Quote Originally Posted by CFH View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Lyle View Post
I have Martinez putting on a BOXING CLINIC for a few reasons

#1 Sergio is a very active slick southpaw. Who likes fighting those guys? NOBODY

#2 Kelly Pavlik has been no where to be found and rumors abound about what the hell he has been doing recently. They range from him being seriously injured (his hand or something) which could affect his game to him having a serious drinking problem and anger issues which could also lead to his demise in the ring.

#3 Sergio Martinez fought toe to toe with someone that's as big, awkward, and active as they come in Paul Williams. Sure PW buzzed Martinez and they fought pretty evenly and we can't compare the power of PW to the power of Pavlik. But PW throws over 100 punches a round and it's hard to be slick vs that type of fighter whereas it's far easier to be slick vs Kelly Pavlik's 1-2 shots at a time.

#4 Pavlik isn't tuned up. Kelly's last fights were vs Miguel Espino and Marco Antonio Rubio, not exactly top competition.

#5 Pavlik has had trouble with the top competition he has fought. So Kelly blitzed Edison Miranda, so what. Bernard Hopkins made Swiss Cheese out of Kelly and Jermain Taylor should have gotten the nod in their rematch. Meanwhile Sergio Martinez has recently been on the shit end of the stick vs Paul Williams (whom most thought he beat) and vs Kermit Cintron (whom everyone knows he beat). Say what you will about what a b*tch Cintron is but the power he carries is comparable to Pavlik's and I think Cintron boxes a bit better than Kelly and Sergio just straight up outclassed the guy.

I just think right now Sergio Martinez is poised to beat the shit out of Kelly Pavlik, I mean just box the kids ears off all night long. But I hope this time Sergio gets the decision he has earned
I thought I was the only one who felt that way...
No, apparently so does Lyle.

Other than reason #5, Lyle's opinion could very well carry the day. As to reason #5, Sergio also has had trouble with top competition too - see Margarito, Williams, and Cintron. I personally believe that he has an argument for a win in each of those fights, but either way, he didn't get the W's. And this fight isn't in Argentina, it's in AC, Pavlik country.

I guess the only rebuttal is that Pavlik is much bigger than Sergio and although Bernard dominated Pavlik for 12 rounds (fight was at 170), I have yet to see a smaller fighter give Pavlik any kind of problems. Eventually, Pavlik cuts off the ring and drops bombs. Sure, Martinez fought Williams at 160, and did fine, but Williams isn't a middleweight in the same way Pavlik is. Check the size difference in the pics below:

Photos: Kelly Pavlik, Sergio Martinez Meet Face To Face - Boxing News

On the other hand, Sergio may be the slickest fighter Kelly has ever faced and in many ways, a horrible style match up. The way I look at this is that because of Pavlik's power and because Sergio is moving up to Pavlik's weight, Kelly will always be one punch away from knocking Sergio out. At this point, I'm undecided. Great fight and great clash of styles. It's one of the fights I'm most looking forward to watching.

Either way, the winner makes a big statement.