By Chris Williams: Sounding a more than a little defensive and angry in an interview with The Sun, undefeated Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) ripped into middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs), saying that Pavlik declined to fight him after he made an effort to fight him just after he (Calzaghe) had defeated Jeff Lacy back in 2006. Rather than fight him, Calzaghe points out, Pavlik chose to fight Jermain Taylor, who Pavlik beat twice. Calzaghe claims that after Pavlik defeated Gary Lockett in June 2008, he failed to approach Calzaghe about a fight. It was only after Calzaghe signed for a fight with the 39 year-old Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs), that Pavlik “started to get brave,” Calzaghe says. What Calzaghe says seems somewhat odd, however, because Pavlik had previously shown great interested in fighting Calzaghe before and after the fight with Lockett, and would seen curious that Calzaghe believes that Pavlik wasn’t interested in a fight.
Pavlik, arguably the best fighter in the middleweight division, has been interested in a fight with Calzaghe for well over a year, something that most boxing fans are well aware of by now. It was thought that Calzaghe would fight him after Pavlik’s fight with Lockett recently.
By Adam Laiolo: To gain the mantle of ‘the next big thing’, the one who will dominant once older or established champions have been beaten, retired or both, you have to make a significant dent in this champions division and be stalking him for one last great throw of the dice, that last bite of glory, bowing out on a high note with pride and reputation intact. This very rarely happens, that last temptation of glory or even a last paycheck to sail off into retirement has got the better of a plethora of former champions and legends of old. Whatever the reasons for this final swansong, it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, damage any reputation of previous glories or conquests.
By Jim Dower: With the latest trend in boxing, WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) has decided on facing a faded star of yesterday, in this case former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOs), who is nearing his 44th birthday. The fight might have been supremely interesting eight to ten years ago when Hopkins was in his prime but as of now it’s hard to get excited about it other than the spectacle of it. In one corner you have Pavlik, 26, who is currently in his prime and by far the best fighter in the middleweight division, and in the other you have Hopkins, a fighter who is coming off of a narrow defeat to Joe Calzaghe but who has lost three out of his last five fights. 
By Michael Lieberman: With Joe Calzaghe now showing little interest in getting in the ring with undefeated WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) after his total destruction of Calzaghe’s fellow countryman Gary Lockett in a 3rd round TKO in June, Pavlik has now turned his attention to recent Calzaghe opponent Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs), who he hopes to take out in an impressive fashion taking Hopkins out so that there’s no question in people’s minds who the better fighter is between them. This is especially important after Calzaghe failed to prove that he is better than Hopkins, and had to struggle to get a 12-round split decision victory in April. 
By Jonathan Watkins: To become a renowned champion, you must fight your way to the top and then maintain the skills and consistency to stay there. Once accomplished you then have the luxury of sitting at the top of your division and being sought after by up and coming boxers. These fighters, aspiring to become better than the best fighter, have something to prove, unlike the title-holder who has already proven his worth.
By Dan Ambrose: This is a question that has many boxing fans and writers wondering about since undefeated super middleweight Joe Calzaghe decided upon fighting what many people consider to be a faded Roy Jones Jr. rather than a young, 26-year-old undefeated middleweight Kelly Pavlik. Although Calzaghe has made his reasoning pretty clear for deciding not to fight Pavlik – “he’s not ready…he hasn’t proven himself…he turned me down previous…etc” -it doesn’t seem to be making much sense to many people and it’s not pacifying a lot of non-English boxing fans, who see it as something other than what Calzaghe is saying. 
By 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 Michael Lieberman: Undefeated super middleweight Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) has made it no secret that he’d like to retire with his undefeated record intact, and with his boxing legacy unblemished with any ugly defeats that would mar his record. In the past several months, however, he’s been pursued steadily by unbeaten WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs), who has gone to great lengths in order to try and land a fight with him. Even though Pavlik is the smaller fighter, he’s willing to take the risky bout because he knows that he’ll ultimately earn more respect from the boxing public, and be rewarded by receiving even bigger paydays should he come out on the winning end of such a fight. 
By David Lahr: Looking for another big payday, undefeated WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) will be fighting former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOs) on October 18th at Atlantic City, in New Jersey. Having recently defended his title with an impressive 3rd round stoppage of Gary Lockett in June, Pavlik is now ready for some really big money against the 43 year-old Hopkins. 
By Tony Krebs: Just looking at the current state of boxing now with fighters like Kelly Pavlik facing 43 year-old former champion Bernard Hopkins rather than other more deserving middleweights, undefeated Joe Calzaghe avoiding his top super middleweight opponents to fight a 39 year-old Roy Jones Jr, and then for the kicker of them all, Oscar De La Hoya taking on Manny Pacquiao, a fighter that he outweighs by 25 lbs. There is certainly a great deal of ridicule that has occurred due to these bouts, as it seems to have made a mockery of the different weight classes, removing established weight boundaries, turning things into a state of chaos in which only what brings about the most money seems to count.