By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
Former WBC and WBO middleweight champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik (40-2, 34 KOs) spoke to Peter Maniatis about classic ring battles with Bronco McKart, Edison Miranda, Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, Sergio Martinez, and Marco Antonio Rubio. He also talked about creating a new boxing app.
BRONCO MCKART
Kelly Pavlik stopped Bronco McKart at 2:45 of round six by referee Ricky Gonzalez at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on a Top Rank promotion on 27th July 2006.
“Bronco was a guy I kinda looked up to. I watched him on Tuesday Night Fights. All the time. I was a big fan of Bronco McKart so when they told me I was fighting him I was kinda bummed out about that. He was a great fighter and it was fun to get in there with him. He was a super cool guy. Still very slick and experienced. Going into that fight I utilized my size, talent and strength and during the fight I pretty much wanted to learn as much as I could off an experienced guy like Bronco.”
EDISON MIRANDA
Kelly Pavlik was crowned the winner over Edison Miranda at 1:54 of round seven by referee Steve Smoger at the FedEx Forum in Memphis Tennessee on a DiBella Entertainment promotion – televised on HBO 19th May 2007
“Edison Miranda was the most feared guy in boxing at that time. He was the most avoided
It was kinda frustrating going into that fight because right before him I fought Jose Luis Zertuche and that was supposed to be the mandatory title shot. The next thing I know t am told guess what. You have got to fight Edison Miranda. My game plan against Miranda was to push him straight back because if you try to dance around him he could catch you with something so our game plan was to use our power and our strength to push him back and we did. It worked – I showed everyone my power and my speed and my endurance was better than his.”
JERMAIN TAYLOR
Kelly Pavlik stopped Jermain Taylor at 2:14 of round seven by referee Steve Smoger to capture the WBC and WBO middleweight titles at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City promoted by DiBella Entertainment and televised on Sky United Kingdom and HBO on 29th September 2007.
“The Jermain Taylor fight was frustrating but it turned out to be one of the best middleweight fights of all time. Out of the seven rounds I gave Jermain two rounds. The first round I took the fight to Jermain Taylor. The second round I was taking it kind of easy and I was getting overconfident and he caught me. I went down and my equilibrium was shot but I was there mentally and I had a hard time getting my legs. I knew if I could survive that round the fight was mine and I think set the tone for the rest of the fight is when I came back in that third round and I threw ninety nine punches and I took it to him and I think it sucked everything out of Jermain Taylor right there. They had the fight close because of the knockdown but as far as rounds I thought I was up there four to two rounds.”
JERMAIN TAYLOR REMATCH
Kelly Pavlik was awarded twelve round decision over Jermain Taylor in WBC and WBO middleweight title bout by scores 115-113, 117-111, 116-112, controlled by referee Tony Weeks at the MGM Casino in Las Vegas on a DiBella Entertainment promotion televised on HBO on the 16th February 2008.
“People said that if I didn’t KO Taylor in the rematch I couldn’t win when I had shown in the first fight I was winning the rounds. Taylor fought a lot better in that second fight. He fought a lot smarter fight and obviously when you have been an experienced world champion you are going to change things. It was a tough fight and a good fight but I showed I could outbox him and outlast him. That’s what we did in that second fight.”
BERNARD HOPKINS
Bernard Hopkins outpointed Kelly Pavlik over twelve rounds by scores 119-106, 117 -109 , 118-108 in a fight controlled by referee Benji Esteves in a nontitle light heavyweight bout at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City promoted by Golden Boy televised on HBO 18th October 2008
“Bernard Hopkins is an all time great. I jumped up two weight classes in that fight but that wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t my night. I was about eighty percent that night and that is not making excuses. This is well-documented stuff. The New Jersey commission knows that. It’s in the files and Robert García who had Steve Luevano on the undercard knows because we put our medication in Steve Luevano’s name so the Hopkin’s camp didn’t find out. With that being said. Bernard fought a great fight. He is an all-time great and it wasn’t my night. I don’t use fights as measuring sticks but at some point, you have to take into consideration that the fight shouldn’t have happened that way. I did beat Jermain twice. Jermain did beat Bernard Hopkins twice controversially or not – they were obviously close fights. Then I go in and get beat by Hopkins like I did. If I won three or four rounds but some of the other rounds were competitive but he beat me by unanimous decision by 116-112 then okay – that makes sense because dollars make fights. For me to go in and do to Jermain Taylor and then go in and look like I did against Bernard Hopkins well that goes to show that wasn’t Kelly Pavlik that night. Anyone who has a little bit of sports knowledge then they would know something was not right that night. If I went in there got beat eight rounds to four then that is totally different. That means I won some rounds but Bernard outgunned me because styles make fights. You don’t get beat like I did without something being wrong.”
MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO
Kelly Pavlik stopped Marco Antonio Rubio in nine rounds refereed by Frank Garza to retain WBC and WBO middleweight titles promoted by Top Rank at the Chevrolet Centre, Youngstown, Ohio televised on HBO on 21st September 2009
“Rubio – I go in there and dominate him after the Hopkins fight when they said he had ruined me. It wasn’t even a close fight. Shortly after that fight Rubio goes on an eight or nine fight winning streak and knocks out David Lemieux, who four years after that fights GGG with Lemieux getting built up as this great fighter. GGG knocks him out and goes up on this pedestal but everyone forgets Rubio had knocked out Lemieux when he was 25-0 with 25 KOs but against me, Rubio doesn’t land no more than ten punches against me. I don’t get no credit for that.”
SERGIO MARTINEZ
Sergio Martinez outpointed Kelly Pavlik over twelve rounds 116-111, 115-112, 115-111 to win WBC and WBO middleweight titles, refereed by David Fields, at the Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Top Rank promotions televised Main Event Australia, Hungary Sport 2, Poland POLSAT, HBO on 17th April 2020
“It sounds like I’m being a crybaby but I am not. It was another fight when it wasn’t my night. If you watch the fight you will hear the commentators talking about my weight issues.
I had a treadmill and a stationary bike in my hotel room. That fight came down to me against a great fighter – hitting the wall in the ninth round. People say it was because of the cut. If I didn’t have the cut he still would have beat me those last couple of rounds. The middle rounds I gained control – I figured him out and I was beating him. As a matter of fact, I was up on the scorecards going into the ninth round. The commentators had me up. Everything was going my way. Then in the ninth round, I hit the wall. There was nothing I could do. I wasn’t tired – cardio – I mean lung-wise. I was just muscle weary. Very lethargic. Again Sergio Martinez with the talent and skills that he has got took full advantage of it. He is a helluva boxer. But you could see in the middle rounds – that fight was going my way. That’s the truth to the story. That was a competitive fight for awhile.”
KELLY PAVLIK APP – THE SWEET SCIENCE
“I own a fitness gym just outside of Youngstown, that has taken off big. I created a charitable organization. I am also in the process of opening another fitness gym. I created an app “THE SWEET SCIENCE PLUS.” I teamed up with a buddy from Youngstown. Billy Lyell – a pro fighter who beat John Duddy. It’s just a fantastic app. We have tutorials. How to punch and train. We have combos. We have strength and conditioning. The biggest part of the app is a nutritional plan and a diet plan and a grocery list that we give you. It’s fantastic. We have put a lot into that.”
Haha what a crybaby. You got beat 2 times get over it. If you weren’t on top of your game then that’s still you as a person not being able to be in a state that your opponent was able to be in.
Pavlik had a different style, was a great fighter. His motivation, will to win, was his biggest strength in my opinion.
I was a huge fan of Pavlik. The first Taylor fight and Miranda bout were exhilarating.
I may be wrong, but Pavlik’s words lack a bit of sincerity. He never mentioned his addition, that I believe hindered in a high degree his promising boxing career. I was truly impressed of his power and resilience, that a one point I considered him like the American version of the legendary Carlos Monzon. But then he started to diminish at a fast pace, and surfacing his addiction problems.
Two losses and just 30 years old, a boxer with his talent with a clean and disciplined life will never retire.
Mike, you are right. Pavlik’s alcoholism problems haunted him for quite a while. I have a few friends, who lived in Youngstown, and said Kelly struggled with ethanol use, but has simmered down some in recent years. I think one of them even said Pavlik owned or was co-owner of a bar at one time. Pavlik’s signature fight to me was his Edison Miranda fight. What a slug fest! Great fight!
Before his addiction got hold of him Pavlik did look like he was unbeatable. At least he seems to have gotten back on track, unlike the sad story of Jermain Taylor.
Pavlik was part of a crop of good, young fighters that started making noise and turning heads in the mid 2000’s: Pavlik, Paul Williams, Alan Green, Edison Miranda, Chad Dawson, Peter Quillon, and a few others. They all came up looking like the future of boxing, then sorta dissapeared from the scene over night, for various reasons. I know some of them are even still active, but are surving on name only.
Alan Green was fun to watch. He had that explosive one-punch KO power when he fought some fighters that were vulnerable to be “hit”. I enjoyed watching him fight!
I was so excited about the Alan Green- Miranda fight, which promised nothing but exlposives, but turned out to be a dud! Also Paul Williams Vs Pavlik kept getting cancelled and postponed and never ended up happening. That was when Pavlik first started having public meltdowns that ended his career.
These overrated guys always have an excuse when they lose. Old man Hopkins took his soul. I am sure Taylor could find an excuse if he want to, as it is documented that the guy was mentally messed up. His fights with Froch and the German soon after proved he was on the way down as well. Pavlik was another one of those fighters who “uncle Bob” claimed was the greatest ever, he even said he was better than Robinson and Hagler.
They forgot to mention his fight with Gary Lockett
Cry baby still.
Pavlik was a brutal fighter BUT his weakness was that he was one dimensional, I never cared for his trainer. Pavlik would have done better with a top notch trainer (Roach, Stewart, Atlas, Floyd Mayweather Sr.) Bernard Hopkins exposed his weaknesses,,,,