it!

Pavlik was always fun to watch, i knew he would never beat a guy like B Hop but he was big, strong, full of balls, could **** with the best and kept that pressure on all night! Fun fighter. Shame how he's let his outside life ruin his ring life....

aint life grand?
that zertuche fight is just unbelievable. who fights like that? lightweights // FW's mostly.
both guys took some serious bombs


i'd love the guy even more if he didnt knock JT out of commission and end his prime, but that's the nature of the game and i've got to respect it.

[rsf]

did you say terrific

[New England]

did you say terrific

i dont know dude, did i?


if this is the extent of the contributions you'll be making to the thread i'll be glad when you are done contributing

[The Surgeon]

i dont know dude, did i?

You did. And he was.... A Terrific action fighter

who made it all the way to the MW Championship

[New England]

You did. And he was.... A Terrific action fighter

who made it all the way to the MW Championship

a terrific action fighter and the legit MW champion of the world you say?


not bad, huh?

[Prince Mongo]

Pavlik was a great fighter but his style was never destined for longevity.I had a feeling when he signed for Hopkins that would be the end for him. I wish he had fought Abraham then. That would have been a super fight.

[nomadman]

Love the drinks analogy, and perfectly sums Pavlik up (sadly).

Pavlik is a conflicting character which makes it hard to analyse him with a fair and even eye. In his short prime he was one of the gutsiest and most hard working kids in the sport, and would have made even throwbacks say he was a throwback. The Miranda fight is a modern day classic, and one I can endlessly rewatch with the same razor wire intensity every time. Miranda was one of the most feared men in the sport at the time, and hadn't ever been beaten save for a controversial decision in Germany against Abraham. Pavlik took him on and beat him at his own game, never backing down for an instant. He then went on to beat Taylor in a thriller that saw both men on the canvas and which catapulted him to the cusp of glory. Then he took on Hopkins and we all know what happened after that.

I never entirely bought into the hype surrounding Pavlik, but I respected him for getting to a position that made people want to hype him in the first place. And unlike some fighters, the hype around Pavlik wasn't so much artificial as it was the overly effusive praise of fight-fans who found Pavlik a shot in the arm (or a shot of the hard stuff). Can't really blame guys for reacting like that.

Pav's best days are behind him now, and with his drinks problem having come out in such an ugly fashion he's now being made a figure of fun, hate, and occasionally of pity.

These things all tend to get forgotten over time, though, and I think when the dust has settled and we look back on Pavlik the fighter we'll see and appreciate him for what he was.

[El Jesus]

I think the hopkins fight brought to light a rare matchmaking mistake from top rank, that fight simply shouldnt have happened, but then again maybe pavliks own life was on a collision course to destruction regardless. pavlik didint like movement and he didint like anyone with enough quickness to meet him or beat him to the punch, with that said he had alot of power and his fights were fun.

[nomadman]

I think the hopkins fight brought to light a rare matchmaking mistake from top rank, that fight simply shouldnt have happened, but then again maybe pavliks own life was on a collision course to destruction regardless. pavlik didint like movement and he didint like anyone with enough quickness to meet him or beat him to the punch, with that said he had alot of power and his fights were fun.

As I remember it Pavlik and his team were angling for a fight with Calzaghe somewhere down the line. Hopkins had just lost to Zags and I guess Pavlik's handlers thought it'd up his bargaining power if he did the same in more emphatic fashion. They basically underestimated Hops catastrophically, as did quite a few boxing fans at the time.

[RINGG]

I remember watching him early and didn't expect much. It was a big suprise to me the way he took out Taylor.