Boxing Perspective: Can The “Ghost” Haunt The 168lb Elite?

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik developed a reputation as boxing’s blue collar good guy. A brawler hailing from Youngstown, OH who represents everything inside the ring that the city itself does outside.

Hard working, honest and takes nothing for granted, this attitude has garnered him an impressive fan following, similar to another Youngstown great of the past, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.

Pavlik worked his way up the rankings with little or no fanfare, earning the public’s recognition win by win. As he chipped away opponent after opponent in 2007, Pavlik found himself in a WBC title eliminator when he faced the hard hitting and feared Edison Miranda.

Pavlik, a slight underdog in the eyes of some, was met head on by Miranda and forced into an honest fight rather then a boxing match. After some rough moments, Kelly managed to impose his will and forced a referee stoppage in just under two minutes of the 7th round, earning the biggest win of his career and a shot at then undefeated champion Jermain Taylor.

When the opportunity against Taylor arrived, Pavlik, who was behind midway of the bout, rallied hard, staying true to form and as in the eliminator with Miranda, found himself victorious in round seven, walking home as the champion.

Shortly after winning the rematch with Taylor by UD, Pavlik made his first genuine defense of the belt when he stopped Gary Lockett inside of three rounds enhancing his reputation as one of boxing’s most ferocious finishers.

On a 34 bout win streak with 30 of those coming inside the distance, Pavlik and his handlers felt ready for a high profile bout, which wasn’t available in the middleweight division so they accepted the challenge of former longtime middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins.

With his confidence soaring, there was little reason for Kelly to believe this bout would not go the same as those in the past; after all, Hopkins was aging and Pavlik had recently walked through Taylor, who had defeated Hopkins twice.

Pavlik and his people were so wrong.

The bout did not go Pavlik’s way even one time. Whenever he tried to mount an offense, Hopkins would use ring savvy to counteract Pavlik’s punching power turning him and frustrating Kelly.

When Pavlik went into a defensive shell, Hopkins would land four, five and six punch combinations. When the bell sounded to end the bout, Pavlik was left looking beaten, bruised and like a man who had all the confidence taken from his heart. However, Kelly still reigned at 160lbs and had a throne to return to.

Just four months later, Marco Antonio Rubio would find himself unable to answer the bell for round ten against Pavlik while ten months later Miguel Angel Espino fell in just five rounds.

Shortly afterward, rumors began to spread about Pavlik’s lifestyle. It was reported that Kelly was living the life of a lad and then weight rumors began to surface, with some reports mentioning that Pavlik had ballooned up to 190lbs.

Boxing is famous for its false rumor tree and if we believed every rumor in the sport, one would have to wonder how some of these fighters even managed to make it into a gym let alone become world champions.

When Pavlik signed to face 154lb title holder Sergio Martinez, the man who gave Paul Williams fits just months before, it began to erase the ill started gossip as public workouts and appearances did not show the weight issues and abuse to his body that had been reported.

In fact, there was little to no reason for anyone to believe we would not see the very best of Pavlik. Fight night would be a bit of a different tale though.

When the bout started, Martinez baffled the champion with blinding speed, landing at will even easier then Hopkins had done just a little more than a year earlier. At times, Sergio would mock Kelly while fighting with his hands at his side. The middle rounds brought a slight change as Pavlik began to impose his will, observers were sure that Martinez had shot his guns empty and it would only be a matter of time before the champion stopped him as Sergio did not seem so cocky anymore and was on the run.

Then, just as suddenly as Martinez seemed to fade earlier and be forced on the defensive, things once again changed and it was Pavlik who looked tired, Martinez once again fought with his hands at his side, mocking Pavlik. In between rounds, Kelly looked confused and frustrated, despite his corner urging him to press the attack, he seemed to be stuck in mud. The bout ended with Martinez winning the UD and Kelly going home beltless with loss number two.

What exactly happened in the Martinez fight? Were rumors of Kelly’s lifestyle true and it had effected his in ring performance? If so, then what kind of future will he have in boxing? Was it a weight issue? Pavlik’s people stated he will not seek a rematch with Martinez, so more than likely the weight issue was a valid rumor, if we remove the scuttlebut from the equation there is something more pressing that Pavlik and his camp need concern themselves with.

This is the second time Kelly has lost to a slick fighter who uses the ring to his advantage. Even a healthy Pavlik, who does not have a weight issue or has not been indulging himself in the nightlife will more than likely have an issue with fighters who employ this style. When Pavlik steps back into the ring most probably at 168lbs, he will be greeted with a plethora of such opponents.

Andre Dirrell is blindingly fast and never stops moving. Andre Ward, while slightly slower, also employs such tactics and both are younger than Pavlik with seemingly more stamina.

Mikkel Kessler, who looks to have slowed a bit over these last few years, may not be a fast slick boxer but he is very well rounded and can implore more than plan A. Arthur Abraham is a notoriously slow starter but other than his showing difficulty with speed based opponents like he did in the Dirrell bout seems to never tire, but in fact he gets stronger as the fight goes on.

Carl Froch may be the least technical of the elite group at 168 but again his stamina seems endless and if it is a toe to toe battle you are looking for, Froch is certainly the man to see, yet for his underrated boxing ability has shown to be a puncher of all angles when need be. Pavlik recently has shown to not only tire but a need to have his man in front of him.

Lucian Bute, the current 168lb IBF belt holder who many consider the most talented of the division, is everything those mentioned above are and more. Bute has shown one punch knockout power, he has better then average speed, is willing to brawl and hits you from angles not expected.

The only flaw shown thus far in Bute’s game is stamina but it was only a problem in his first meeting with Librado Andrade and not until round 12 after a hard fought bout that Bute had been dominating, not to mention Andrade had given the champion zero breathing room throughout.

How can the 28 year old former middleweight champion expect to enter such a talent rich division with the exact type of fighters whom have given him the most problems to date and expect to be successful? Can Pavlik learn new tricks at this stage in the game? Is he willing to learn those new tricks?

If not, will the power that has brought him so far be just as effective against men who hit just as if not harder then Pavlik and have been able to dispatch of higher quality opposition then most on Kelly’s list?

This is a horrible time for anyone to decide and enter the 168lb division, for once it is the division that will either make or break a fighter. A move to light heavyweight at this moment is unthinkable for the Youngtown slugger as those who reign there are much too big and cagey for Kelly at this stage in the game.

Curiosity peaks the interest of Pavlik’s future, there are so many questions lingering about on exactly what will take place next. Unlike other former champions who move up a weight class or two, we can usually predict how they will fare considering their last outings. Pavlik has done only poorly against movers and shakers, those who have stood in front of him have fared poorly.

Those men he will face next that will stand in front of him are no Locketts, Rubios or Espinos and would have the fight no other way assuming the choice is theirs, they also are accustomed to being hit by bigger men than undersized middleweights. Those who specialize in the style that has shown to be Pavlik’s downfall can not only move but hit a hell of a lot harder than Sergio Martinez.

Will Pavlik shake up the super middleweight elite like he did to those at 160 or will he end up just another ex champion who has seen his best days? Something tells me there will be no middle for Pavlik, but then again, in truth, it is only a question Pavlik himself can answer.