So..... Pavlik vs Abraham... who wins?

Pavlik's jab, straight punching, height and reach give him the physical tools to penetrate Abraham's defense and be effective. Kelly is a big, strong and rangy middleweight with heavy hands and draining power. He would definitely be the more imposing fighter.

Abraham's resolve and punching power will always make him a legitimate threat, but I just think Kelly would be too much.

 

Kessler is definitely a better fighter than Abraham. Outside of Miranda, Abraham has beaten NOBODY. Kessler's wins over Mundine, and Andrade surpass that considering both those guys are better than Miranda.

Outside of having a puncher's chance, Kessler would box the shit outta Abraham.

 

Unless Abraham ditches the tendency to square up and cover against the ropes, he'll make it interesting and would hurt Kelly but he'd get KTFO in 9 or 10 rounds.

He'll counter Kelly but Pavlik knows how to use his height and reach and an Abraham backing up against the ropes is at the end of Kelly's power. Thus far, not many have been able to handle that.

Both guys have shown the ability to take a shot and get back up which makes this a power vs power match. If they box, Abraham gets eaten alive.

I see this as a 160 pound version of Foreman vs Lyle with Pavlik coming out on top like Foreman did.

 

Today's Miranda is really not that good of a fighter. I think the Green and Pavlik fights combined to absolutely destroy Miranda as a top tier fighter.

 

Credit, first and foremost to Arthur, who's performance against Miranda has actually made this discussion a valid one for perhaps the first time on this board :clap:

Abraham-Pavlik for me is not much more than a pick 'em fight.

Kelly has a lot of qualities, but is very straight and comes forward in (accurate and powerful) straight lines, working behind his hurtful jab and powerful straight right hand. He comes forward relentlessly and has a style which always makes for interesting fights. BUT, he also has weaknesses, in that his foot speed isn't wonderful and his defense has never really convinced. Also, Taylor and Zuniga showed that Kelly can be hurt, and in Taylor's case, he can be hurt badly.

Even though Kelly ASKED for the Taylor punch which floored him, he was in desperate trouble and only Jermaine's inabilities as a finisher spared Kelly and gave him the chance to come back to win. Abraham will offer Kelly no such second chance. I'd say that Arthur is a better defensive fighter than Kelly, is quicker in foot speed certainly and that their comparative hand speeds and power are so close as to render any difference as negligable. Arthur is undoubtedly a tough SOB- fighting against Miranda for 2/3rds of a fight with a broken jaw is no mean feat and he is a far superior finisher to anything Kelly has faced before.

Equally as important is that Arthur is essentially a counter-puncher, which IMO is the crucial aspect of any fighter who figures to fight and beat Kelly Pavlik. Stylistically, a counter puncher figures to have the best chance of beating Kelly IMHO- meeting Pavlik in the middle of the ring and trading bombs whilst Kelly is range finding and hurting with the jab is not the way to defeat Kelly. What is required is someone to feed off Kelly's forward momentum, allowing Kelly to throw his shots whilst moving out of range at angles and throwing hard and accurate counters. That is why I think Calzaghe has a terrible style for Kelly, and equally, Arthur creates a poor stylistic matchup for Pavlik.

Right now, I'd pick Kelly, but it would be close, there would be hurtful and dangerous moments for both, and Arthur would be a very live and very viable dog- perhaps 55/45 in Pavlik's favour... :dunno:

Agreed that this fight now HAS to happen. Arthur must strike whilst the proverbial iron is hot.

MTF opcorn:

 

Agreed. Green landing one punch and constantly looking to the ground has ruined Miranda. :bangh:

 

Nice:bears: