Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
according to Sunday's sports page in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the fight is a done deal!
Go Kelly!
Go Kelly!
This guy is nothing, and I'm going to expose him. And then what? After I beat him, then what? Because I'm going to beat him, and I'm going to beat him bad. Especially if he comes to fight.
Taylor said he punished Pavlik in the amateurs, and will punish him again as a pro because "Pavlik's heart isn't big enough."
"In the amateurs, I punished him, no problem whatsoever. He has gotten a little better, a little older, a little more mature, but that don't mean nothing. If he comes to fight, and comes to fight hard, his heart isn't big enough."
TheEnglishman said:Jermains talking crap, whats new?
pt.guard2 said:Odd that he chose to question Kelly's heart, since that is usually the knock on Taylor....a skilled boxer who either ducks certain opponents or does not go for broke (like with Spinks) once he is in the ring.
Will not be an easy fight, but if Kelly can keep up the pressure, he has the power to take him out.
Maple Leaf said:A 50-60% evasion rate makes a fighter look like a"defensive genius", but what about the other 50-40? They connect.
Pavlik is going to connect with Taylor. Taylor does not have the ability to move laterally for 12 rounds and even if he tried he does not have the fitness. Taylor fires 30-50 shots per round comfortably. More than that and his fitness will be pushed further than he is comfortable with and he will tire.
Pavlik's hands are always high and his blocking is extraordinary. In fact, his blocking is so extradinary even that loathsome Kellerman had to compliment Pavlik for his blocking ability after the Zertuche fight.
Winky Wright closed Taylor's left eye with right hooks thrown up close.
After spending a good bit of time discounting Pavlik's qualification as a challenger, Taylor answered one reporter's question why he thought Pavlik was getting a title shot.
"Because he's 'The Ghost,'" Taylor said of the double entendre in a nudge-nudge, wink-wink tone.
Just so Taylor wouldn't be misinterpreted, DiBella cleared the air.
"He (Pavlik) is white," DiBella said. "Let's face reality."
Pavlik didn't crawl down into the sewer with Taylor and DiBella when he was told about their racial comments; in fact, he appeared to relish their comments.
"I love it. It makes me work harder," Pavlik said.
"Jermain's still a big guy (6-foot-1) and I won't look past his power or his style," Pavlik said. "He thinks I'm just a slow white kid from the Midwest. He'll be surprised come fight night. He has a lot of flaws to his game and I'm going to take advantage of those on Saturday."
A spotless professional record and No. 1 middleweight ranking have brought Kelly Pavlik lots of attention. But not everyone is buying into the excessive hype. Promoter Lou DiBella says the attention heaped on Pavlik has more to do with skin color than ring accomplishments.
"But he has gotten better. He's a quality fighter and he's white. Who the hell are we kidding, he's white. It helps. Let's face reality."
"I feel I earned my way up to the top. I still have more to prove, but I'm not going to let them put me down. I'm No. 1 for a reason. They just think I'm a slow white kid from the Midwest (Youngstown, Ohio) who comes straight ahead. They're going to be surprised. It just makes it sweeter when I win."
"I know I'm supposed to say he's a good fighter, but he's not. I don't see that, I just don't see it," Taylor said. "The only thing I see is that he's a strong fighter -- other than that, nothing. He just doesn't excite me. He's just a normal fighter. I'm glad the hype is there, but I just don't see it."
POWER AND AGGRESSION: "(Taylor) is going to try to brawl a little bit, but once I land a hard punch anywhere on his body, he's going to go back to running and try to survive. We'll see how he adapts against somebody who throws so many punches -- 70, 80 a round, maybe more."
FIGHT PLAN: "We're going to use head movement, hand speed and different angles. We'll eliminate his jab by throwing a lot of punches. He has a lot of flaws in his game and I'm going to take advantage."