Pavlik vs. Ward: Andre knows he’s going to be in tough – Kelly

By Boxing News - 12/02/2012 - Comments

Image: Pavlik vs. Ward: Andre knows he's going to be in tough - KellyBy Scott Gilfoid: Kelly Pavlik (40-2, 34 KO’s) really believes he’s going to beat WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) in their January 26th fight at the Galen Center, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Pavlik told thaboxingvoice.com “I think he [Ward] knows he’s going to have a hard fight on his hands. [He’s fought] nobody with the power that I do. I wear them down.”

It’s been a while since Pavlik was a relevant fighter, perhaps as long as two years. I don’t think Pavlik is the same fighter he was back in 2010 when he got schooled by Sergio Martinez, and even if he was the same fighter he was back then, it wouldn’t be enough to beat the likes of Ward.

Pavlik is a very good fighter and definitely one of the top fighters at 168, no doubt. If this was someone like Carl Froch or Mikkel Kessler that Pavlik was taking on in this fight, then I’d give Pavlik every chance in the world to win. Unfortunately, this is the #1 super middleweight in the world right now in 28-year-old Ward, and Pavlik just doesn’t match with him.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is letting Pavlik take the Ward fight for some reason, and I’m still wondering why. This doesn’t seem like Arum because he usually puts together fights where his guys has a great chance of winning, but this isn’t one of those types of fights. This is the opposite, in fact. Pavlik has a great chance of losing and only a really small chance of coming out on top against Ward. You have to give Pavlik a chance because of his big power.

If Ward chooses to stand in front of him to trade shots like he did in getting the better of Froch last December, it could be a really tough fight for Ward. That would make it a winnable fight for Pavlik. However, I don’t think Ward is going to fight Pavlik like that because his power is top notch, and that would be giving Pavlik his only real shot of getting a victory.



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