Kelly Pavlik

Kelly Pavlik
Statistics
Real name	Kelly Pavlik
Nickname(s)	The Ghost
Rated at	Middleweight
Height	6 ft. 2½ in. (189 cm.)
Reach	75 in (190.5 cm)
Nationality	American
Birth date	April 4 1982 (1982-04-04) (age 26)
Birth place	Youngstown, Ohio
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	32
Wins	32
Wins by KO	29
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 4, 1982 in Youngstown, Ohio) is the reigning WBC and WBO middleweight champion of the world.^[1] His record currently stands at 32-0-0, with 29 of those victories coming via knockout.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Amateur career 3 Professional career 4 Fight with Edison Miranda 5 WBC/WBO Title Fight 6 Universally Recognized Middleweight Champion 7 Trivia 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Early life

Known as "The Ghost", Pavlik grew up in a Slovak-American family on Youngstown's south side, in the traditional ethnic neighborhood of Lansingville.^[2] He graduated from Lowellville High School and Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 2000.^[2] Pavlik has been trained by Jack Loew of Youngstown's South Side Boxing Gym for the entirety of his career.^[3]

Amateur career

• 1999 U.S. National Under-19 amateur champion, 147 pounds
• 1998 National Jr. Golden Gloves amateur champion, 147 pounds
• 1998 National Jr. PAL 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 Chevrolet 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, 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. Prior to the fight, Miranda seemed to ignore Pavlik, choosing rather to lob challenges at champion Jermain Taylor, who was fighting Cory Spinks on the same card. Meanwhile, Pavlik contended to sports journalists who would listen that he would "back Miranda up". When the opening bell rang, Pavlik immediately charged Miranda and kept the contender backing up and on the defensive. During the sixth round, Pavlik dropped Miranda 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 ended, Miranda seemed unable to continue, but came out nonetheless. In the seventh, Pavlik trapped Miranda in a corner with a barrage of vicious shots, forcing Smoger to stop the fight.^[4]

WBC/WBO Title Fight

Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor (27-1-1) 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 2nd 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 of the match. In the seventh, Taylor appeared desperate as he was throwing power punches that mostly missed the mark. Pavlik took advantage with several power shots to the head, culminating with an overhand right which sent Taylor stumbling back into Pavlik's corner. With trainer Jack Loew encouraging him, Pavlik lit into Taylor until an uppercut sent Taylor crumpling onto the canvas. Referee Steve Smoger immediately waived off the fight, giving Pavlik the TKO win. With the victory, Pavlik not only became the WBC and WBO Middleweight Champion of the World, but also walked away with the Ring Magazine middleweight title.^[1] Since this fight, Taylor has activated his clause for a non-title rematch, which is expected to be held in February at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.^[3]

Universally Recognized Middleweight Champion

The Middleweight Championship lineage is unique and the most credible. It is difficult to satisfy the ranking justifications of the 4 Major World Titles. Therefore, it is very difficult to unify titles and have Undisputed Champs. Bernard Hopkins was an enduring champion in this regard. In 2004 long time Champion Bernard Hopkins had a unification match with Oscar De La Hoya. At the time Bernard Hopkins was already recognized as the Undisputed Middleweight Champion because he held the WBC, WBA and IBF World Middleweight Titles. De La Hoya was the WBO World Middleweight Champion. Hopkins beat De La Hoya and became the first person to unify all 4 of the major titles. A year later in 2005 Jermain Taylor defeated Bernard Hopkins and won all 4 of his titles. Before the Taylor - Hopkins rematch the IBF stripped Taylor of it's title. Taylor won the rematch. His next defense came against highly touted Winky Wright but before that match the WBA stripped their title from Taylor. Taylor retained his titles with a draw against Wright. For 2 years Taylor defended his crown and remained unbeaten... until he fought Pavlik on September 29, 2007. Pavlik Knocked Out Taylor and won the WBC and WBO World Middleweight Titles but more importantly he inherited the most powerful lineage in all of boxing. He carries 2 belts but he has the direct legitimate lineage of all 4 belts. He is the Universally Recognized World Middleweight Champion. Additionally, it should be noted that Pavlik also gained the The Ring Magizine’s recognition as Middleweight Champion of the World. Accordingly, The Ring Magizine’s recognition as World Champion usually coincides with the opinion of the boxing media and the general public.

Trivia

• He is the cousin of actress Christine Tarbet, who was the first contestant on the NBC game show 1 vs. 100 to win over $200,000.
• After the fight with Taylor, Pavlik and his father, Mike Pavlik Sr., accidentally left their paychecks in their hotel room.^[5]
• Pavlik needed 108 stitches to close cuts on both of his hands and arms after he accidentally put them through a kitchen window he was repairing.^[6]
• He was named The Boxing Times Fighter of the Year in 2007.^[7]

See also

• List of male boxers
• List of current world boxing champions

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Kelly Pavlik from Boxrec
• Kelly Pavlik Coverage from The Vindicator
• Official Web-Site of Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik
• Pavlik Taylor Ringside Report & Photos

Preceded by Jermain Taylor	WBC Middleweight Champion September 29, 2007 - present	Incumbent
	WBO Middleweight Champion September 29, 2007 - present