Quote Originally Posted by bzkfn View Post
Quote Originally Posted by hattonthehammer View Post
its hard to tell. Once we actually see arthur come away from his safetyzone of germany and fight a genuine contender its gonna be hard to actually know how good abraham is.

Ive got this inkling that a pavlik/williams even wright would be too big a step for him but its hard to tell
I think Abraham would KO Pavlik. His defence is too tight and Kelly is too one dimensional. Kelly will probably start better before Abraham takes over and KO's him around the 8th. I think Williams would totally outbox Pavlik as well. Pavlik has a better chance with Wright and Sturm. Wright, simply because of age and inactivity, and Sturm, because I think Kelly could wear him down.
When did the thread become about trashing Pavlik?

That Abraham's defense is too tight for Kelly is a respectable position. No doubt that AA has great defense and if he fought Pavlik and won, it would likely be because of his defensive prowess.

However, correct me if I'm wrong, but with the defense comes the tendency for AA to take time off in rounds. Not that the punches thrown at him during such lulls always land, but they add up. Against a volume puncher, like Pavlik to an extent, that could be a problem. Moreover, Pavlik has thudding power (86.11%). A lot of power and a lot of punches may spell trouble for AA.

Pavlik also has a considerable height/reach advantage over AA: 6'2 1/2 versus 5'10 and 75" reach versus 72". Pavlik fights tall too. Lastly, from all reports, AA didn't look good in his last fight. Of course we'll get another look at him against another safe opponent in Mahir Oral (who?). Hopefully, he looks better in that fight.

Upon first glance, and we have at least six months to ponder the outcome, this fight may come down to how Pavlik handles AA's power. If he handles it, he should win on points because he throws too many punches.

That said, there aren't too many other options for AA other than Pavlik at 160. I'd like to see Mundine fight AA, but that isn't happening, and Sturm is afraid of him.