Kelly Pavlik v Bernard Hopkins

fatgav

anyone know what time the main event is set to start?

Big Ears

Tonight at the Boardwalk hall Atlantic city we see the current undisputed Middleweight Champion Kelly 'The Ghost' Pavlik, take on the former long reigning Middleweight Champion Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins at a catchweight fight of 170 lbs.

Pavlik is an emerging star in boxing, in 18 months he's gone from a well thought of prospect to someone on the verge of becoming an elite fighter. A win tonight would probably bridge that gap for Kelly and project him into the top 10 of that mythical pound for pound list.

Hopkins is also vying for a place as an elite fighter, but rather than trying to take his place as one he's trying to keep it. For 7 years he has been involved in big fights and even Superfights(v Trinidad, and v De La Hoya). A loss here however would be his 4th in his last 6th and even though the previous 3 were all razor thin losses it would be hard to see where Hopkins could go should he lose.

A win for the executioner and he could think about rematches with either Jones jnr or Calzaghe, or possibly retire on an even higher note than his original retirement against Tarver.

A win for Pavlik and he can chase the Calzaghe-Jones jnr winner, a big fight with Arthur Abraham looks likely to happen no matter what and Jack Lowe even recently mentioned the name of Mikkel Kessler as a possible future opponent for when Kelly moves up from Middleweight. A win here and Kelly can fight almost anyone from 160-175.

Hopkins has evolved as a fighter over time, to compensate for his physical decline he has become a more cautious, smarter fighter who neutralises opponents offences and then picks them off with counters. He can't fight a good hard 12 rounds anymore though and this was shown as far back as the first Taylor fight. What also worries me for Hopkins is that I don't believe he has been working with Mackie Shillstone, the man behind his conditioning for the Tarver and Calzaghe fights who was absent for the Winky fight where Hopkins imo looked far less effective.

Pavlik meanwhile has to cope with the challenge of a higher weightclass. For his second Taylor fight they fought at 164 lbs but tonights fight is contracted for 170 lbs(Hopkins was bang on the weight, Kelly was 169) and even though Kelly is probably very tight at Middle and could do with the extra weight on him, his camp aren't used to making 170 and Kelly isn't used to fighting at it. Hopkins has claimed he will take the right hand away, which is Kelly's power punch. Pavlik's camp claim that even if he was successful in doing so they have plenty of other 'tricks' in store for Hopkins.

Hopkins camp have also questioned Pavlik's ability to fight anyway other than straight forward, Pavlik's camp answered by pointing out that no one has been able to stop Kelly coming forward yet, why will this be any different.

The Pavlik plan seems to be outwork Hopkins whatever way he can, and that eventually Bernard will fade and when he does Pavlik will stop him. Hopkins plan is that he will take Pavlik out of his rhythm, make him fight in a way he's not used to and exploit defensive flaws and lack of big fight experience.

I can't see Hopkins having the stamina to beat Pavlik over 12, Pavlik will throw a lot of punches and Hopkins won't be able to match him for frequency. However I can see Pavlik leaving himself open in this fight, particularly if he says he'll work the body like they've planned. Hopkins will probably have the advantages in the clinches aswell and I think it's here where he might find the room to hurt Pavlik. Hopkins isn't a huge puncher but he's a solid puncher and there's no doubt he carries enough pop to hurt 'The Ghost' , Pavlik on the other hand is a huge puncher, but it's not certain whether he has enough to dent the chin of the iron jawed Hopkins.

I'm actually picking what many would consider the least likely result in this fight, I think Hopkins ability of timing and in the ring movement will frustrate Pavlik, cause him to come forward more recklessly than normal and leave himself exposed to counter rights. So a stoppage from Hopkins just past the mid rounds for me.


We've got ourselves a nice little undercard aswell, exciting Australian hypejob Billy Dib gets to find himself exposed at World level against Steven Luevano and Marco Antonio Rubio and Enrique Ornelas(brother of Librado Andrade) fight in a WBC Middleweight eliminator for the right to fight Pavlik in the future. We also have Yuri Foreman in a stay busy fight against Vinroy Barrett and prospects Daniel Jacobs and Danny Garcia.

cowzerp

I cant wait for this, i threw a few quid on a pavlik KO win-you'll get 3 times your money back if it happens...was tempted to put a tenner on pavlik for a 1st round win, 50/1! it better not happen now..

i see it been a very technical match for the 1st 6 rounds then kelly should start to take over the pace, this will dictate either way how the fight will go...LETS GET IT ON!

akindoc

Big Ears wrote: »

Tonight at the Boardwalk hall Atlantic city we see the current undisputed Middleweight Champion Kelly 'The Ghost' Pavlik, take on the former long reigning Middleweight Champion Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins at a catchweight fight of 170 lbs.

Pavlik is an emerging star in boxing, in 18 months he's gone from a well thought of prospect to someone on the verge of becoming an elite fighter. A win tonight would probably bridge that gap for Kelly on project him into the top 10 of that mystical pound for pound list.

Hopkins is also vying for a place as an elite fighter, but rather than trying to take his place as one he's trying to keep it. For 7 years he has been involved in big fights and even Superfights(v Trinidad, and v De La Hoya). A loss here however would be his 4th in his last 6th and even though the previous 3 were all razor thin losses it would be hard to see where Hopkins could go should he lose.

A win for the executioner and he could think about rematches with either Jones jnr or Calzaghe, or possibly retire on an even higher note than his original retirement against Tarver.

A win for Pavlik and he can chase the Calzaghe-Jones jnr winner, a big fight with Arthur Abraham looks likely to happen no matter what and Jack Lowe even recently mentioned the name of Mikkel Kessler as a possible future opponent for when Kelly moves up from Middleweight. A win here and Kelly can fight almost anyone from 160-175.

Hopkins has evolved as a fighter over time, to compensate for his physical decline he has become a more cautious, smarter fighter who neutralises opponents offences and then picks them off with counters. He can't fight a good hard 12 rounds anymore though and this was shown as far back as the first Taylor fight. What also worries me for Hopkins is that I don't believe he has been working with Mackie Shillstone, the man behind his conditioning for the Tarver and Calzaghe fights who was absent for the Winky fight where Hopkins imo looked far less effective.

Pavlik meanwhile has to cope with the challenge of a higher weightclass. For his second Taylor fight they fought at 164 lbs but tonights fight is contracted for 170 lbs(Hopkins was bang on the weight, Kelly was 169) and even though Kelly is probably very tight at Middle and could do with the extra weight on him, his camp aren't used to making 170 and Kelly isn't used to fighting at it. Hopkins has claimed he will take the right hand away, which is Kelly's power punch. Pavlik's camp claim that even if he was successful in doing so they have plenty of other 'tricks' in store for Hopkins.

Hopkins camp have also questioned Pavlik's ability to fight anyway other than straight forward, Pavlik's camp questioned by pointing out that no one has been able to stop Kelly coming forward yet, why will this be any different.

The Pavlik plan seems to be outwork Hopkins whatever way he can, and that eventually Bernard will fade and when he does Pavlik will stop him. Hopkins plan is that he will take Pavlik out of his rhythm, make him fight in a way he's not used to and exploit defensive flaws and lack of big fight experience.

I can't see Hopkins having the stamina to beat Pavlik over 12, Pavlik will throw a lot of punches and Hopkins won't be able to match him for frequency. However I can see Pavlik leaving himself open in this fight, particularly if he says he'll work the body like they've planned. Hopkins will probably have the advantages in the clinches aswell and I think it's here where he might find the room to hurt Pavlik. Hopkins isn't a huge puncher but he's a solid puncher and there's no doubt he carries enough pop to hurt 'The Ghost' , Pavlik on the other hand is a huge puncher, but it's not certain whether he has enough to dent the chin of the iron jawed Hopkins.

I'm actually picking what many would consider the least likely result in this fight, I think Hopkins ability of timing and in the ring movement will frustrate Pavlik, cause him to come forward more recklessly than normal and leave himself exposed to counter rights. So a stoppage from Hopkins just past the mid rounds for me.


We've got ourselves a nice little undercard aswell, exciting Australian hypejob Billy Dib gets to find himself exposed at World level against Steven Luevano and Marco Antonio Rubio and Enrique Ornelas(brother of Librado Andrade) fight in a WBC Middleweight eliminator for the right to fight Pavlik in the future. We also have Yuri Foreman in a stay busy fight against Vinroy Barrett and prospects Daniel Jacobs and Danny Garcia.

Tonight we are going to see a masterclass of boxing by Hopkins.

He has every advantage over Pavlik except youth. I don't even think Pavlik hits harder than him at 170. Remember, Hop had calzaghe down and hurt again later in the fight and calzaghe has a very good chin.

Hopkins stamina looked good against Tarver, Winky and taylor. Against Calzaghe he faded because he was fighting against... Calzaghe! Kessler faded against Calzaghe too, does that mean he has poor stamina?

Hopkins is going to counter the life out of Pavlik repeatedly. He is faster, has a better defence, more experience, smarter, can fight many different ways, has every trick in the book, has a better chin (when have you seen him as hurt as pavlik was against Taylor?). I could go on listing his strengths in this fight. Pavlik is a forward plodder. 1-2 1-2 1-2-3. His trainer is a small time trainer who would be collecting garbage bins if Pavlik hadn't landed on his doorstep. I think he's an awful trainer.

Hopkins knows Pavlik inside out. It's not that difficult to figure him out. And Hopkins knows exactly what to do. He will work at HIS PACE and control the fight and control Pavlik. What's Pavlik going to do about that? Throw more jabs? Hopkins takes away his opponents jab every time he fights someone.

Looking forward to this one. I'm very very confident. The people predicting a KO for Pavlik are buying into the hypejob. PAvlik is not going to KO Hopkins and thats a guarantee.

cowzerp

akindoc wrote: »

Kessler faded against Calzaghe too, does that mean he has poor stamina?.

Kessler has not got good stamina, he generally fights at a very technical slow pace.

Big Ears

cowzerp wrote: »

Kessler has not got good stamina, he generally fights at a very technical slow pace.

I wouldn't know about that, Andrade forced him to work at a very fast pace for 12 rounds and he coped fine.

I don't really think it was stamina issues as to the reason he faded against Calzaghe. Calzaghe just found him out, adapted to Kessler and Kessler ran out of ideas.

nacho libre

I'm really looking forward to this fight. While i picked Pavlik i won't be at all surprised if Hopkins sneaks a points victory. I definitely think Hopkins will win the first few rounds but due to the sheer number of punches pavlik throws and the power he has, which i don't think will be negated at this weight, i feel Pavlik will win the later rounds. It's all comes down to if Pavlik has the skill to overcome Hopkins spoil tactics. if not Hopkins, despite tiring, will hang on for a points victory. I don't see Pavlik stopping Hopkins, but i feel Hopkins could stun Pavlik with an over hand right counter punch and if that happens i think he will stop Pavlik as i think Hopkins has more power than Taylor. I also don't think Pavlik's chin is as solid as Calzaghe. So if he does get caught he's in trouble.
I would like Hopkins to win and then just call it quits. However, i doubt he will.

nacho libre

I think it's around 4 am.

Chicky

tv coverage from 3 isn't it? Grrr the evilness of having to wait for the main event :mad:

Big Ears

nacho libre wrote: »

I think it's around 4 am.

The main event is more likely to start around 04:30-05:00

nacho libre

Chicky wrote: »

tv coverage from 3 isn't it? Grrr the evilness of having to wait for the main event :mad:

it'll be worth it chicky:D

ODD-JOB

Big ears,... you up ?
I remember we talked about Steve L having a punch or not .
This kid Dib knocks around with Shane Mosley ,... and the other fighter Enrique Ornealis sparrs with Mosley.

Here we go !

Chicky

nacho libre wrote: »

it'll be worth it chicky:D

i know ... still waitin tho

amacachi

Was hoping this would help keep me awake til the Formula 1, just making me more drowsey so far.

cowzerp

B hop looking good so far, but he will slow, and kelly looks the bigger of the 2!

nacho libre

hopkins has the faster hands and better footwork. it's all down to his stamina from round five onwards.

cowzerp

The hopkins moan show about to start, its annoying when he's bitching..

nacho libre

4-0

masterclass by Hopkins so far. Pavlik can't land anything of note.

cowzerp

nacho libre wrote: »

4-0

masterclass by Hopkins so far. Pavlik can't land anything of note.

Agreed but might be changing now..

flyingoutside

Is this just on setanta 1? Or is it on anywhere else?

cowzerp

just setanta as far as i know!

Chicky

Dont see KPav "bustin the old man's body" yet

nacho libre

Hopkins is tiring. is he wily enough to hold out for six rounds??? i think so. as pavlik isn't as skillful as Calzaghe.

cowzerp

nacho libre wrote: »

as pavlik isn't as skillful as Calzaghe.

Funny nacho! i think that was thrown in to wind me up...pavlik is catching up on points anyway i think

flyingoutside

cowzerp wrote: »

just setanta as far as i know!

Fecksake my chorus box just crashed i'm fumeing

cowzerp

thats ****t, Great round by hopkins..

nacho libre

cowzerp wrote: »

Funny nacho! i think that was thrown in to wind me up...pavlik is catching up on points anyway i think

no it wasn't cowzerp:)

but come on you got to give credit to Hopkins:)

pavlik needs a ko.

Chicky

jaysus that voice comin out on the stream between rounds was freaky

nacho libre

big ears will be full of self- satisfaction tomorrow:)

and rightly so.

cowzerp

nacho libre wrote: »

no it wasn't cowzerp:)

but come on you got to give credit to Hopkins:)

pavlik needs a ko.

possibly, and landing a hard clean shot on b hop will not be easy, he looks sharper than i've seen him in a long time..

nacho libre

Which of these fighters is 43-years-old?:pac:

cowzerp

i need a pavlik ko for my bet, c'mon!!

b hop is fighting the perfect fight..

i think pavlik underestimated his stamina..

cowzerp

Massive win, wow-fair play to him..best i've seen him in a long time, pavlik was executed!!

nacho libre

Yep. Awesome performance by Hopkins. He proved me and many other people wrong.

Aaron M

BHop took Pavlik apart. Great performance.

Chicky

Anyone who's heard me anytime would have heard me say Pav is just a man .... and it's been proved .... not superman just a man

Fair play to bHop on the win and his "dont let this fight destroy you" and fair play to K Pav to listening to it

Big Ears

I really don't know what to say, how can you sum up another virtuoso by Bernard Hopkins ?...........I'll give some analysis on the fight tomorrow.

In 3 months Hopkins turns 44 years old, Archie Moore was supposedly the man that defied time. Well if that's the case I don't know what Hopkins is.

I think it's a lesson to everyone out there, that if you look after yourself physically then age becomes merely a number.

nacho libre

Chicky wrote: »

Anyone who's heard me anytime would have heard me say Pav is just a man .... and it's been proved .... not superman just a man

Fair play to bHop on the win and his "dont let this fight destroy you" and fair play to K Pav to listening to it

Yeah, like the fight itself, it was a total surprise to me. A touch of class from Hopkins.
Fair play to big ears and raven136 on their prediction for this fight

ODD-JOB

styled his way to round 12.

Big Ears

akindoc wrote: »

Tonight we are going to see a masterclass of boxing by Hopkins.

He has every advantage over Pavlik except youth. I don't even think Pavlik hits harder than him at 170. Remember, Hop had calzaghe down and hurt again later in the fight and calzaghe has a very good chin.

Hopkins stamina looked good against Tarver, Winky and taylor. Against Calzaghe he faded because he was fighting against... Calzaghe! Kessler faded against Calzaghe too, does that mean he has poor stamina?

Hopkins is going to counter the life out of Pavlik repeatedly. He is faster, has a better defence, more experience, smarter, can fight many different ways, has every trick in the book, has a better chin (when have you seen him as hurt as pavlik was against Taylor?). I could go on listing his strengths in this fight. Pavlik is a forward plodder. 1-2 1-2 1-2-3. His trainer is a small time trainer who would be collecting garbage bins if Pavlik hadn't landed on his doorstep. I think he's an awful trainer.

Hopkins knows Pavlik inside out. It's not that difficult to figure him out. And Hopkins knows exactly what to do. He will work at HIS PACE and control the fight and control Pavlik. What's Pavlik going to do about that? Throw more jabs? Hopkins takes away his opponents jab every time he fights someone.

Looking forward to this one. I'm very very confident. The people predicting a KO for Pavlik are buying into the hypejob. PAvlik is not going to KO Hopkins and thats a guarantee.

Great call !

akindoc

Big Ears wrote: »

Great call !

Thanks man!

You called it perfectly too, its a testament to your boxing knowledge!

I'm so happy for bernard. It really was an execution. I enjoyed watching every second. Went EXACTLY as I thought it would. Not only is it very satifsying for me as a boxing fan, but also my bank balance will be increased significantly when the money gets cleared and transfered. Thats two big wins back to back. vitali over peter and b-hop over pavlik! Great stuff!

efb

well done guys.

I wonder does this mean JC will get a bit more credit than he 'd gotten?

Excellent performance by B-Hop, he really took the boy to school, and exterminated the Ghost.

God I love Sky+

nacho libre

yes, does this mean Pavlik was overrated or Calzaghe is better than his critics thought. Cowzerp over to you.;)

nacho libre

Pavlik said he was eager to move back down to 160 pounds to defend his crowns following the poorest performance of his eight-year career.

"I just couldn't get off tonight," Pavlik said. "I don't know why. It wasn't his slickness, but I just couldn't throw more than a single jab. I couldn't throw a double jab and couldn't do anything that I usually do."

Very ungracious. I understand him not wanting to admit admit Hopkins Schooled him but at least give the guy some credit!

Big Ears

nacho libre wrote: »

Pavlik said he was eager to move back down to 160 pounds to defend his crowns following the poorest performance of his eight-year career.

"I just couldn't get off tonight," Pavlik said. "I don't know why. It wasn't his slickness, but I just couldn't throw more than a single jab. I couldn't throw a double jab and couldn't do anything that I usually do."

Very ungracious. I understand him not wanting to admit admit Hopkins Schooled him but at least give the guy some credit!

It's because he couldn't understand what Hopkins was doing, hence why him nor Jack Lowe even tried to do anything to compensate for it.

How terrible was Jack Lowe btw, 'double the jab and right hand', 'feint the jab, then double it and right hand'. Pavlik's a very good fighter but he's also a very basic fighter and seems to work pretty much off one-two's until he has a guy hurt.

joepenguin

Great fight, and indeed akindoc, great call!! Thought myself that Hopkins was pushing it a bit taking this fight.Thought he would start strong, hurt pav but end up losing on points. As mentioned he had everything but youth on his side but i thought Pavlik would tough it out.

Hopkins hit 2 birds with the one stone here. He took out Jermains Taylors successor and the guy Calzaghe refused to fight.

Obviously he's going to want the Calzaghe Jones winner. I reckon Jones would be game on if he wins, but will Calzaghe? Doubt it

efb

did JC's team not makean offer to Pavlick? Or was that Taylor?

T-K-O

What a result for B-Hop he looked amazing in there and Pavlik had no answers to Hopkins superior skills.

In saying that B-hop is still one cheating mofo. He would try and usually does every trick in the book, its like a panto and the ref always falls for it.

What next for Old man poppins...

Dawson
Kessler
Jones/ Calzaghe winner

megadodge

Good calls from Akindoc and Big Ears.

I left it very late with my prediction as I was far from convinced that Hopkins wouldn't figure out Pavlik's very basic style, but went for Pavlik pts thinking he would come from behind to just outwork the older man.

However, from as early as the 3rd round I started lumping the cash onto Hopkins on Betfair, as it was pretty obvious that unless Hopkins gassed very badly he was far too clever for Pavlik and it has to be said Kelly didn't look overly sharp either. The speed difference was also much greater than I thought it would be.

There's no doubt whether you like him or not Bernard Hopkins is a truely great fighter.

joepenguin

and there you have it. Calzaghe said no chance of Hopkins rematch. I dont blame him really. The only attraction is ot bring a living legend over this side fo the atlantic for the fans. The only way I see that happening is fi Jones beats him and agrees to a rematch in the UK as he suggested in the first place. I dont think he would be quite as accomodating if he wins though.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=16501

ODD-JOB

megadodge wrote: »

However, from as early as the 3rd round I started lumping the cash onto Hopkins on Betfair

And I was probably the one selling it !! there were very little live trading on that fight on betfair !
Bet36 5 were way too slow changing their odds and were giving me 3.25 and i was selling it on betfair for 2.1 (ish),
at times i was getting 4 times the price i was laying ..
Rinsed out both accounts