Kelly Pavlik beat Jermain Taylor by 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pavlik staggered Taylor in the 11th round and closed strong. It was a tactical yet exciting fight won by points unlike their first fight which ended by KO with Taylor slumped in the corner.
The still undefeated Pavlik is scheduled to fight on June 7th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Pavlik's opponent will be his WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett from Wales who is on a 14 fight winning streak. John Duddy was a possible opponent but due to his poor performance at Madison Square Garden against Walid Smichet on February 23rd and a badly cut left eye he was out. Lockett, just like Kelly Pavlik has a good chin and can bang so we might be treated to a good old fashioned brawl.
| Fight | Location | Date | Boxing Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pavlik vs Lockett | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ |
June 7, 2008 Saturday 7:00 PM |
Pavlik vs Lockett Tickets |
| Pavlik vs Rubio | TBA | September 27, 2008 Saturday |
TBA |
Kelly "Ghost" Pavlik
Jermain Taylor vs Kelly Pavlik
As Jack Dempsey said A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.
Kelly Pavlik, the white kid from the Midwest can punch. A good fighter, Pavlik has been compared to Thomas Hearns because of his height and wicked punch. A couple of Pavlik's notable fights recently include his 9th round TKO of Fulgencio Zuniga on October 7, 2005 and 6th round TKO of Bronco McKart July 27, 2006. Pavlik is one of Bob Arum's Top Rank fighters.
Kelly Pavlik Sparring
On November 2, 2006 in a one-sided fight in front of hometown fans in Youngstown, Ohio Pavlik knocked down Lenord Pierre in round one, staggered him several times in rounds two and three before flooring him in round four prompting the referee to stop the fight.
Kelly Pavlik KOs Jose Luis Zertuche
Pavlik beat Jose Luis Zertuche by a devastating 8th round KO winning the NABF super middleweight title on January 27, 2007 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Zertuche, also down in the 6th was out on his feet after Pavlik hit him behind the jaw with a straight right followed by a right uppercut prompting referee Raul Caiz to throw himself in front of Zertuche to stop the fight.
On the undercard of the Jermain Taylor - Corey Spinks snoozer fight Pavlik on May 19, 2007 fought a spectacular bout knocking down Edison Miranda twice in the 6th round, once again in the 7th round with referee Steve Smoger stopping the fight at 1:54. Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter compared the Pavlik-Miranda bout to the great middleweight fights back in the 1980s. Starting from the opening bell Pavlik press the action and the two traded punches the entire 1st round. In 2nd round Pavlik and Miranda went toe to toe, both landing and taking major blows. Through the rest of the bout Pavlik continued to press the action backing Miranda up outworking him until downing him in the 6th and 7th rounds. Pavlik has now won two WBC middleweight elimination bouts in a row.
Kelly Pavlik fought an unbelievable fight at Broadwalk Hall in Atlantic City becoming the new WBC & WBO middleweight champion on September 29, 2007 by knocking out and dethroning the reigning middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in the 7th round. Pavlik caught Taylor with a straight right hand that wobbled Taylor sending him back into the corner slumped against the ropes. A finisher, Pavlik rushed in attacking Taylor with uppercuts, lefts and rights as Taylor sank to the floor. Referee Steve Smoger jumped in at 2:14 of round seven to stop the fight without a count as semi-conscious Taylor folded in the corner on the canvas.
It was a sensational win for Kelly Pavlik who established himself as the best middleweight fighter in the world by coming back in round three after being downed and badly hurt in round two as if nothing had ever happened. Like Larry Merchant said Champions get up when they don't think they can and so do challengers. Youngstown, Ohio now has itself another champion to add to its list along with Ray "Boom Boom" Manchini.