PAVLIK vs. HOPKINS

By Joe Scalzo

Fighters have contrasting styles and personalities

Kelly Pavlik doesn’t refer to himself as Kelly Pavlik. He also doesn’t call himself K-Pav or Pav and he only mentions his nickname, “The Ghost,” when someone asks him about it.

He’s well-spoken but not eloquent — one of his favorite phrases is “that right there,” except it comes out like, “dat right dere” — and his answers are like his fights: short and straightforward.

He doesn’t hate being interviewed — “tolerates” is probably the best word — but he usually repeats a few stock answers before each fight, mixing in self-deprecating humor (his looks and his ever-receding hairline are common topics) with blue-collar confidence.

Bernard Hopkins, Pavlik’s opponent on Saturday, is a different story.

Hopkins sounds more like a prophet, preaching the gospel of “B-Hop” or “Hop” or “The Executioner” or just “Bernard Hopkins” with long-winded sentences that often end up far from where they started. He talks a lot about his legacy, his fitness level at age 43 and his fan following — which, in his mind, is huge.

Hopkins likes to talk about boxing, but his favorite subject is himself. In a 30-minute conference call this week, Hopkins referred to himself as “Bernard” or “Bernard Hopkins” more than 25 times.

One example will suffice. He was asked this week if he worries he might be pushing his luck by continuing to fight at 43.

“You know, luck and Bernard Hopkins are enemies because I believe that everything that’s been mapped out for Bernard Hopkins, even the bad stuff, has been part of my legacy to make the character that I became and the person that I became — not only a family man, not only to my wife and not only with my sport and my athletics and the sport of boxing, but it had a lot to do with my whole demeanor,” he said.

And that was just one sentence in a much-longer answer.

Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) and Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs) also are very different inside the ring.

Pavlik, who stands nearly 6-foot-3, tries to use his long left jab to set up straight rights. He throws about 100 punches per round, has power in both hands and will leave himself open to counterpunching. He’s a fan-friendly fighter.

Hopkins, who is 6-1, is the ultimate counterpuncher. He keeps his head down, throws about 30 punches a round and prefers to mix it up inside, using either savvy (if you’re a Hopkins backer) or dirty tricks (if you’re not) to edge out opponents, mainly through decision nowadays. He prides himself on his defensive style, which he considers old-school and others consider boring.

“If a guy is getting credit for throwing punches then the guy should get credit for not getting hit by them,” he said.

Maybe. But defense doesn’t prompt fans to plunk down $49.95 to watch a fight. Hopkins often plays the villain role before a fight — he famously stepped on the Puerto Rican flag before his fight with Felix Trinidad in 2001 — but he’s been uncharacteristically respectful of Pavlik the past few months.

That said, he’ll still be the villain on Saturday, due more to his style than his mouth. Last month, SI.com’s Chris Mannix made an open plea for Pavlik to knock out Hopkins.

“Hopkins’ once storied career has become a joke, with the venerable B-Hop doing just enough not to get flattened, but nowhere near enough to win,” he wrote. “I fear that until someone sends him to the canvas, his career will continue.”

Pavlik would love to oblige.

“That would be a huge statement,” Pavlik said. “How good of a chin does he have? Well, we don’t know. The question is what happens when he does get hit flush. It’s definitely not out of the question — an early-round stoppage or a quick knockout.

“Anything could happen, you know?”

scalzo@vindy.com