Pavlik vs. Taylor : Up until the 5th round they were on Taylor’s jock strap to demolish Pavlik. The camp & trainer & fighter were all correct & in sync for this bout. It was to be Taylor’s defining fight per HBO;s commentators. Pavlik would define it differently. Pavlik would come out throwing everything that he had & Taylor would take it & answer back.

After getting dropped in the 2nd HBO’s team wrote Pavlik off. After the end of the 4th Pavlik was a god in the making. The tide would turn to Taylor’s favor & Pavlik was back in the doghouse. After the stoppage in the 9th…we had a new superstar of the middleweight division.

Oddly enough...this was the one that made me so irritated.

For years HBO's lap dog Merchant has been all up on Taylor. After the Hopkins bouts...he was sour with Taylor.

For years he was a huge supporter of Pavlik. He passed on that notion once the match up was made...maybe because of contractual agreements or grievances. Whatever they may be...he owned Taylor & after that...the commentators had an entirely different view of good ole' Kelly & Taylor was gutter worth after that.