Pavlik-Hopkins?

Question

What's your prediction?

Answer 1

Imma go with Bernard Hopkins hes the pond for pound best in the division

Answer 2

Hopkins has a habit of making fighters look bad, including himself. If Taylor couldn't make Pavlik look bad, Hopkins has no chance.

Answer 3

well Pavlik beat Taylor twice and Taylor beat Hopkins Twice.....  Hop can do good against aging fighters like Tarver and Wright or smaller guys like Trinidad & De L Hoya.  but he's too old to handle a young lion like Pavlic.

Answer 4

Pavlic by 5th round knockout,no problem for him!

Answer 5

d**n it seems like bernard liked how it felt gettin beat by a white boy and he want some more lmao

after he get knocked out(cause pavlik will destroy him watch) i guess he will move to heAvyweight to fight wladimir for the ultimate white boy beating lol

Answer 6

i think Hopkins is too far removed from his prime to defeat Pavlik at this point.

Answer 7

Hopkins should retire.  Calzaghe was able to land but he lacks power.  Pavlik will KO Hopkins.

Answer 8

Pavlik.  Hopkins can hold his own in the ring, but he has never been a convincing fighter or an impressive puncher. He is technically savvy and he has proven to be a punisher by attrition.  At this stage in Hopkin's career his punches are not getting bigger against a big puncher like Pavlik. The fight would go the distance, I just don't think Bernard has the fire power he once had, and even then it was not a game changer in his arsenal. Hopkins is a brawler with great defensive skills, Pavlik is a boxer who can brawl that has artillery in both hands. Pavlik.

Answer 9

If Hopkins could fight for the full 12 like he did the first 5 or 6 against Calzaghe than i would give B-Hop a massive chance in this fight but my biggest concern was the way Hopkins fell away in the later rounds of the fight against Joe and i would think he will probably of had enough by the middle rounds in this one as well. I will take Pavlik to win a decision but Hopkins will cause him some major problems along the way, i think it may well be the athleticism of Pavlik that wins this one rather than the power pretty simular to the Taylor and Calzaghe fights he will quite simply get outworked.

What a legend B-Hop is still taking these big fights against the much younger and hungrier opposition, i suppose money has a lot to do with his decisions but what a man he is to take a fight against a beast like Pavlik at the age of 43.

Answer 10

Pavlik is going to dominate this fight. B-Hop don't get me wrong is a good fighter and has a great legacy but Kelly will be too much for him. This fight has not been made official yet but if and when they do fight Kelly i believe will win by KO

Answer 11

Pavlik owes Hopkins.

What fight fans always seem to forget about boxing is, that when you have an ageing fighter like Hopkins versas an undefeated fighter like Pavlik and the decision has been left in the hands of the judges, the obvious choice for them many times will be which fighter is gonna generate the most money in the future for the bigwigs. Dont think for a second that decisions are not made with the future in mind.

This mindset came into play during the Hopkins/Taylor fights. The behind the scene guys are thinking Hopkins is basically on his way out of the game, whereas, Taylor was the young fresh undefeated star who could attract and draw viewers. Everyone knows that Hopkins won those fights, but he was no longer the future money maker, Taylor was thought to be. Of course nobody really knew that Hopkins was gonna stick around like he has or they may have given him those decisions back then. Thats why its  never a good thing to hint at retirement.

But the truth still remains, Pavlik is the current undefeated money maker with a style that draws interest to the sport. Hopkins is old, slow, boring to watch and at any time, on his way to permenent retirement. That equals no future big money making opportunities for dudes running boxing by backing him.

The obvious choice if a decision was to go to the judges is Pavlik. Of course Pavlik could make that decision an easy one by actually winning the rounds.

If Hopkins is to win this fight or any other big fight similar to this one, hes gonna have to do it by knock out.

But thats not gonna happen here. Pavlik will pick Hopkins a part. Out land him. Outscore him and basically be the busier fighter. Pavlik wins easily enough simply because Hopkins will only be there to collect another paycheck and not to get knocked out.

Answer 12

For some strange reason I kinda agree with Pancho on this fight. My first instinct was to pick Pavlik in a route but then when you really break this fight down, exactly what Pancho said is true. Hopkins is still a very crafty fighter and Pavlik really does nothing special in the ring, his best weapon is his power, which will probably be negated by the chin and defense of Hopkins. Pavlik is slow but he does hit hard, but for some reason i can see Hopkins giving him angles and hitting him with lead rights and/or counter rights all night. While i don't see Hopkins knocking Pavlik out, i do see him keeping Kelly off balance and showing enough defense and counterpunching to pull off a close points win. And remember, Hopkins is the naturally bigger fighter in this match up so it's not like Kelly is going to be a lot stronger than Hopkins.

Answer 13

OH, this is sooo bad for Kelly Pavlik. I think he just got baited into his first "L".

Yeah I know...before you all say it "Bernards over the hill, blah blah" heard it before. Go back a couple of posts when they were asking for predictions of the Hopkins/Calzaghe fight, and see where I said "Bernard would dump Calzaghe on his *** if he squared his shoulders". The guy that made the question said "Wow, you called that perfect", I called that Hopkins would lose, and that Calzaghes workrate would be cut in half. So Im not a blind fan.

So trust the following.....

Kelly Pavlik is tailor made for Bernard Hopkins.

1. Despite Hopkins age, his style creates that he doesnt need the workrate for twelve rounds, but that has backfired in his face lately fighting faster fighters. Thats not Pavlik, as a matter of fact Pavlik is SERIOUSLY slow.

2. Bernard will dispense with fighting on the outside. Pavlik's money punches are when he can extend his arms. Bernard will spend twelve ugly rounds fighting in a phone booth with Pavlik, and that wont work in Pavlik's favor. I mean lets face it, whos better at punching a quarter inch away from your opponent, Hopkins or Pavlik? And Pavlik cant fight and walk backwards, he doesnt know how. So he will have to keep walking into the same problem time and time again.

3. Experience: Again, the same reason I said it about Calzaghe. Its easy to say your gonna beat a seasoned fighter...its another thing to stand in the ring and figure him out when your own TRAINER has no clue what hes doing or why. Pavlik is going to be outclassed, outseasoned, and likely schooled, all on the inside. His best weapons nullified in two rounds.

4. Pavlik hasnt had to fight as dirty as Bernard Hopkins is willing to. "Philly" has ALOT of tricks (such as turning your shoulders and stepping outside your opponents foot when in the middle with him clearing his arms) that Pavlik wont see till hes swatted with it.

5. And finally, though he will have youth, Pavlik WILL not have the strength advantage. Pavlik went up a weight class for the rematch with Taylor, and hes going up one more to fight Hopkins. That will not work in his favor, as a matter of fact its RETARDED to make those kinds of weight class jumps without tuneups. I get the feeling Pavlik's camp is trying to cash out fast.

Either way, if Nard stays outside he will lose cause he will stay inactive. BUT, if he opts to fight in a phone booth, he may knock youngun out. Keep in mind, Taylor dumped Pavlik on his ***, and Nard fought twice with Taylor and didnt even get dizzy or hurt.

Answer 14

Funny as this may sound because Pavlik beat Taylor twice who beat Hopkins twice, Hopkins has the style to give Pavlik trouble. Hopkins is crafty, has a good defense even at 43, has a good chin, and can hit Pavlik with those sneaky right hands. I smell an upset here and I know I'm probably in the minority, but style-wise this is not a good matchup for Pavlik. Pavlik won't be able to land tons of hard right hands on Hopkins like he did Taylor and Hopkins will probably take the ones that do get home pretty good because of his chin. I see Bernard using his craftiness and setting traps for Pavlik all night, and hitting Pavlik with enough sneaky right hands to win a SD.

Answer 15

Even though I disagree with Pancho's final outcome prediction, I have to give him thumbs up. Pancho made some good points in what could happen in the fight, which I can agree with and easily see happening.

In the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight, I thought Hopkins robbed himself of opportunities to do more to possibly earn a victory of Calzaghe. I have a feeling that Hopkins will once again rob himself of chances to do enough to win, therefore giving a decision win to Pavlik, which is the only reason I disagree with Pancho's final outcome.