DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Pavlik vs. Martinez

Knockout would elevate Pavlik in boxing world

By JOE Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Atlantic City, N.J.

More than 31 months after winning the middleweight crown, Kelly Pavlik will return to the scene of the biggest moment of his career with more than just the WBO and WBC belts on the line.

“With a knockout [tonight], I think it puts him right up there with the top five guys in the world,” HBO boxing analyst Harold Lederman said Friday. “He goes from No. 50 to No. 4 in one fell swoop.

“Let’s face reality, this could do wonders for his career.”

Over the past 18 months, Pavlik has gone from boxing’s boy wonder to, “Boy, I wonder what’s wrong?”

It started with his first career loss — a unanimous decision defeat to Bernard Hopkins that still defines him in the eyes of some critics — combined with two knockout wins over lesser-known fighters, sandwiched around a staph infection that threatened his career.

“He wasn’t a focused guy; he was going through the motions over the past year,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pavlik’s promoter. “When he fought Jermain Taylor or Edison Miranda, we had a focused, committed athlete and somehow that stopped.”

The high point came in September 2007 when he knocked out Taylor in Atlantic City for the title.

The low point came last December when he was forced to take a bout with Miguel Espino on short notice. He won by fourth-round TKO but looked rusty and took a lot of punishment against a lesser fighter.

“You work for what you’re fighting,” said Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer. “It’s like football — you play up to the level of what you’re facing.

“Coming off injuries, I don’t think his performance [against Espino] was 100 percent,” Loew said. “That’s why we fought who we fought instead of Paul Williams. You can’t fight Paul Williams at 80 percent.”

The boxing consensus seems to be that a knockout win tonight revives Pavlik’s career, but Youngstown native Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini isn’t so sure. Mancini doesn’t buy the argument that Martinez beat Williams in December.

“He did not beat Paul Williams, he just did better than everyone thought he would,” Mancini said.

Mancini thinks beating Martinez means little since Williams already did that.

“Unequivocally, he has to beat Paul Williams,” Mancini said. “That’s the fight that makes him relevant again. He hasn’t been relevant.

“And beating Espino doesn’t make him relevant.”

Loew, not surprisingly, doesn’t agree.

“If we blow him [Martinez] away, Williams’ stock goes down even more,” Loew said. “We’re back on the big stage and a big performance gets us back on track.”

Loew has repeatedly said Pavlik is in the best shape of his life, which wasn’t the case against Hopkins and Espino.

“We’re not injured, we’re not sick, we’re not on any medications,” Loew said. “We are 120 percent and this is what we’re waiting for.”

Got that? OK. There’s one possibility no one has mentioned yet. What if Pavlik loses?

“A loss, I hate to say this, but it probably puts him back on ESPN, where he’s got to fight his way back,” Lederman said. “No. 1, he loses his title. No. 2, he loses his stature.

“It would be really tough to absorb.”

Few people expect it to happen. Pavlik is a 2-1 favorite — or more — and his size and strength advantage should be enough, even against a crafty, athletic southpaw like Martinez.

More than 7,000 fans are expected at Boardwalk Hall and it’s a safe bet most of the HBO viewers will be on Pavlik’s side, Mancini included.

“I really want to see the kid do well,” Mancini said. “It’s good for the town and it’s good for boxing.”

http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/apr/17/pavlik8217s-weigh-world/?newswatch

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Pavlik must, must, dominate this fight and win by KO fairly early to get the mojo back.

Also I'm as "hometown" proud as the next guy and I love that he was trying to do something good for the valley - but I'm glad he's not fighting in Y-town this time. He seemed to lose the edge when in his backyard. And really, Atlantic City has turned into a darn fine second home for him anyway.

TEAM PAVLIK

Pavlik feels better than ever ahead of fight
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com

Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik finally feels good.


It's been a rough couple of years for the Youngstown, Ohio, native because of a lingering staph infection in a finger. The infection severely weakened him and eventually resulted in two surgeries on his hand, two postponements of a much-anticipated fight with Paul Williams and a steady stream of criticism.

The last time -- before now -- that Pavlik felt 100 percent?

He estimates it "may have been" his February 2009 defense against Marco Antonio Rubio.

"But," Pavlik said, "it was probably the [Gary] Lockett fight."

That bout was all the way back in June 2008.

After the Lockett fight, Pavlik lost a lopsided decision at 170 pounds to Bernard Hopkins in late 2008, beat Rubio and finally got the infection diagnosed, treated and under control before returning Dec. 19 to knock out overmatched mandatory challenger Miguel Espino in the fifth round.

"Because it was on five weeks notice and coming off the hand injury, it was not fully healed, but we got through it," Pavlik said of the Espino fight. "We went in there and beat a mandatory and we stopped him, which is what we were supposed to do."

But before the Espino bout, the year had been difficult, mainly because the infection forced him to twice pull out of the fight with Williams.

"It was frustrating because we were doing everything we were supposed to do, but it was getting worse," Pavlik said. "I began taking antibiotics and was bedridden. It wasn't at the point [of wondering] if I was ever going to fight again, it was, 'When was it going to finally heal?' It was a frustrating 2009 and there wasn't much we could do about it."

The fight with Williams had been rescheduled for early December, but Pavlik wasn't ready, so Williams went ahead and fought a replacement opponent -- junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez of Argentina.

Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs) wasn't well-known but he gave Williams everything he could possibly handle in a sensational action fight. Martinez wound up losing a majority decision, but made his point -- that he is also one of the best fighters in the world.

When Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) and his promoter, Top Rank, and Williams and his promoter, Dan Goossen, could not agree on how to put the fight back together, Martinez got the call and will challenge Pavlik for the 160-pound crown Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET) at Boardwalk Hall -- Pavlik's home away from home -- in Atlantic City, N.J.

"I'm feeling real good and I think it's the strongest I've been, and I'm anxious to get in there and do my thing," Pavlik said.

Opening HBO's strong split-site telecast, Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 KOs) defends his super middleweight title against Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Pavlik said he is happy to have the past couple of years behind him and looks forward to getting back into the ring with a highly regarded opponent.

"I went into this camp feeling great," said Pavlik, who turned 28 on April 4. "There are no 'ands' or 'ifs' about it. I was ready to get to camp. I am always playing basketball or doing something to stay active. I couldn't last year. For the Espino fight I was ready because we stay active. Going into camp this time was really a plus because I was ready.

"I don't have to worry about the hand being tender. Everything has held up great and there are no problems, knock on wood."

When Pavlik survived a hard early knockdown to rally to knock out Jermain Taylor to win the title at Boardwalk Hall in September 2007, he rocketed to stardom.

But following a decision win against Taylor in early 2008 in a nontitle, super middleweight rematch, Pavlik faced the obscure mandatory challengers in Lockett, Rubio and Espino while also losing to Hopkins.

The extended run of poor matchups, with the loss mixed in, hurt his standing and eroded his popularity.

Promoter Bob Arum, however, is convinced all will be forgotten with one good win against Martinez.

"The public is very fickle," Arum said. "They caught onto Kelly leading up to, and including, the Taylor fight. Then there has been a falloff -- his performance against Hopkins and the injury and so forth. But I am convinced, beyond any measure, that we are going to see the old Kelly Pavlik against Martinez, and as soon as we see that and as soon as the public sees that -- and thanks to HBO it will be a huge audience -- he will be right back on top and people will be clamoring for his next fight, whether it be against Paul Williams or Lucian Bute or somebody else."

Pavlik was particularly stung by criticism that he was ducking Williams when it was the infection that was giving him problems and forced him to postpone.

"It was a little upsetting to hear what people were saying, but I couldn't pay too much attention to that," Pavlik said. "I wanted to fight Williams and they said I was lying. The doctors had to prove that I wasn't lying and we couldn't make the fight happen."

That left Martinez, 35, as the clear choice as the best opponent available for Pavlik to fight.

"Other than Paul Williams, his is the biggest name in the division and the biggest fight for me to take," Pavlik said. "Even though Martinez lost to Williams on the judges' scorecards, he may be the better fighter. He may not have the name that Paul Williams has, but I'm definitely taking a chance and I'm proving to the people that I have always taken dangerous fights and have never strayed away from big fights. I went up two weight classes to fight Hopkins, after Paul Williams pulled out [the first time the camps negotiated the fight in 2008], so that goes to show I'm not hiding from anybody. The flak is going to be there, there is nothing I can do."

Whatever the grief Pavlik gets from some people, Martinez and his team give Pavlik credit for taking the fight, because other than Williams, Martinez has had no luck getting any significant opponents to face him.

"We know Pavlik didn't have to fight Sergio," said Lou DiBella, Martinez's co-promoter. "He could easily have gone out and fought somebody else. He knows Martinez is a tough opponent and we give him all the credit for taking the fight when he didn't have to, especially when he is coming off his problems. The kid's a true champion. He knows we are a tough opponent and we know Pavlik is a tough opponent."


http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/noteboo...-martinez-fight

Looking forward to the Cavs at 3 and the fight at 10!

looks like its on at 10, on HBO, 2 questions?

1 Is there an undercard, or just this fight?

2 I have time warner columbus, can I call Time Warner, add HBO today, cancel it tomorrow and just pay a pro rated amount for the service?

1. Yup, the undercard is Lucian Bute vs..... forget right now. Bute is a solid fighter.

2. I have no idea!

you probbaly would have to subscribe for at least a month.

I kind of worried about tonights fight. Hes had a long time off with that staph infection.

http://www.p2p4u.net/watch/16427/1/watch-boxing---sergio-martinez-vs-kelly-pavilk-.html

Is the fight at Caesars....?

Well, never mind they got it as fast as I found it.........


This ones working......... web page

Kelly is not looking good tonight, he's being outboxed by Martinez, first four rounds to Martinez.

Kelly's come back with that knock down a 10-8 round and that should tie up the score.

ESPN Play by Play

Sounds like Kelly is cut

punch count way in Martinez favor this round
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:36 Don Steinberg
11:37

Don Steinberg:
He is not giving Pavlik a chance to get punches off
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:37 Don Steinberg
11:37

Kieran Mulvaney:
Pavlik in trouble. As Jim Lampley says, he just can't see the punches coming.
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:37 Kieran Mulvaney
11:38

Don Steinberg:
Ended round smothering Pav with shots. I think Pavlik is a bit hurt. It looks like he is crying blood.
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:38 Don Steinberg
11:38

Don Steinberg:
Round 12

Round 12
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:38 Don Steinberg
11:38

Don Steinberg:
martinez circling
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:38 Don Steinberg
11:38

Don Steinberg:
back and forth
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:38 Don Steinberg
11:39

Don Steinberg:
2 rights by Martyinez
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:39 Don Steinberg
11:39

Don Steinberg:
Pavlik trying to corner him
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:39 Don Steinberg
11:39

Don Steinberg:
martinez jumps out with 4 punches
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:39 Don Steinberg
11:39

Kieran Mulvaney:
Beautiful combination
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:39 Kieran Mulvaney
11:40

Don Steinberg:
Pav lands left
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:40 Don Steinberg
11:40

Don Steinberg:
again
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:40 Don Steinberg
11:40

Don Steinberg:
tarding
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:40 Don Steinberg
11:40

Kieran Mulvaney:
that left snaps back Kelly's head
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:40 Kieran Mulvaney
11:40

Don Steinberg:
trading
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:40 Don Steinberg
11:41

Don Steinberg:
end of fite final bell
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:41 Don Steinberg

me too.
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:41 Kieran Mulvaney
11:41

Don Steinberg:
which outs him up by 3 points on my card I think
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:41 Don Steinberg
11:41

Kieran Mulvaney:
115-112 for Martinez I have it.
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:41 Kieran Mulvaney
11:42

Don Steinberg:
me too

Luo Dibella is yelling at Manny Steward
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:42 Don Steinberg
11:42

Don Steinberg:
we await the decision
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:42 Don Steinberg
11:43

Kieran Mulvaney:
what's up with Lou?
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:43 Kieran Mulvaney
11:43

Don Steinberg:
Dunno, just joking with Emmanuel i think
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:43 Don Steinberg
11:43


[Comment From Mark Mark : ]
me three
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:43 Mark
11:43

Don Steinberg:
ok decision time
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:43 Don Steinberg
11:43

Don Steinberg:
115-111
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:43 Don Steinberg
11:44

Don Steinberg:
116-111
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:44 Don Steinberg
11:44

Don Steinberg:
115-112
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:44 Don Steinberg
11:44

Don Steinberg:
all for the NEW
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:44 Don Steinberg
11:44

Don Steinberg:
MW champion, Sergio Martinez
Saturday April 17, 2010 11:44 Don Steinberg

Well, first thing I noticed was Kelly was not sharp at all.

His punches didn't come off with the snap that I've seen in the past. He used to have a devastating straight right, and it was a bit slower and inaccurate tonight. Whether is was Martinez's slick style or the weight issues, or a combination of both, he just wasn't sharp.

He couldn't find Martinez in the first 4 rounds, then ended up taking the next 4 in a row, including a 10-8 round in which he scored a knockdown. But in the 9th, he started to get lit up, had a nasty cut that opened above his right eye that was literally dripping blood. When he walked back to the corner after the round, and I don't know if anyone caught this, he said he couldn't see. Jack Loew yelled at him to not say that, because if they hear that, they'll stop the fight.

After that, it was all Martinez. You can tell he was having trouble seeing, and he wasn't throwing many punches after that. He looked to pretty much mail it in afterward.

Cut aside, I dunno if he had enough in him to win it. He just didn't have that same snap in his punches. And being 10 pounds heavier, he didn't seem to really nail Martinez with anything close to what I've seen him hit others with in the past.

Pavilk's biggest weakness is going up against faster guys. Hopkins might have been 43, but he had the faster hands. Martinez was just the quicker fighter. You have to give kelly credit for finishing. He proved he has the heart of a champion, but I question whether he has the talent to fight these guys consitently at the top.

I hate to say this, given that Pavlik is from YTown and all ..... but the guy is damn sure awfully full of himself.

He has spent more time promoting himself .... the Democrat Party .... and his own business interests that he has lost any and all boxing focus.

This Martinez, from everything I have heard and read, should have been a walk for Pavlik. Maybe Pavlik decided to believe that as well.

Glad I don't pay for HBO,....

That was terrible.

Hope Kelly enjoys that nice paycheck from last night, because that's the biggest one he's probably ever gonna get.

Good Lord did he look awful. Seriously, if that's the best shape he's ever been in in his life and he was ready to rock as was reported leading up to the fight, then that's sad.

No fire. No power. No speed. No chance.

It was fun while it lasted but it's over. The man won his belt, he made his money and appeared to lose the edge over the last year or so. You can't get that back.

Quote:

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This Martinez, from everything I have heard and read, should have been a walk for Pavlik.

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Yeah, I don't think that's accurate. I haven't seen a lot of Martinez, but he has a real slick style that makes him a little harder to hit. I figured it would give Kelly some issues and had some concerns with the fight.

When he fought Paul Williams in December, I watched the fight. I had the fight with Martinez winning by 1 point, but could have seen it go to a draw. He ended up losing a decision. He's not a powerful guy, he's just a little quicker, slicker and skillful than Kelly. Kelly needed to hurt the guy and rock him a few times, something that he never did in the fight. Though he did get the one knock down, I don't think he ever hurt the guy at all.

I think if Pavlic wants to be relevant in boxing again he is going to have to change his trainer. Maybe get Freddie Roach or Mayweather Sr. If he does that, thats his only chance. I doubt he has the heart to do it anyways.

He needs a trainer thats going to whip him into shape and keep him away from the bars. To teach him to throw another punch besides a left jab and overhand right or at least when to use other punches.

Pavlic can still daze his opponents with a jab from his opposite hand.

Either way, he gave boxing fans in NE Ohio a great ride while it lasted.

I cant stand the haters out there. This fight and the fight against Hopkins, there were people cheering against Pavlic. I asked them if they were from around here and they said "yes". Then I asked them if they were Steeler fans and they said "yes". Why do people just like to root against what everyone else is rooting for and then act like its a personel victory? I guess some people need that in their life to feel like they have won at something. The other thing I dont get is, how to people at a bar criticize Pavlic and call him a drunk

Quote:

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I cant stand the haters out there. This fight and the fight against Hopkins, there were people cheering against Pavlic.

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I never thought Pavlic was all that personally . He is a good fighter and the fact that he is an Ohio boy is an added bonus but he has proved he simply just doesn't have it in him to be great . No shame in that at all but it is what it is . In the early rounds he was made to look just silly but to his credit he made the needed changes and made it a fight.

Quote:

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The one thing he has going for him is tremendous size for a middleweight.

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Lewis touched on that when he said that Pavlik was having trouble making weight and the process now about having the fighter weigh in 24 hours before the fight . Gatti used to use that to his advantage also where he would pack on serious pounds after the weigh in and fight 15 pounds heavier than his opponent. To be honest I have lost alot of desire to watch the sweet science and have gravitated towards MMA where at least the best fighters in each class are made to fight each other.