Ward pulls out of Pavlik fight for shoulder surgury. Pavlik-Bute possible

[bzkfn]

pavlik is a tough fight for bute

pavlik has a good chin and can punch even if he isnt the fighter he once was

It's a myth that Pavlik has power at 168. At super middleweight, Pavlik isn't any stronger than an average boxer. Who has be stopped since he was at middleweight? This is a perfect fight for Bute because it is b$g, and because it is relatively low risk. Grachev was probably tougher.

As usual Rant, we're going to disagree about Pavlik (although it's usually you defending him after me criticizing him). I think it is an unknown how much power he has at 168 against top level fighters, but he stopped 2 of his last 4 at 168, and he dropped Rosinsky before decisioning him. If he uses the Froch fight as a basis, Kelly is used to applying a similar type of pressure and I think he'd be capable of stopping Bute if he can follow a similar blueprint. Sometimes these things are as much about confidence. If Pavlik were to stop Bute, it may bring back the confidence in his ability to go for the kill.

Fair play. You know I'm a Pavlik fan. I just am not convinced he has that strong-as-an-ox power that he had at middleweight, at super middleweight. Here's the bottom line: I'm not convinced Pavlik can beat a top super middleweight, whether it be Bute, Ward, Froch, Kessler etc., because he isn't super-skilled and he doesn't have the advantage of being a beast at the weight. I understand why Bute would fight Pavlik now and why Pavlik would fight Bute. It makes sense. Will you give Bute a lot of credit were he to beat Pavlik? I'm not sure I'll give him more credit than that he beat a former middleweight champion, which is a good win, as he rebuilds for the Froch rematch. For the record, I wouldn't have given Ward credit either, less in fact than Bute, because Ward doesn't need a rebuilding fight.

I'd give either one credit if he should win, as I believe they are both on the cusp of being in or out of contention and each is a dangerous fight for the other. Bute is a skill fighter and Pavlik has had his issues with this before, but I'd say Pavlik has a similar relentless style to Froch, which we know was Bute's undoing. If they fight, whomever takes it will have overcome a bit of a mental hurdle, and may enable them to recover to a top level of sorts. Only putting Kelly in a top level fight will let you know if he had carried his power up. It is the perfect tune up fight for both and would let many know who had the most left.

That being said, I've heard Abraham is looking to make a fight with Pavlik too, so Kelly is pretty sort after right now.