Does Kelly Pavlik’s failure bode poorly for Manny Pacquiao?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

A few months ago, promoter Bob Arum was riding high with two unbeaten world champions (Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik) and Manny Pacquiao, the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter.

Now, Cotto has suffered a knockout loss to Antonio Margarito, and Pavlik is recovering from a decisive loss to Bernard Hopkins. That bout was fought at 170 pounds, 10 pounds greater than Pavlik’s middleweight limit. The added pounds resulted in a lesser fighter.

In training for his 147-pound fight against Oscar De La Hoya on Dec. 6, Pacquiao will be boxing at a weight limit 12 pounds beyond his 135-pound limit as world lightweight champion.

‘It’s not going to happen to Pacquiao,’ Arum said Monday as he surveyed his fighter’s training session at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. ‘I’ve never seen him so fast or strong, and he works so hard. And he’s in his low 150s now. He is not ballooning up. You’ll see a fit Manny Pacquiao, with a lot of speed -- 147 will be perfect for him.’

Hard to tell when Arum’s promoting or preaching the truth, but we’ll know for sure in 39 days.

-- Lance Pugmire

Editor’s note: Pacquiao’s weight limit corrected at 12:17 p.m.