Pavlik's Next Two Fights: Lorenzo and Duddy? Ugh.

[cupcrazy01]

This seems to be the path Top Rank wants to go right now. They have openly said that perhaps Duddy will still get a shot later in the year and of course Lorenzo appears to be the frontrunner for June.

If Pavlik fights Lorenzo and Duddy for his next two fights without making any effort to make a fight with Winky or Abraham (or even Sturm for that matter), he should be just as criticized as Mayweather for ducking the best opponents in his weight class.

It's the same argument I had against Taylor that seemed illogical. Everyone was yelling, "He fought Hopkins TWICE then Winky! Let him have a breather or two." Well, he fought nobody before Hopkins, then was contractually obligated for the rematch and Winky was made his mandatory by the WBC right after the Hopkins rematch. He would have been stripped if he ducked Winky.

So, in much the same way, all the Pavlik defenders will be yelling, "He fought Miranda and then Taylor TWICE, let him have a breather or two." Well, the Miranda fight was an eliminator, so if he wanted the title shot he HAD to take it. The first Taylor fight was his title shot, and he was contractually obligated for the rematch, and Top Rank made it CLEAR they didn't think a rematch was what they wanted. They wanted the Duddy fight instead.

Let me make it clear: I don't have a big problem with a breather fight for June for Pavlik. All new champs, after a rematch with the former champ if necessary, deserve one optional defense. I'm fine with that. I'm not fine with TWO in a row, and no boxing fan should be. If Pavlik fights Lorenzo and then makes a Duddy fight, the floodgates should be opened for the "Top Rank and Pavlik are milking this for all it's worth" talk.

Thoughts?

[Silencers]

Arum said Duddy can have his shot somewhere down the line, I think they want him in against Lorenzo or Sturm then fight Abraham.

Who else is there to fight IF Abraham is not willing to fight outside of Germany, same with Sturm, Winky likes to price himself out of these fights, who else is there left?

[DrewWoodside]

Arum has made it very clear that this next fight is a breather and then the fight after that is Abraham if possible. Abraham doesn't seem to like taking chances with his belt but it looks like a go. People over use the word ducker. He's clearly stated he's after Abraham. It's not his fault Duddy fell through, and he said down the road for that bout which indicates "down the road" and not in the next 2 fights. This thread is completely unwarranted.

[cupcrazy01]

You have to at least give Winky a chance to negotiate before you can say he's priced himself out.

Abraham and his people are on record for saying they want to come fight over here and HBO would make it worth their while.

Sturm, well, I don't even know if it is worth trying to get him over here......Javier Castillejo knocked this guy out for crying out loud, YES, the same Castillejo that a shot-to-pieces Vargas knocked down and clearly defeated. But Sturm would be better than Lorenzo or Duddy...at least for actual significance.

After that, you're right, there's not much left at 160 as of now. But Vernon Forrest is talking about moving up, and I think he has the frame to make it work, and a fight with Pavlik and Forrest would be very entertaining IMO.

[cupcrazy01]

Arum has made it very clear that this next fight is a breather and then the fight after that is Abraham if possible. Abraham doesn't seem to like taking chances with his belt but it looks like a go. People over use the word ducker. He's clearly stated he's after Abraham. It's not his fault Duddy fell through, and he said down the road for that bout which indicates "down the road" and not in the next 2 fights. This thread is completely unwarranted.

Wow, I never said "PAVLIK IS A DUCKER". I was just stating that IF those are his next two fights, it would be bad for boxing. Can you disagree with that?

I was trying to read between the lines about Duddy and it looked like Arum wanted to let the dust settle on his embarrassing performance this past weekend, pound another nobody and get back to a shot vs. Pavlik for the fall. I haven't seen Arum talk about Abraham since before the Taylor rematch, so that's new to me and GREAT NEWS.

Pavlik could be huge for boxing, so it's important that boxing fans hope he gets the fights with other good and great fighters. I also made it clear that I don't have a problem with the June breather fight. It's where he goes afterward that worries me a bit.

[Silencers]

You have to at least give Winky a chance to negotiate before you can say he's priced himself out.

Abraham and his people are on record for saying they want to come fight over here and HBO would make it worth their while.

Sturm, well, I don't even know if it is worth trying to get him over here......Javier Castillejo knocked this guy out for crying out loud, YES, the same Castillejo that a shot-to-pieces Vargas knocked down and clearly defeated. But Sturm would be better than Lorenzo or Duddy...at least for actual significance.

After that, you're right, there's not much left at 160 as of now. But Vernon Forrest is talking about moving up, and I think he has the frame to make it work, and a fight with Pavlik and Forrest would be very entertaining IMO.

I don't think Forrest would do too well against Pavlik, the guy never stops coming forward and throwing bombs and possesses a height and size advantage.

Arum and Pavlik have publicly been saying they want to fight Abraham after his stay busy fight, won't be their fault if that fight falls through.

[cupcrazy01]

Fair enough. Consider the white flag raised. If they try to get an Abraham fight after Lorenzo, that works for me, and, frankly, if it happens, it buys Pavlik another breather after that one in my opinion.

[MELLY-MEL...]

i really hope abraham, and sturm don't punk out on this fight to keep their paper belts!

[kayjay]

Abraham is the real contender. Pavlik deserves the one softie and needs to give Abraham the chance to fight on American TV as his undercard. That was the plan before Duddy blew it. Now Pavlik needs to steal Abraham's opponent and make the possibility of the MW twin bill less likely. HBO might as well put Berto on the first half of Pavlik's TV spot.

Winky is NOT a viable challenger at this point. He's had two consecutive unsuccessfuly title shots. Why should his legacy at 154 earn him an unending streak of chances? He needs to beat a real middleweight or two.

[Silencers]

Fair enough. Consider the white flag raised. If they try to get an Abraham fight after Lorenzo, that works for me, and, frankly, if it happens, it buys Pavlik another breather after that one in my opinion.

I agree, Abraham would be a tough fight for him.