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PAVLIK DRAWS THE CROWD!~Boxingnews
October 10, 2008
Undefeated middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has sold more than 10,000 tickets for his fight against Bernard Hopkins on October 18.
The bout, to be staged at 170lbs in Atlantic City, is Hopkins' first since his split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe.
This time out he will face a heavy hitter in Pavlik, who has an astonishing knockout rate of 90% from his 34 fights.
The contest is expected to do good numbers on pay-per-view and is expected to be a sell-out in the venue itself.
Legendary promoter Bob Arum said: "The response has been enormous. We think Kelly is going to surpass anything he's done on pay-per-view."
This is helped by a strong under card that includes a WBO featherweight title fight between Steven Luevano and Billy Dib, and a middleweight title eliminator featuring Marco Antonio Rubio and Enrique Ornelas with the winner perhaps getting a shot at Pavlik.
Pavlik has been on a rise to stardom since twice registering two wins over Jermain Taylor, the first of which brought him the WBO and WBC belts.
His aggressive style is a direct contrast to Hopkins, who is awkward and difficult to hit.
"I don't think this is as high-profile as Taylor, just because of the fact that Taylor dethroned Hopkins," said Pavlik.
"But Hopkins is a two-division champion and he's never been beaten convincingly. I definitely think I can go in there and win convincingly."
Many expected Pavlik to fight Calzaghe instead, but the Welshman decided to face Roy Jones Jr after his bitter split with promoter Frank Warren.
43-year-old Hopkins, who once made 20 consecutive middleweight title defences, has rubbished claims that he may be too old to put up a serious contest.
"I'm still here. I'm still around. If I'm not the same person I was in 2001, I want them to prove that by putting me on my (butt)," said Hopkins.
"I know my limitations, I know my body. I haven't sparred in two days because I felt myself peaking and feeling too sharp. People are going to see an expert at his craft, doing what he does best."
October 10, 2008
Undefeated middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has sold more than 10,000 tickets for his fight against Bernard Hopkins on October 18.
The bout, to be staged at 170lbs in Atlantic City, is Hopkins' first since his split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe.
This time out he will face a heavy hitter in Pavlik, who has an astonishing knockout rate of 90% from his 34 fights.
The contest is expected to do good numbers on pay-per-view and is expected to be a sell-out in the venue itself.
Legendary promoter Bob Arum said: "The response has been enormous. We think Kelly is going to surpass anything he's done on pay-per-view."
This is helped by a strong under card that includes a WBO featherweight title fight between Steven Luevano and Billy Dib, and a middleweight title eliminator featuring Marco Antonio Rubio and Enrique Ornelas with the winner perhaps getting a shot at Pavlik.
Pavlik has been on a rise to stardom since twice registering two wins over Jermain Taylor, the first of which brought him the WBO and WBC belts.
His aggressive style is a direct contrast to Hopkins, who is awkward and difficult to hit.
"I don't think this is as high-profile as Taylor, just because of the fact that Taylor dethroned Hopkins," said Pavlik.
"But Hopkins is a two-division champion and he's never been beaten convincingly. I definitely think I can go in there and win convincingly."
Many expected Pavlik to fight Calzaghe instead, but the Welshman decided to face Roy Jones Jr after his bitter split with promoter Frank Warren.
43-year-old Hopkins, who once made 20 consecutive middleweight title defences, has rubbished claims that he may be too old to put up a serious contest.
"I'm still here. I'm still around. If I'm not the same person I was in 2001, I want them to prove that by putting me on my (butt)," said Hopkins.
"I know my limitations, I know my body. I haven't sparred in two days because I felt myself peaking and feeling too sharp. People are going to see an expert at his craft, doing what he does best."