World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is a big favorite to beat Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night, to such an extent that I think most people are treating it like a foregone conclusion that Pavlik is going to win. I'm predicting a Pavlik victory myself, but I have this nagging feeling that maybe everyone is wrong about this one, that maybe Hopkins is going to set a trap and let Pavlik walk right into it.
The great Bert Randolph Sugar has a piece up today previewing the fight, and these are the points that make me think Hopkins has a better chance than most people believe.
Sugar makes these points:
• Hopkins has an unusual way of getting inside. While most fighters step forward behind their jab, Hopkins steps forward while throwing right-hand crosses or left-hand hooks, often confusing his opponents.None of this is to say Hopkins is going to win. But if Hopkins can get to the inside, tie Pavlik up and control the pace, he's going to walk out of the ring having won a fight that hardly anyone thinks he can win. If the fight goes Hopkins' way it will be described as an ugly fight and a boring fight, but Hopkins isn't interested in style points. He just wants to win.
• Pavlik allows himself to be tied up on the inside, which is Hopkins' turf.
• Hopkins must control the pace of the fight. In recent fights he has shown he cannot go 12 rounds at a fast pace and only fights in spurts.
We'll be live blogging Hopkins-Pavlik on Saturday night here at FanHouse.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bernard Hopkins fights are a snooooozfest. Kelly Pavlik on the other hand is the shizzle. He will beat the living heck out of the executioner. I expect this fight to end in a Pavlik K.O. within five rounds.