No Mas Pt.1

"No Mas"
Two words that are ingrained in boxing history that may or may not have been the utterance of a flummoxed Roberto Duran as he took on Sugar Ray Leonard in a rematch for his welter weight crown in New Orleans in November 1980.
29 years later the words have resurfaced but instead of a fighter saying them, we as boxing fans are.

Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor first met in 2007 for the undisputed middleweight crown and despite the champion Taylor flooring Pavlik in the first round Pavlik rose to stop Taylor in the 7th. Since then their careers have gone in opposite directions but essentially have us saying the same thing, no mas.

Pavlik, a down to earth likeable guy from Youngstown, Ohio, continued to rise in stature and was touted as a new star in boxing. He beat Taylor again in a non title rematch and then stopped his mandatory, Gary Lockett in 3 rounds. He was cruising but then 'The Ghost' came unstuck.

The young star faced the wily veteran Bernard Hopkins and was expected to be too young and strong for his 43 year old opponent who had just come off a split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe. Yet Pavlik looked on dimensional as Hopkins comprehensively beat Pavlik by a wide unanimous decision.
A defeat to Hopkins is nothing to be ashamed of as Hopkins is a certain first ballot hall of famer but it was the manner in which he was beaten that was so shocking. He offered nothing in the fight as Hopkins beat him to the every punch and was even confident enough to bolo punch Pavlik on numerous occasions.
The indestructible aura around him was gone and even in his return against Marco Antonio Rubio he was not his same impressive self (although Rubio was partly to blame).

Pavlik's team looked to get their man back on track with a June date against Sergio Mora, a junior middle weight but a credible name having defeated Vernon Forrest, but this was called off due to a staph infection in one of Pavlik’s hands and Pavlik awaited a chance for redemption.

A chance to erase the stain Hopkins left on his record looked distant then suddenly to the delight of boxing fans everywhere Top Rank and Dan Goosen announced that an agreement had been reached for a fight between Pavlik and Paul 'The Punisher' Williams. Pavlik’s chance had arrived against a man considered one of boxing’s most dangerous and avoided. A victory would provide credibility to his middleweight reign having only defended his crown against the limited Lockett and Rubio.

The fight was scheduled for October but to the dismay of the boxing world the nagging staph infection reared its head again and the fight was postponed. There was mild disappointment when the Mora fight was called off but when the Williams fight was postponed the decision was met with disappointment turning to anger when it was revealed that Pavlik had missed doctor appointments that were scheduled to heal the injury.
It looked like the fight was off as Williams began to search for a new opponent but the fight was saved and rescheduled for December.
Then last week Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer revealed that his fighter's hand had not healed as expected and the fight was off again. This time the fight was done with Williams’ team beyond furious and moving to find another opponent to fill the Dec date. The decision to call off the bout lead Dan Goosen, Williams' promoter, to claiming they do not need Pavlik and won’t enter negotiations again

Now the knives were out as people’s patience (as well as mine) had well and truly ran out. The man people thought was going to be boxing's next was derided as merely a contender.
His 'ducking' of Arthur Abraham, his weak opposition since winning the middleweight crown as well as the supposed personal problems (alcohol related) he was suffering are now all being held against Pavlik.

I am not one for kicking a man when he is down but I can see where this anger has come from, it is abundantly clear that Pavlik's career has not progressed as it could/should have and the same people who derided Jermain Taylor’s tenure at the top of the illustrious middle weight division are now wanting Pavlik dethroned. As a boxer your hands are your tools of trade so we cannot chastise Pavlik for not jumping at the chance to fight with his infected hand but stories about him missing his appointments do not endear him to the fans that were so looking forward to the bout.
I have an appreciation for all boxing but even I have my limit and if he is unable to defend his title then he should vacate his titles and allow someone that is fit and able to fight a chance.
It appears Pavlik has stagnated and even regressed in his stint as champion thus I would be far from upset to see The Ring Magazine relieve him of his title.

I say ‘No Mas’ to Pavlik's middleweight reign.