Kelly Pavlik

Name	Kelly Robert Pavlik
Nationality	American
Realname	Kelly Robert Pavlik
Nickname	The Ghost, The Express
Height	6 ft. 2.5 in.
Weight	Middleweight Super Middleweight
Reach
Birth date	April 05, 1982
Birth place	Youngstown, Ohio
Style	Orthodox
Wins	36
Ko	32
Losses	2
Draws	0
Total	38

Kelly Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American professional boxer. He was the WBC and WBO Middleweight champion and lineal champion, until he lost his titles to Sergio Martinez on April 17, 2010.

Background and early life

Known as "The Ghost", Pavlik grew up on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, in the traditional ethnic Slovak neighborhood of Lansingville He graduated from Lowellville High School and Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 2000.

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.

Fight with Edison Miranda

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 6,231 Youngstown natives made the trip), Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007. 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. 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 stunned his opponent with a clean left hook to the chin and backed him against the ropes knocking 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. He was subsequently named The Boxing Times Fighter of the Year in 2007.

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 at super middleweight. Pavlik won the fight by unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112, 115-113), handing Taylor his second defeat.

Kelly Pavlik vs. Gary Lockett

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 non-title bout on October 18, 2008, 43 year-old Bernard Hopkins ( 49-5-1 with 32 KO's) won a unanimous decision over Pavlik. Hopkins and Pavlik fought at the higher light heavyweight limit in a twelve-round non-title bout. Hopkins dominated the whole fight with multiple punch combinations, good defense and movement. Both fighters fought after the bell, and needed to be separated by their corners.

Kelly Pavlik vs Marco Rubio

On February 21, 2009, his first bout after his humiliating defeat to Hopkins, Pavlik defeated Marco Antonio Rubio (WBC #1 contender) 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.

Kelly Pavlik vs Miguel Espino

Pavlik fought Contender alum Miguel Espino on December 19, 2009 at the Beeghly Center on the campus of Youngstown State University and won with a fifth-round TKO.

Kelly Pavlik vs Sergio Martinez

Following his win over Miguel Espino, Pavlik was set to fight Paul Williams. However, due to a major staph infection and an allergic reaction to some antibiotics that nearly killed him, Pavlik was forced to drop out of the fight. He was eventually able to fight again against the junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

On April 17, 2010, Kelly Pavlik attempted to defend his middleweight title for the fourth time against junior middleweight champion, Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City, NJ. The fight was for Pavlik's WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine Middleweight titles. Pavlik was defeated by Martinez by a unanimous 12-round decision.

Martínez controlled the early rounds with quick in and out movements, refusing to heavily engage with Pavlik. Martínez managed to cut Pavlik's left eyebrow in the first round. Pavlik then started to mount a comeback in the middle rounds by blocking Martínez's punches more effectively. Pavlik spent most of his time headhunting trying to land a hard right, which did help Pavlik get a knockdown in the seventh round. In the late rounds Martínez came back and started to open up Pavlik's cuts more, making his face extremely bloody. In the post fight interview Pavlik said he couldn't see due to the blood.

Following this fight Kelly has agreed to fight Daniel Edouard on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito card on November 13, 2010.

Professional Record

|- |align="center" colspan=8|36 Wins (32 knockouts), 2 Losses, 0 Draws |- |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res. |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center | |36-2 |align=left| Daniel Edouard ||- || - |2010-11-13 || align=left| Arlington, Texas |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |36-2 |align=left| Sergio Martinez ||UD || 12 |2010-04-17 || align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |-align=center |Win |36-1 |align=left| Miguel Espino |TKO || 5 , 1:44 |2009-12-19 || align=left| Youngstown, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Win |35-1 |align=left| Marco Antonio Rubio |RTD || 9 |2009-02-21 || align=left| Youngstown, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |34-1 |align=left| Bernard Hopkins |UD || 12 |2008-10-18 || align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |-align=center |Win |34-0 |align=left| Gary Lockett |TKO || 3 , 1:40 |2008-06-07 || align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |-align=center |Win |33-0 |align=left| Jermain Taylor |UD || 12 |2008-02-16 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |32-0 |align=left| Jermain Taylor |TKO || 7 , 2:14 |2007-09-29 || align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey |align=left| |-align=center |Win |31-0 |align=left| Edison Miranda |TKO || 7 , 1:54 |2007-05-19 || align=left| Memphis, Tennessee |align=left| |-align=center |Win |30-0 |align=left| Jose Luis Zertuche |KO || 8 , 1:40 |2007-01-27 || align=left| Anaheim, California |align=left| |-align=center |Win |29-0 |align=left| Lenord Pierre |TKO || 4 , 0:46 |2006-11-02 || align=left| Youngstown, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Win |28-0 |align=left| Bronco McKart |TKO || 6 , 2:45 |2006-07-27 || align=left| Uncasville, Connecticut |align=left| |-align=center |Win |27-0 |align=left| Fulgencio Zúñiga |TKO || 9 , 3:00 |2005-10-07 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |26-0 |align=left| Vincent Harris |TKO || 2 , 2:19 |2005-08-26 || align=left| Houston, Texas |align=left| |-align=center |Win |25-0 |align=left| Daniel Neal |TKO || 1 , 1:49 |2005-06-10 || align=left| Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Win |24-0 |align=left| Dorian Beaupierre |TKO || 2 , 2:35 |2005-03-04 || align=left| Choctaw, Mississippi |align=left| |-align=center |Win |23-0 |align=left| Ross Thompson |UD || 8 |2004-11-27 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |22-0 |align=left| Carlton Holland |KO || 2 , 2:59 |2004-09-18 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |21-0 |align=left| Pedro Ortega |TKO || 6 , ?:?? |2004-07-02 || align=left| Struthers, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Win |20-0 |align=left| Roberto Baro |KO || 2 , 2:16 |2004-03-26 || align=left| Phoenix, Arizona |align=left| |-align=center |Win |19-0 |align=left| Anthony Ivory |UD || 8 |2004-01-23 || align=left| Kansas City, Missouri |align=left| |-align=center |Win |18-0 |align=left| Rico Cason |KO || 2 , 2:02 |2003-07-01 || align=left| Niles, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Win |17-0 |align=left| Cesar Avila |TKO || 6 , 2:00 |2003-03-22 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |16-0 |align=left| Eduardo Gutierrez |TKO || 2 , 2:59 |2003-02-08 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |15-0 |align=left| Edson Madrid |UD || 6 |2002-09-14 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |14-0 |align=left| Abel Hernandez |TKO || 1 , 2:54 |2002-07-30 || align=left| Concho, Oklahoma |align=left| |-align=center |Win |13-0 |align=left| Eric Olds |KO || 1 , 2:45 |2002-06-21 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |12-0 |align=left| Robert Dasoyan |KO || 2 , 2:15 |2002-02-23 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |11-0 |align=left| Rob Bleakley |KO || 2 , 1:56 |2001-11-21 || align=left| Youngstown, Ohio |align=left| |-align=center |Win |10-0 |align=left| Mario Lopez |TKO || 2 , 1:42 |2001-08-04 || align=left| Las Vegas, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |9-0 |align=left| Grady Brewer |TKO || 2 , 2:48 |2001-06-08 || align=left| Baraboo, Wisconsin |align=left| |-align=center |Win |8-0 |align=left| Tommy Walker |TKO || 1 , 2:46 |2001-03-23 || align=left| Owensboro, Kentucky |align=left| |-align=center |Win |7-0 |align=left| Mathias Bedburdick |TKO || 3 , 2:43 |2001-02-04 || align=left| Concho, Oklahoma |align=left| |-align=center |Win |6-0 |align=left| Cedric Johnson |TKO || 2 , 1:54 |2000-12-15 || align=left| Madison, Wisconsin |align=left| |-align=center |Win |5-0 |align=left| Lafayette Randolph |TKO || 2 , 1:48 |2000-11-17 || align=left| Reno, Nevada |align=left| |-align=center |Win |4-0 |align=left| Anthony Collier |TKO || 1 , ?:?? |2000-10-15 || align=left| Nashville, Tennessee |align=left| |-align=center |Win |3-0 |align=left| Frankie Sanchez |TKO || 1 , 1:59 |2000-09-15 || align=left| Denver, Colorado |align=left| |-align=center |Win |2-0 |align=left| Nelson Hernandez |TKO || 1 , ?:?? |2000-08-05 || align=left| Madison, Wisconsin |align=left| |-align=center |Win |1-0 |align=left| Eric Benito Tzand |TKO || 3 , ?:?? |2000-06-16 || align=left| Indio, California |align=left|

References

External links

Kelly Pavlik fight-by-fight career record

Kelly Pavlik Coverage from The Vindicator

Official Web-Site of Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik

Pavlik Taylor ringside report & photos

HBO Boxing bio

Boxing-Encyclopedia

Category:1982 births Category:American boxers Category:American sportspeople of Slovak descent Category:Living people Category:People from Youngstown, Ohio Category:WBC Champions Category:WBO Champions

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