My thoughts on Pavlik's chances against Calzaghe...

[kayjay]

Right on Brother Wieny.

I think Kessler is a better overall fighter than Pavlik. I can't see Kelly landing as many punches, and anyway Joe has a great chin. After a few rounds it would be a horribly one-sided boxing lesson. Guys like Pavlik are made for Joe.

[JoartCC]

I don't think he has a shot in hell.

A middleweight who is a carbon copy of Mikkel Kessler almost is not going to be able to move up in weight against a guy who kills himself to make 168 and do any better than the natural SMW who has good technique and great punching power (exactly like Pavlik) does.

I'm not sold on Pavlik at all. I originally thought he was a brawler who doesn't use his brain after his fight with Miranda, but I was clearly wrong.

After he beat Taylor, I figured out that he does have some good technique to keep himself afloat, and he does have some pretty good punching power.

However, everyone is acting like he can knock Chad Dawson out with ease... it takes a middleweight 6 rounds to put another middleweight to sleep, and people think that this is going to be able to punch a hole in everything up to David Haye? What a joke.

Taylor's lack of activity let Kelly tee off at times, and if there is one thing that Calzaghe does, it is never letting himself get into a time where he is showing a "lack of activity".

Joe Calzaghe... WIDE UD, or possibly Jack Loew throwing in the towel because it is so one-sided.

Lols.

You ate your word when you said Taylor beats Pavlik silly. I remember it well and then you made threads whining here and there calling Pavlik this and that.

Cmon dude man up. Although there isn't much credibility in you.

Any guy who said Gatti is a legitimate threat is a wacko.

[TheGreatA]

Kessler and Pavlik are not similar at all except that they both throw the 1-2 combination often.

Kessler is a favorite of mine but he is a technical, European fighter who is not used to throwing too many punches but rather controlling the pace with his jab and right. He couldn't do that against an experienced veteran Calzaghe who was willing to take some to give more.

While Kessler and Calzaghe landed almost the same amount of punches (with Calzaghe landing more obviously), Calzaghe threw TWICE the amount of punches Kessler did, that's 1000 punches to 500 of Kessler's punches. Kessler couldn't keep up with the pace Calzaghe set after the troubling first few rounds.

Pavlik is similar to Calzaghe, he throws a lot, he doesn't tire and he can take punishment. He could keep up with that pace and he could possibly hurt Calzaghe as well. I'm not too sure if Pavlik could match Calzaghe's skills at this point though.

IMO Calzaghe beats Pavlik by decision but I'm not too sure. I want to see how Pavlik fights Taylor in the rematch and how Calzaghe fights Hopkins.

[-Antonio-]

I dont see this fight happening at all. I see Pavlik knocking Taylor out and making the run at Middleweight.

[kayjay]

Pavlik is similar to Calzaghe, he throws a lot, he doesn't tire and he can take punishment. He could keep up with that pace and he could possibly hurt Calzaghe as well. I'm not too sure if Pavlik could match Calzaghe's skills at this point though.

IMO Calzaghe beats Pavlik by decision but I'm not too sure. I want to see how Pavlik fights Taylor in the rematch and how Calzaghe fights Hopkins.

I agree he could keep the pace, but Joe switches styles so frequently to expose weaknesses. Kelly has a hesitation when he's hit. I think Joe would sneak in the odd 10-punch flurry that would have Kelly confuse, then come at him a minute later from a different angle, different punches on a different rhythm, just confuse the **** out of Pavlik. I don't think Pavlik has the versatility to adapt to Calzaghe.

[PeROxiDE]

if they went to war Calzaghe would get knocked out IMO. Calzaghe wouldn't do that. Calzaghe picks guys apart, he doesn't just blast them out of the ring.. I'm sure you knew this.. I think Pavlik would need to take a fight at SMW b4 he goes for the champ though.. Although his taylor bout will be at 166 so maybe the weight difference won't affect pavlik so much.

Pavlik is not KO'ing Calzaghe. Joe has by far the best chin of anyone Pavlik has ever faced, Pavlik would be out of ideas when he lands big bombs and takes 6 in the face for his troubles. Calzaghe can also get drawn into whatever fight he wants against Pavlik and still have the edge. And once again we come back to the power arguement. Calzaghe has the most underrated power in boxing, when he chooses to use it properly. When he won his SMW title against Eubank, he was 22-0 with 21 knockouts, 18 in the first 2 rounds. He also dropped Eubank in the opening seconds of the very first round. Eubank, who has a noted granite chin, has since said in interview he has never been hit so hard, and do I really need to name some of the big punchers Eubank has fought? The only reason Calzaghe holds back now is because during his teenage years as an amatuer boxer, he broke his hand so badly he was told he could never box again. He has since gone on to be an undefeated world champion. When he was younger, he wasnt as afraid to throw punches full power because his age meant he had as long as he needed to recover after the fight. Now he is older he needs to be more careful, one hard punch too many and his career is over. You only have to look at his fights after he first won his belt to see Joe Calzaghes punching power, some of the things he did to people such as Byron Mitchell were horrific to watch. Also, does anybody even know what his old nickname used to be? You dont get the name Joe "The Destroyer" Calzaghe without carrying some serious power.

No one has ever looked like knocking Calzaghe down, he ate some uppercuts from Kessler that would have knocked out anyone else in the division, even if Kelly had a shade more power than Kessler, it would'nt be enough. Even If we are talking about a Joe with a post injury left, it would have been all over in two anyway, he has more stamina than Taylor and plenty more handspeed, the ref would have had to stop it. I like Kelly at middleweight however, he should stay there a bit longer then try his hand at Bute or Kessler

Apart from the 2 people who knocked him down? Byron Mitchell caught him flsuh with a BIG right hand, and even celebrated victory, before Joe beat the man senseless. After rising to his feet his head was obviously clear enough to land a solid shot to the point of Mitchells jaw as he came rushing in to finish the fight. He was over eager, and Calzaghe punished him badly, even though he just suffered what looked to be a fight ending knockdown. The feather fisted Kabary Salem has also dropped Calzaghe, but Joe himself is the first to admit no way should he have been in that ring. He suffered bad injuries in the run up to the fight and could barely throw his left, and was also in the middle of a very bitter marriage breakup, so his head and body were not right for the fight.

My personal opinion is that Calzaghe wins one of two ways. He either boxes him and outclasses him over the distance, or Kelly turns it into a war and gets his ass knocked out trying to finish the fight too quickly, ala "The Slama from Alabama"

[Fox McCloud]

Lols.

You ate your word when you said Taylor beats Pavlik silly. I remember it well and then you made threads whining here and there calling Pavlik this and that.

Cmon dude man up. Although there isn't much credibility in you.

Any guy who said Gatti is a legitimate threat is a wacko.

Uhhh, that wasn't me ****bag.

And I didn't eat my words, considering I bet on Taylor to win the rematch. I just said Pavlik definately deserved that victory, no big deal.

Suck a **** ****in ******.

EDIT: I'm not really sure why Pavlik beating Taylor the first time makes it so I can't speculate that he doesn't have a chance against Joe Calzaghe.

Jermain Taylor is not Joe Calzaghe. Get it right you brain-dead, small-****ed, Pacquiao cum-guzzler.

[DrewWoodside]

Pavlik is not KO'ing Calzaghe. Joe has by far the best chin of anyone Pavlik has ever faced, Pavlik would be out of ideas when he lands big bombs and takes 6 in the face for his troubles. Calzaghe can also get drawn into whatever fight he wants against Pavlik and still have the edge. And once again we come back to the power arguement. Calzaghe has the most underrated power in boxing, when he chooses to use it properly. When he won his SMW title against Eubank, he was 22-0 with 21 knockouts, 18 in the first 2 rounds. He also dropped Eubank in the opening seconds of the very first round. Eubank, who has a noted granite chin, has since said in interview he has never been hit so hard, and do I really need to name some of the big punchers Eubank has fought? The only reason Calzaghe holds back now is because during his teenage years as an amatuer boxer, he broke his hand so badly he was told he could never box again. He has since gone on to be an undefeated world champion. When he was younger, he wasnt as afraid to throw punches full power because his age meant he had as long as he needed to recover after the fight. Now he is older he needs to be more careful, one hard punch too many and his career is over. You only have to look at his fights after he first won his belt to see Joe Calzaghes punching power, some of the things he did to people such as Byron Mitchell were horrific to watch. Also, does anybody even know what his old nickname used to be? You dont get the name Joe "The Destroyer" Calzaghe without carrying some serious power.



Apart from the 2 people who knocked him down? Byron Mitchell caught him flsuh with a BIG right hand, and even celebrated victory, before Joe beat the man senseless. After rising to his feet his head was obviously clear enough to land a solid shot to the point of Mitchells jaw as he came rushing in to finish the fight. He was over eager, and Calzaghe punished him badly, even though he just suffered what looked to be a fight ending knockdown. The feather fisted Kabary Salem has also dropped Calzaghe, but Joe himself is the first to admit no way should he have been in that ring. He suffered bad injuries in the run up to the fight and could barely throw his left, and was also in the middle of a very bitter marriage breakup, so his head and body were not right for the fight.

My personal opinion is that Calzaghe wins one of two ways. He either boxes him and outclasses him over the distance, or Kelly turns it into a war and gets his ass knocked out trying to finish the fight too quickly, ala "The Slama from Alabama"

fairly objective but you sound like a fan.. you've found every angle to give calzaghe the edge.. Eubank probably did have a granite chin but considering all those big punchers chins tend to fade after a few ass kickings. He didn't fight the same Eubank that you're giving him credit for.