Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik and Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins were of different in styles at their press conference last Tuesday. They will meet on Saturday in their light heavyweight bout in Atlantic City.
4 days before the fight, Hopkins was his usual self, trying to bait his opponent into betting $250,000 that Pavlik will become the 1st boxer to knock the hell out of the 43-year-old.
Pavlik, the 26-year-old undefeated middleweight champion, has 30 knockouts in 34 career bouts. Promoter Bob Arum deflected the dare before his boxer even stepped to the podium, and Pavlik spoke briefly and without bluster.
“I haven’t one fight, ever, predicted a KO,” Pavlik said calmly. “I don’t train eight hard weeks with a brutal workout regimen and put my body through what I do just to knock somebody out. I go in there to win—12 rounds. If a knockout comes, that’s great.”
The aggressive, big-hitting Pavlik better be prepared to go 12 rounds with Hopkins (48-5-1), the wily former champ with a knack for outlasting opponents. Hopkins suggested Pavlik won’t be able to adjust his style to win.
