Pavlik vs Espino Set For December 19, Top Rank PPV

[JazMerkin]

Cut Pavlik some slack, he has issues and needs an easy fight and keep his title. He should fight Williams next. He is not Mayweather.

You're right Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio & Miguel Espino are far more worthy fights than Oscar De La Hoya at 154, Ricky Hatton at 147 & Juan Manuel Marquez at 147

No one would give him shit about having an easy fight if he hadn't bailed on 3 in the past 6 months only to decide to fight a guy off the contender.

That not's entirely fair either. Prior to Lockett, he fought JT twice and the second time he went up five pounds to 165. He made a title defense against Gary Lockett and then he went up ten pounds to fight a top five p4p boxer in Bernard Hopkins. Since Hopkins, he only fought once against a top ten middleweight even if Rubio isn't a tremendous talent. I'll give him the pass on Espino if he fights a Williamsesque caliber fighter next. But, it's the last pass.

Who had Rubio as a Top 10 Middleweight? I'm pretty sure The Ring didn't at the time. I give him a lot of respect for fighting Taylor, but let's be honest they picked Hopkins as a mark because a lot of people thought he looked past it in the Calzaghe fight, including those of us who thought he edged the fight. There is no excuse for the likes of Lockett, Rubio & Espino, not when there have been guys like Abraham & Williams begging him for a fight. I don't know if it's him or Top Rank but these guys don't want to risk him against Sergio Mora for christsakes.

As for your points on Mayweather, I can't see how anyone can complain about Hatton. He was undefeated, already a world champion at the weight & Mayweather was coming down from LMW. I mean seriously? Would you expect him to come down 2 divisions? Marquez, I was not happy about, but if it was just a comeback fight then I would consider him more of a threat at the weight than Hlatshwayo or someone like that. But he will fight the Pacquiao/Cotto winner, if he doesn't I will be berating him as much as anyone.

[Rantcatrat]

You're right Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio & Miguel Espino are far more worthy fights than Oscar De La Hoya at 154, Ricky Hatton at 147 & Juan Manuel Marquez at 147

No one would give him shit about having an easy fight if he hadn't bailed on 3 in the past 6 months only to decide to fight a guy off the contender.

That not's entirely fair either. Prior to Lockett, he fought JT twice and the second time he went up five pounds to 165. He made a title defense against Gary Lockett and then he went up ten pounds to fight a top five p4p boxer in Bernard Hopkins. Since Hopkins, he only fought once against a top ten middleweight even if Rubio isn't a tremendous talent. I'll give him the pass on Espino if he fights a Williamsesque caliber fighter next. But, it's the last pass.

Who had Rubio as a Top 10 Middleweight? I'm pretty sure The Ring didn't at the time. I give him a lot of respect for fighting Taylor, but let's be honest they picked Hopkins as a mark because a lot of people thought he looked past it in the Calzaghe fight, including those of us who thought he edged the fight. There is no excuse for the likes of Lockett, Rubio & Espino, not when there have been guys like Abraham & Williams begging him for a fight. I don't know if it's him or Top Rank but these guys don't want to risk him against Sergio Mora for christsakes.

As for your points on Mayweather, I can't see how anyone can complain about Hatton. He was undefeated, already a world champion at the weight & Mayweather was coming down from LMW. I mean seriously? Would you expect him to come down 2 divisions? Marquez, I was not happy about, but if it was just a comeback fight then I would consider him more of a threat at the weight than Hlatshwayo or someone like that. But he will fight the Pacquiao/Cotto winner, if he doesn't I will be berating him as much as anyone.

There is an excuse for all of the fighters except Espino. Rubio was definitely a top ten middleweight at the time in Ring Magazine and it was immediately following Pavlik's horrible showing against Hopkins. I'm not saying Rubio was top level talent, but he was top ten and it is fair to expect an easier fight after a fighter loses for the first time. Would you expect Arreola to fight Vlad after losing to Vitali? Locket was the gimme fight he had after fighting Miranda and Taylor twice. There is nothing wrong with one easy fight per four fights. I'll admit there is no real excuse for Espino. My guess is the rumors about Pavlik's unfocused behavior are somewhat true and he needed a gimme fight to get him focused. However, that's still not an excuse. Listen, if Pavlik doesn't fight a tough fight after this Espino fight, I'll write him off.