The Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins pay per view event, after under whelming anticipation, will be telecast Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT on HBO PPV with a suggested $49.95 price tag. There’s really no point to this match on the surface, it being fought as a non title light heavyweight fight at a 170 pound catch weight. But Bernard is a legendary future Hall of Famer and Kelly is the WBA/WBC/WBO middleweight champion, so the hope from co-promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank is to generate some income through star power.
After the Paul Williams negotiations fell through, Pavlik’s people looked around and didn’t see any money makers on the horizon in the middleweight division, but fortunately 43 year old Hopkins was still in business and answered the call. While some might say that Hopkins fought his last great fight against Felix Trinidad in 2001, the new century has been very good to Bernard financially as he has engaged in one mega fight after another.
It should be interesting to see how the fight fares financially. To those who have lost 35% of their retirements or are unable to meet their mortgages, $49.95 might be just a tad too much this time for a fight that doesn’t seem to offer much.
But I guess we’ll wait and see. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was quoted as saying that 10,000 tickets with a price range of $75 to $700 have already been sold. One article was titled “Pavlik-Hopkins Selling Well,” while yet another led, “Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins Proves Tough Sell.” So pick your favorite Kool-Aid.
I think the main point is that this will be the first PPV event since we found out that we need to purchase Stetsons and raincoats for the upcoming soup lines. And truthfully it has precious little to offer for the money. The undercard could replace Ambien to induce a restful night. And, the Hopkins of 2008 is about as exciting as watching grass grow.
You might have thought that more emphasis would have been placed on the fact that Hopkins has never been knocked out, to at least add some drama to a sub plot, but the promoters elected not to use that hook.
On the surface it seems very clear. On one hand I see a Kelly Pavlik who has two handed power, a good long jab, and a chin that withstood the best of Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda, and is only 26 years old.
Then on the other hand I see a Bernard Hopkins, whose top priority has never been the rules, just winning. His current offensive arsenal includes head butts, elbows, holding, low blows and rabbit punches. He is the ultimate street fighter, with an uncanny ability to slow a fight down to the point where it would have to speed up to stop.
Hopkins is slick and will do anything in his bag of tricks to win, or at least be within complaining distance. Pavlik has to stick to his game plan, avoid getting hugged and mugged for 12 rounds, and use his natural boxing ability to win.
Pavlik has the power to KO Hopkins, but it won’t be easy. Once Hopkins attaches himself to your body, he’s like a deer tick. It’s easier to get bubble gum off your shoe. So if it’s a Hopkins fight, it’s an ugly one, and in this case an overpriced one as well.
I’m picking Pavlik to win by a 12 round unanimous decision. By the way, Pavlik is about a 9-2 favorite at this point.
NOTES:
* Congratulations to Joe from Philly. He’s been telling me for a year and a half that Vitali Klitschko would stop Samuel Peter. Meanwhile I maintained doubts that Vitali would even make it to the ring. Joe is also picking Pavlik this week.
*Before the fight and Samuel Peter are forgotten completely, I just want to opine that Peter fought like a heartless, beaten cur. Worse, after seeing him disgrace himself by quitting on the stool, it was even more appalling to see him, all smiles, with Vitali after the fight. He’s not exactly a warrior.
I don’t want to appear to be a bad loser so while I’ll credit Vitali for his victory after his four year layoff, I have to wonder how he would have fared against a live body who didn’t fight as if he were a human heavy bag.
Worst of all to those of us who desired unification, there doesn’t seem to be any competition out there for Vitali and Wladimir so they figure to hold the belts for quite some time.
*As for the Chad Dawson-Antonio Tarver fight, Chad’s performance proved conclusively that he deserved to become a prominent member of the pound for pound club. He was simply masterful against a Tarver who actually fought quite well in a losing effort.
In fact, Tarver should be commended for his effort. No one can say that he didn’t go out on his shield, unlike Peter, who dogged it. After eating Dawson multi punch combinations all night he continued to battle in a game, but losing effort.
Tarver came out for the 12th with both guns blazing in an effort to salvage victory. And even after suffering a knockdown in the round, only the third of his career, he recovered and went back on the attack. He gained my respect far more in defeat that in recent victories.
And, if someone, oh like say Lennox Lewis for example, suddenly decides to take up work elsewhere, Tarver would be an excellent replacement. He knows the game, he’s well spoken, he’s charismatic, not to mention that his wife, Denise, is a traffic stopping hottie.
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank