Now at first glance the answer may be "Hell no, Pavlik is much too big"
But consider this, an almost 44 year old Bernard Hopkins beat Pavlik by a large unanimous decision by using head movement, defensive counter punching, and slick footwork, all of which a 31 year old Mayweather is a master of.
He also exposed how Pavlik can get frustrated and appear goofy at times when his "straight ahead" approach continues to miss and he is not landing any big right hands.
Of course the natural size and strength would go hugely in Pavliks favor, but when does anyone ever really land a big punch on Mayweather? His defense is just world class, whether you like him or not.
I am not saying that Mayweather would knock Pavlik out, but I think it would be an interesting match up. Maybe even Mayweather could outpoint him, if he can avoid the big punch.
Sugar Ray Leonard went up to Middleweight to defeat Hagler, when alot of people didn't think that he would stand a chance with Haglers punching power. Sugar Ray, a 4 to 1 underdog outpointed Hagler in route to a highly controversial split decision.