Bleacher Report - Articles by Robert Gilroy

Simply Amazing: Bernard Hopkins Defeats Kelly Pavlik

Robert Gilroy — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:25:57 -0400

All last week I was excited to watch the Hopkins vs Pavlik fight. I was excited to see two of my favorite fighters duke it out in a 12 round light heavyweight bout. But what I expected this fight to be was a stepping stone for Kelly Pavlik. I expected him to get that 35th victory over the lengend of Bernard Hopkins and to move up on everyone's pound-for-pound rankings.

I thought wrong.

B-Hop came out and took Pavlik to school. By round seven I was in disbelief that any of this was happening. Could Pavlik really have lost every single round up to this point or am I wrong?

Then the rounds went on, and Hopkins continued to make Pavlik look like an absolute fool, landing at will and avoiding all of Pavlik's punches. Not only did he prove everyone wrong yet again, he absolutely dominated a fighter 17 years younger than him.

With this fight, I feel Hopkins truely became one the greatest fighters of all time. I feel this fight really proves it because just look at Bernard's age. Not only that, but look how much younger Pavlik is. Simply amazing. That's all I have to say about Bernard's performance, skills, and career up to this point. Simply amazing. One of the all time greats.

But I can't help but think, what happened to Kelly Pavlik? This unstoppable wrecking machine being destroyed by a 43-year-old man. Maybe it was the weight. But I'm still shocked he let Hopkins make such a fool out of him. Maybe he's been shown for what he truly is.

Maybe he wasn't that good after all, he just had the stuff to beat Miranda and then Taylor twice to gain the middleweight title. Has he been found out? Will all his opponents now know how to beat him? Only time will tell. This fight might just be the best thing to happen to young Kelly. Maybe he'll learn from this whipping he received from Hopkins and come back a better fighter.

But one thing is for sure: all us fight fans are lucky to live in the time of Bernard Hopkins. Let's all enjoy the few years this great fighter has left.

Manny Pacquiao Vs Olden Boy

Robert Gilroy — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:30:18 -0400

Ok. It's the fight everybody's been talking about. Manny Pacquiao moving up in weight to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Dec 6. Me, I can't wait. I can't wait to see De La Hoya take a nasty beating.

Yeah that's right, I'm saying the Pacman is going to beat the Golden Boy. Why am i saying this? Well first of all the 35-year-old De La Hoya is done. He's no where near what he used to be. His fight with Steve Forbes in May proved nothing. Forbes is past his prime too, and Oscar couldnt even knock him out and to me Oscar looked slow.

DLH just ain't what he used to be, not even close. And second, take a look at Manny Pacquiao. The guy's got hand speed, punching power, heart, and he's the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world right now. Do you think he's going to let a has-been beat him?

Now I know some of you are saying Pacquiao will lose because of the weight the fight is going to be at. De La Hoya is bigger and has fought at junior middleweight before (this will be Pacquiao's first time).

But look at Pacquiao's masacre of David Diaz in July. Although the fight was at lightweight, the Pacman weighed around 147, and was just as quick and powerful as ever. When fighting a guy as good as Pacquiao, relying on your size advantage and only that is bad. Very bad. You might as well mark another loss on your record.

Now maybe I'm not giving enough credit to De La Hoya because I'm not a fan of his. In fact I can't stand him. I never fell for that "good looking American boy" crap that so many people love. I always thought of him as a pretty boy. Seeing him take a beating and/or get KO'd out December 6 would be an early Christmas for me.

But I can't see Oscar winning this fight. I'm not just saying that because I despise the "Olden Boy," as I've been calling him, or because I'm a fan of Pacquiao. De La Hoya is too old, too slow. Manny is too young, too quick, too powerful.

But then again maybe I'm wrong. De La Hoya has proven his critics wrong before. But I don't think he's gonna pull this one off. Either way, I'm sure this is going to be an awesome fight. Let's see as Pacquiao destoys this boxing icon, or maybe Oscar will prove us all wrong just one more time.

Could Joe Calzaghe Be Ducking Kelly Pavlik?

Robert Gilroy — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:45:42 -0400

Now that Joe Calzaghe has beaten Bernard Hopkins—thereby proving himself not only to be the man to beat in the super middleweight class, but also the light heavyweight divisions—why is he taking a fight with a way-past-his-prime, 39-year-old Roy Jones Jr., instead of taking the fight everyone wants him to take, with middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik?

Is the "Pride of Wales" really avoiding a fight with the "Ghost" because he's afraid he'll lose?

If he is, you can't blame him! Kelly Pavlik is a hurricane, destroying everything and everyone in his path to become one of boxing's top pound-for-pound fighters. He brutally beat Edison Miranda when no one thought he would, knocked out Jermain Taylor in a huge upset, beat Taylor again, and easily disposed of an overmatched Gary Locket, who happens to be trained by the same group of guys fighting Calzaghe.

Not saying the "Italian Dragon" is afraid of Pavlik, but could you blam him if he was?

My opinion: Even if Calzaghe fights Jones, which probably will happen, he should still fight the young Pavlik before he retires. NO MORE GEEZERS!!!

Pavlik's power vs. the remarkable hand speed of Joe Calzaghe...what a match it would be!

David Haye a Definite Threat to Wladimir Klitschko

Robert Gilroy — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:04:14 -0400

Look out, Wladimir Klitschko. There's a new guy to watch in the heavyweight division, and it's cruiserweight champ David Haye.

He's been talking about it for a while now, calling out heavyweight contenders, saying they're all bums, etc. But I feel the "Hayemaker" is more than just talk.

He's proved he's the best of the cruiserweights. He's got power, speed, and I don't think the gain in weight from cruiser to heavy will have too much of an effect on him.

But the question here is can he beat Wladimir Klitschko, the man widely known as the best heavyweight in the world? Can he expose Wladimir's main weakness, his criticized chin, or is Klitschko simply too smart a fighter for him?

I think he's got the potential. He's got a lot of self-confidence which goes a long way in this sport. Plus, Klitschko seems to be underestimating him which is a huge mistake.

This is a fight I'm looking forward to seeing. After one or two fights in the heavyweight division I think Klitschko should definitely give Haye a shot at the title. I'm thinking this fight is going to happen in late 2009 if neither fighter looses by then.

"Dr. Steele-Hammer vs. the Hayemaker." Has a nice sound to it.