Calzaghe: “I still don’t think Kelly Pavlik has really proven himself”

By Boxing News - 08/16/2008 - Comments

calzagher5555.jpgBy Dan Ambrose: Sounding a lot like the fox in Aesop’s fable of the “Fox and the grapes,” Joe Calzaghe recently said “I still don’t think Kelly Pavlik has really proven himself,” a comment made to Setanta Sports as a reason for Calzaghe to have bypassed Pavlik and instead choosing to fight the 39 year-old Roy Jones Jr. The comment seems rather disingenuous considering that Pavlik has recently beaten Jermain Taylor, not once, but twice in succession. Calzaghe himself recently defeated Bernard Hopkins, who was twice beaten by Taylor, which makes Calzaghe’s excuse seem a little more than unbelievable.

By seemingly downgrading Pavlik, Calzaghe appears to be denying his desire for something that he perhaps feels that may not have the ability to succeed at. In other words, if you he doesn’t think he could beat Pavlik, then why not fire away at him with comments about him not having proven himself in the past. The problem with that, however, is that few boxing fans appear to be buying what Calzaghe is saying. I can’t see too many people in agreement with Calzaghe on his views about Pavlik not having proven himself, since Pavlik did after all beat Taylor twice, and is about to likely beat Hopkins as well. It just seems like a sad excuse to me, one made in an effort to avoid a harsh reality. Calzaghe, if he truly believes that Pavlik hasn’t proven himself, then he seems to be somewhat deluded, a step behind what’s going on in boxing.

Because whether he wants to accept it or not, boxing fans feel that Pavlik has proven himself as a fighter, and they collectively do seem to believe that he’s the best middleweight in the world bar none. One would hope that Calzaghe isn’t just making comments about Pavlik in order to trick himself into believing that Pavlik isn’t that good, so he could rest easier with his decision to not fight him. If that’s the case, then Calzaghe needs to sit down with someone and get some help. Pavlik is the genuine article, a solid fighter and clearly the best middleweight in the division.

It matters little that he hasn’t fought every top fighter in the division, because he’s still young and at the early stages of his career. What matters, however, is that he’s beaten Taylor twice, and also beaten good fighters like Edison Miranda and Fulgencio Zuniga, both of which are better than a large percentage of the fighters that Calzaghe has faced in his career in my estimation. Calzaghe can continue to suggest that Pavlik hasn’t proven himself until he’s blue in the face, but I seriously doubt that he’ll get much support for his beliefs among boxing fans.

It’s unfortunate that Calzaghe has decided to end his career on such a sad note, facing a faded Jones rather than going on a more positive note by taking on a real threat like Pavlik. To try and make it seem as if Jones is the bigger threat than Pavlik, seems as if Calzaghe is trying to pull a cover over our eyes. It may work for some, but not for most boxing fans, who have seen Pavlik fight, and understand how good he really is.



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