Kelly Pavlik
(born April 5, 1982) is an American professional boxer. He is The Ring
, WBC, and WBO middleweight champion, defeating Jermain Taylor to earn those titles. [1] He has twice defended his titles.
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Background and early life
Known as "The Ghost", Pavlik grew up on the south side of
Youngstown, Ohio, in the traditional ethnic neighborhood of
Lansingville [2] He graduated from
Lowellville High School and
Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 2000.
Pavlik has been trained by Jack Loew of Youngstown's South Side Boxing Gym for his entire career. His loyalty to his neighborhood and his unassuming, unglamorous lifestyle have earned him praise inside and outside the world of boxing.
[3]
Amateur highlights
- 1998 National Jr. PAL amateur champion, 147 pounds
- 1998 National Jr. Golden Gloves amateur champion, 147 pounds
- 1999 U.S. National Under-19 amateur champion, 147 pounds
Professional career
Pavlik turned pro in
2000 and won his first 26 fights before stepping up in competition on
October 7,
2005 to face
Fulgencio Zúñiga for the vacant
NABF middleweight title. Zúñiga scored a knockdown with a left hook in the first round, but Pavlik recovered quickly and dominated the rest of the fight. Zúñiga was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads, and his corner stopped the fight after the ninth round.
On
July 7,
2006, Pavlik defeated former WBO
junior middleweight champion
Bronco McKart by sixth round TKO in his first defense of his NABF middleweight title. McKart scored a knockdown when both of Pavlik's gloves touched the canvas in the fourth round. Pavlik knocked McKart down twice in the sixth round before the referee stopped the fight.
Pavlik headlined in his hometown at the
Covelli Centre on
November 2,
2006 and put on a dominant performance against Lenord Pierre. Pavlik scored a knockdown with a right hand late in the first round, and rocked Pierre repeatedly in the second and third rounds. Pavlik knocked down Pierre again with a left hook in the fourth round and the referee stopped the fight.
On
January 27,
2007, in
Anaheim, California, Pavlik defeated Jose Luis Zertuche by eighth round knockout in his second and final defense of his NABF middleweight title. It was a fast-paced, exciting fight that concluded when Pavlik landed a right hand that froze Zertuche in his tracks and then landed an uppercut that dropped him face-first to the canvas.
Fights with Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor
Pavlik defeated
Edison Miranda on
May 19,
2007, by TKO in the seventh round. The fight was a
WBC eliminator bout. This fight established him as the #1 middleweight contender. During the sixth round, Pavlik knocked Miranda down to the canvas twice. After the first knock down, Miranda spat out his mouthpiece, causing referee
Steve Smoger to deduct a point. As the sixth round ended, Miranda seemed unable to continue, but came out nonetheless. In the seventh round, Pavlik trapped Miranda in a corner with a barrage of vicious shots, forcing Smoger to stop the fight.
Bouts with Jermain Taylor
In
Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a pro-Pavlik crowd (approximately 6,000 Youngstown natives made the trip), Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor on
September 29,
2007.
[4] In the pre-fight build-up, Taylor's trainer
Emmanuel Steward went on record as calling Pavlik "overrated" and promising a knockout win for his boxer.
[5] It nearly happened, as Pavlik was knocked down in the second round and tossed about the ring for much of that round. However, using his reach advantage and ability to trap opponents in the corner, Pavlik slowly turned the tide on Taylor. By the sixth round, many at ringside such as
HBO commentator
Larry Merchant saw the fight even. HBO's unofficial scorer
Harold Lederman even had Pavlik leading the fight at the halfway point. Despite this, he was trailing on all three official scorecards. In the seventh round, Pavlik knocked Taylor out with a barrage of punches. With the victory, Pavlik became
The Ring
, WBC, and
WBO middleweight champion.
After the fight with Taylor, Pavlik and his father, Mike Pavlik Sr., accidentally left their paychecks in their hotel room.
[6] He was subsequently named The Boxing Times Fighter of the Year in 2007.
[7]
After the defeat, Taylor activated his clause for a non-title rematch, which was held on
February 16 at the
MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with both fighter weighing-in as
super middleweights.
[8][clarification needed] Pavlik won the fight by unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112, 115-113), handing Taylor his second defeat.
[9]
Undisputed middleweight champion
Pavlik made his first title defense of the Middleweight Crown against WBO #1 mandatory challenger
Gary Lockett on
June 7,
2008, at
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Pavlik defeated Lockett by third round TKO after
Enzo Calzaghe, Lockett's trainer, threw in the towel after Lockett was down for the third time in the fight.
Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins
In a nationally televised HBO bout on October 18, 2008, 42 year-old
Bernard Hopkins (43, 49-5-1 with 32 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Pavlik. Hopkins and Pavlik fought at the higher light heavyweight limit in a twelve-round non-title bout.
Kelly Pavlik vs Marco Rubio
On February 21, 2009, Pavlik defeated
Marco Antonio Rubio in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio at the Chevy Centre by ninth round technical knockout. Pavlik dominated the fight, forcing Rubio's corner to concede the bout prior to the start of the tenth round.
[10]
Kelly Pavlik vs Paul Williams
Kelly was scheduled to defend his
WBO,
WBC, and
Ring Magazine titles against former WBO Welterweight champ
Paul Williams on October 3, 2009. The fight has been postponed, and possibly canceled, due to a staph infection in Pavlik's hand.
See also
- List of current world boxing champions
- List of The Ring world champions
- List of WBC world champions
- List of WBO world champions
References
- Pavlik credits Valley support for victory
- Family, friends and fans give boxer a "boost"
- The Pride of Youngstown: Kelly Pavlik Stayed and Fought
- Taylor-Pavlik with full undercard report
- Taylor, Steward have harsh words for Pavlik
- New champ Pavlik leaves paycheck at hotel
- 2007 Boxing Year in Review
- Ready for rumble, again; Taylor opts for rematch
- Pavlik stays perfect after unanimous decision in rematch with Taylor
- Kelly Pavlik claims TKO triumph over Rubio before raucous Youngstown supporters