Posts Tagged ‘Kelly Pavlik’

With a Main Event in place for the August 6 boxing card at the Covelli Centre, the undercard remains sketchy.  The fight will be televised on ShoBox, Showtime’s boxing affiliate.  ShoBox isn’t HBO Championship Boxing, but is a major media outlet with a loyal viewership.  To ensure a good crowd, Bob Arum and the fine folks at Top Rank would be wise to load the card with Youngstown area talent.

Jack Loew and Kelly Pavlik had their Ghost Promotions inaugural offering card in a parking lot at the Covelli Centre.  There were some competitive and entertaining fights on the card that drew about 1,500 with no fighter on the card in the Top-10 of any rankings list.  The reason why so many people showed up was because they knew the fighters, they were relatives or they were friends, and they respect the local boxing beat.  The attendance would not have been any different if the fights would have not been as good as they were.

With proven A-level talent like Pavlik, a more than fair amount of seats can expect to be sold.  However, when mixing in all of those friends and relatives of potential undercard locals, you have a better shot at packing the house.  I have always thought a good crowd made a televised event more exciting to watch.

The reality of the situation is that the television revenue will not be as high with ShoBox coverage than it would be with HBO.  There will be less money to split making it harder to bring in names of national recognition.  By employing the very capable local fighters such as Chris Hazimihailis, Marco Hall, Anthony Pietrantonio, Dannie Williams (above), and Juan Salinas, the crowd automatically doubles.  It’s not rocket science.

Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, July 15.

Kelly Pavlik will get into the ring in his hometown on August 6.  Pavlik (37-2, 32 KO) will square off against Darryl Cunningham (23-2) in the feature match on the Covelli Centre card.  The Ghost, in shape and of sharp mind these days, is really buckling down getting ready for the fight.

Tickets for the event will be on sale Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m.  You can purchase tickets from the Covelli Centre Box Office or through Ticketmaster .  Tickets will start at $152 for Ringside, $102 for VIP Seating, $52 for Gold Seating, and $27 for Silver Seating.

According to Jack Loew, Dannie Williams will also be on the card and Anthony Pietrantonio may get the call as well.  Details of the complete card will be posted once I get them.

Pavlik will use the fight to sharpen up before signing a major deal with Top Rank to face Lucian Bute, probably in Montreal, probably in November.

** Above photo, courtesy of Team Pavlik.

Dannie Williams sat in his locker stall with a dejected look on his face after his unanimous ten round victory shaking his head.  If you didn’t see the fight, you would have thought Williams lost, based on his reaction.  Truth of the matter is that Oscar Cuero, a grizzly veteran, had such an unorthodox style that Williams struggled at times to land good shots consistently.  I had the fight scored 97-93 for Williams who came out blazing and then struggled with Cuero for the remainder of the fight.

“I just wanted to fight and wasn’t thinking as much as I should have been”, said Williams.  “I give myself a D+ or a C- based on what I did out there tonight.  The physical part is good and I am a dog in the gym, but I need to work on the mental. I am happy with the win, but this will not get me to the next level, I need to come back stronger the next fight.”

Williams had other things to deal with in the fight.  He hurt his hand in the second round.  His hair was flying everywhere making it hard to focus on his target, Cuero.  The hair was such a big distraction that by the time the eighth round started, Williams started the round with white athletic tape holding his obstruction higher on his head to keep it out of his line of vision.

After the fight, I asked Williams’ trainer, Jack Loew, about the hair problem.  “You can bet your bottom dollar that will get taken care of very soon“, commented Loew.

Give Cuero credit.  He took what Williams had for most of the fight.  Battered and beaten, when it seemed he was going to get knocked down, he fought back with strong combinations.  This fighter deserves praise for showing up and giving all he had. Neither fighter seemed to have much gas left by the eighth round of the scheduled ten-rounder.

Williams was introduced to the partial Youngstown crowd with much fanfare including fireworks.  He was pumped when the opening bell rang and came out throwing big shots, maybe from being wound up.  Most of those shots missed, but one caught Cuero and there was a good amount of swelling to his right eye by the end of the second round.  In the second round, Williams slipped and later in the same round, his mouthpiece became dislodged, but the rest of the first couple of rounds went to Williams.

The fourth round was probably Cuero’s best of the fight and it was three minutes that he won decisively.  In the fifth, the hair started coming undone and leaking in front of Williams line of vision.  This was a quick two-sided problem because not only was Williams unable to focus on Cuero for any length of time, but he could also not see what was coming, and took a few good shots as a result.  After the fifth, John Loew tried some tighter rubber bands, but the hair would still get in the way.  By the eighth, white athletic tape, a new hot-seller at every beauty shop from here to Akron, was used.

Williams got a second wind toward the end of the ninth and was the better fighter in the tenth to pull out the convincing victory.  One of the judges scored it 99-91, which speaks sadly of boxing scoring.  The other two were more reasonable margins and the right score.  In the end, Dannie Williams (18-1, 14 by KO) did a good job and earned another victory in his march up the 135-pound rankings.

The fight was the main event for the first-ever Ghost Promotions card at the Covelli Centre in front of a great crowd of almost 2,000 fans.  Kelly Pavlik was there and signed a lot of autographs and took pictures.  The Ghost was introduced before a fight and got a nice ovation from the best boxing fans in the world.  Pavlik is fighting inside the Covelli Centre on August 6 against Darryl Cunningham.

Kelly Pavlik will stay active, just like he said he would after his last fight.  Pavlik has signed to fight Darryl Cunningham from Detroit, Michigan on August 6 at the Covelli Centre.  The fight will serve as a tuneup as The Ghost prepares for a huge showdown in November against Lucian Bute.

“I’m excited about it”, exclaimed Pavlik.  “With the Bute fight coming in November, I definitely need one more tuneup fight.  I watched my performance in my last fight and I got stronger as the fight went on, but one more fight will help me out before I jump into it.  Cunningham has been in with some good fighters. He stopped Antwan Echols and although Echols is not what he once was, he is still a quality fighter.  He [Cunningham] is 23-2 and will be a solid challenge.”

Pavlik comes into the fight at 37-2 with 32 KO’s.  His last fight was on May 7 when he won a decision over Alfonso Lopez in Las Vegas.  This fight will serve a purpose as Cunningham, like Bute, is a southpaw.  Pavlik’s last loss, a unanimous decision setback to Sergio Martinez, came against a lefty also.  This might be a good bridge to cross before a big fight against Bute.

“I want to win convincingly and look sharp.  I want a stoppage by the fourth or fifth round, and I also want to look focused and be ready.  I’m still in shape, but I have not been lifting any weights this time.  I can get to 195 or 200 pounds when I lift.  This time, I am staying busy.  We are going back to the old stuff I used to do like the Ironman Warehouse to get stronger, but I’m not going to touch any weights.”

Pavlik and Bute details will be announced as they are released for their proposed November showdown which will probably take place in Montreal.

Things are falling into place for the first-ever “Ghost Productions” card to be held this Friday, July 1, at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.  Thursday afternoon, Jack Loew and Kelly Pavlik addressed the media and the fighters were officially weighed-in by the governing body of Ohio boxing.  Loew (pictured above ,with Rumble Time’s Steve Smith, Dannie Williams, and Kelly Pavlik), commented that the tickets are still on sale at the Covelli Centre box office and there are still seats remaining.  He also announced that there will be an intermission after the fourth fight, but because of the unique setting (the Covelli Centre Parking Lot), there will be a grand display of fireworks.  Can’t have those in Atlantic City.

When Pavlik took the podium, he said he was excited because this card has some really good fights on it and that the Youngstown fans will get to see some great boxing.  Ghost Productions’ initial endeavor will be good for the ring action.  Many local up-and-coming boxers are on the card and the fan support should be good for the home team.

The Darnell Boone vs Romaro Johnson fight has been cancelled, but the rest of the card is intact and there will be many great things to look forward to.  Youngstown’s Juan Salinas will finally get the spotlight in a professional ring when he has his first pro bout.  Loew has ranted about Salinas for the past three years.

Billy Lyell, from Niles, Ohio is pumped about being on the card.  “I feel great, I am in the best shape of my life.  The fights I was in against world champions has helped me.  I’m not going to see too many new looks that I already haven’t.  I’m real excited about fighting at home, it’s going to be a great event.”

Lyell has had some fierce competition in his path the past couple of fights, most notably a 10-round decision loss to undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. that he took on short notice.  He has sprung back since the January 29 setback earlier this year and defeated Brian Paul in Oklahoma on May 5.  Lyell is a very active fighter who gives his all each time out, not known as a knockout threat, he is very crowd-pleasing because he moves forwards and throws a lot of punches.

Speaking of local fan favorites, Jake Guiriceo (11-0-1) will be fighting Winston Mathis.  Giuriceo, from Campbell, Ohio has a strong and passionate local following and is another busy fighter who keeps active for three minutes at a time.

“I’m definitely ready, I have trained very hard.  I’m not looking for a knockout, I’m not a perfect athlete, I just want to win a good, safe fight”, claimed The Bull.  “I’m fighting for some kind of a title at Cene Park in Struthers on August 13, so I want to use this opportunity to sharpen things up.  It’s an absolute blessing to have a majority of my fights in Ohio.  I love the fans here, they are supportive and give me a boost when they are behind me.”

The Main Event will feature new WBC Continental Americas Champion, Dannie Williams.  Williams is 17-1 with 14 KO’s and is coming off of a title-winning effort in St. Louis, where he knocked out Manuel Leyva in the first round to secure his first major belt.  Williams is ranked in the Top-15, 135 pound fighters in the world and has no pushover in facing Oscar Cuero in the feature contest.  Cuero is 13-6 but his losses have been for the most part have come to some big time opponents (Monty Meza Clay, Jonathan Maicelo, and Emmanuel Lucero).  The three fighters mentioned have a combined record of 75-9-1, he is no pushover.

Williams has been training hard.  In fact it’s about all he is focused on these days.  “I get up and train, I eat, then I run.  After that I train some more.  Being in Youngstown has been great, I’m really looking forward to fighting on a big card like this one here in front of the hometown fans.”

The first bout is at 7 p.m. and it will be worth checking out.  The tickets are affordable, the setting is unique, and the action will speak for itself.  Hence, this card is “The Real Deal“.

Ghost Productions has announced the entire final card for the Friday Night Fights to take place at the Covelli Centre on July 1.  Jack Loew, Kelly Pavlik, and Mike Pavlik, Sr., make up the new promotional team.  They have the local map pretty well-covered with young professional talent for the debut card.

The tickets are very affordable, the matches were made to be competitive, and the card is set as follows:

Main Event

Dannie Williams (17-1, 14 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Oscar Cuelo (13-6, 1 ko) Brooklyn, NY

Undercard

Darnell Boone (18-17, 7 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Romaro Johnson (11-3, 6 ko’s) Cleveland

Billy Lyell (23-9, 5 ko’s) Niles, OH vs Michael Walker (19-8, 12 ko’s) Chicago, IL

Jake Giuriceo (11-0-1, 3 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Winston Mathis (7-3) Stockebridge, GA

Anthony Pietrantonio (6-7, 5 ko’s) Yo, OH vs William Prieto (5-5-1, 2 ko’s) Lorain

Juan Salinas (above) (0-0) Youngstown, OH vs David Burns (0-2) Cleveland, OH

Marco Hall (0-0) vs Emil Brooks (0-3) Buffalo, NY

Vincent O’Neil (1-1-1, 1 ko) Las Vegas vs Kenneth Addison (0-0)

Kevin Dotson (0-0) vs Daniel Crabtree (0-2)

With a great card in place and the area buzzing, this should be a great night of boxing that the Youngstown Area fans need to come out and enjoy!

In October of 2010, I interviewed Jack Loew at his Southside Boxing Club.  One of the first things Loew wanted to talk about was a young, scrappy prospect from St. Louis named Dannie Williams.  Loew said that the 135-pound fighter was going to be someone to reckon with.  On April 17, 2011, Williams made Loew look like a genius as he knocked out veteran Manuel Leyva in the first round to capture the WBC Continental American Lightweight Title in St. Louis.  First round knockouts are impressive, but when you do it throwing counterpunches, they become really impressive.

That win made “The Chopper”, as he is known in some circles, a Top-15 contender as he improved to 17-1 with 14 KO’s.  On July 1, Williams will headline the first-ever Ghost Productions card to be held at the Covelli Centre.  His opponent for that fight is Oscar Cairo , fighting out of New York.  I recently sat down with Williams to discuss the future fight and the big picture.

Paneech: Do you realize that you are starting to be  mentioned nationally and the opportunities will grow?

Williams: Yes sir, I do.  Two years ago I won my first belt and suddenly the sky is the limit.  I’m now in the Top-15 in the world and have a big fight coming up with Oscar Cairo.  We are both getting paid to train hard, show up, and beat the opponent up.  He is 13-6-1.  He is from Colombia but fights out of New York and has only been knocked out one time  and out of his 13 wins, ten have come from knockouts.  He can punch and it will be a good test for me.  I’m training to go ten rounds, but one punch can change the whole fight.  I am excited about fighting here in Youngstown for the hometown crowd.

Paneech: Who are the guys in your weight class of 135 that you want to face?

Williams: Right now, I am taking baby steps to get some exposure.  I would like to get a fight on ESPN or Showtime boxing.  As far as the fighters go, Hank Lundy out of Philadelphia is solid.  I would also like to fight Brandon Rios, who I beat at the amateur level.  The key in the whole process is to get some exposure and then face someone like a Robert Guerrerro, a Lundy, or a Rios on a bigger card.  Having 14 knockouts in 17 wins and not many people seeing them does not help my career much.  Once the world sees me, then I can think about bigger fights.  Obviously, fighting Manny Pacquiao would be huge.  Whether you win or lose, you can retire from boxing rich if you fight him.  Once I become champ at 135, I can think about moving up.

Paneech: I don’t think Jack Loew is going to whisk you into a fight with Manny Pacquiao in December unless he knows your ready.  Do you notice with each fight, a better opponent?

Williams: Definitely.  In February, I fought a guy [Cuello] who had never been knocked out.  My last fight against Leyva was a step up in class and for a belt.  They are getting tougher as they go, but that is what boxing is about, you have to beat the best to be the best.

Paneech:  Who influenced you when you were young to get into this sport?

Williams: Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones.  I am a slick fighter, like a Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker or a Corey Spinks type boxer, where they are just slick and hard to hit solid.  I am 25 years-old and am driven by all of the guys who I came up with that have made it.

Paneech: What would be the “ultimate exposure” as far as a network covering you?

Williams: It has got to be HBO Pay-Per-View.  They are gonna pay, and I can co-promote with my real promoter by then.  However, right now, any network will do, it has to start somewhere.

Paneech: How is the transition from St. Louis to Youngstown going?

Williams: It’s been going great!  A lot of bad habits I had when I was in St. Louis stayed there when I came here.  In Youngstown, I am much more focused, training extremely hard, and staying out of trouble.  All I do here is eat, sleep, and box.  No time for foolishness once training camp starts.  I am focused on my opponent and trying to build a fan base here.

Paneech: Is Kelly Pavlik supportive?

Williams: Kelly has been great, like a big brother.  He is always giving me pointers, always taking time to make sure I am doing something the right way and pushes me to get better.  Even when I just fought in February, he was there hitting the ring and encouraging me.  He has been awesome.

Paneech: What is your relationship with Jack Loew like?  He has been tooting his horn about you for two years.

Williams: Jack is my trainer, but is also like a dad to me.  I call him “Pops”.  He has always spoken highly of me and doesn’t paint a fake picture.  He will come out and tell you what you are doing wrong.  I love him like a real dad for showing me the ropes and teaching me what I have learned.  He is always behind me 100 % and has my back regardless of who is against me.

Paneech: What is the message to the boxing world?

Williams: My message to the boxing world is to look out.  I am in Youngstown, one of boxing’s best kept secrets, and you will all know about me in a minute.

One Word Answers

Favorite Food When Not Training: Pizza with chicken and peppers on it.

Favorite Movie: Scarface.

Biggest Phobia: Me getting knocked out.

Worst Habit: I smile too much.

Favorite Drink: Hawaiian Punch.

Favorite TV Show: Sportscenter and boxing.

Favorite Store: Dillards.

Favorite Color: Red.

Favorite Musician: Yo Gotti.

On July 1, 2011, a brand new Youngstown business will be open for business.  “Ghost Productions” is the promotional combination of Jack Loew, Mike Pavlik Sr., and Kelly Pavlik.  The trio who run the promotion will hold their first event, simply called Friday Night Fights.  The event will be held outdoors, weather permitting, at the Covelli Centre.  If there is a threat of rain, the event will be moved inside the Centre.

“There is an awful lot of local talent and this is a way to let them showcase their skills”, commented Loew.  “Don’t get me wrong, it is a professional boxing card featuring Dannie Williams in the main event, but we would rather fill the card with as many local fighters as we can.”

Loew said that some of the other local fighters who will compete on July 1 will be Marco Hall, Anthony Pientono, Darnell Boone, Billy Lyell, and possibly Jake Giuriceo and Durrell Richardson.  One young man who Loew has been high on for a couple of years, Juan Salinas, will make his professional debut on the card.

Tickets for the inaugural Friday Night Fights go on sale Friday, June 3.  Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster and are very reasonable at $10 and up (plus Ticketmaster fees and tax).  Tickets go onsale to the public at 10 a.m.

The absence of the Golden Gloves, formerly held at the Struthers Fieldhouse in the 80’s and 90’s, could make the ticket even more appealing for local boxing fans.

“It is a fairly priced ticket for a very good lineup of young local fighters,” said Loew.  “We would like to get television coverage as we continue to grow using some of the connections that Kelly [Pavlik] and I have made along the way.  Stations like ESPN, VS, and Showtime who air boxing regularly are targets.”

Congratulations NCAA!  Your Witch Hunt at Ohio State has almost been completed!  All you have left to do now is kick all of the players off of the team, strip the school of every game won under Jim Tressel, and fine The Ohio State University.  What else…  oh yeah, throw probation at them, keep them down.

Jim Tressel exudes class.  I had the pleasure of being a guest coach of the Red-White Game at Youngstown State University in 1991 and met Tressel.  I was impressed at his demeanor with the average student and his willingness to make his program the entire city of Youngstowns, his drive to make a Fall Saturday at the Ice Castle an event, but most importantly his desire to win.  He did plenty of winning at Youngstown State and was promoted to his dream job coaching the nationally-prominent Buckeyes.  Never an “in your face”, cocky, kind of coach either.  Tressel often deflected praise with the only negatives he could scour up from week-to-week.

The only memorabilia I will ever associate to Jim Tressel is the countless piles of things he has donated to charities.  I wrote Tressel a letter in 2006 asking for something to use for a Chinese Auction at the first-ever Korey Stringer Memorial golf outing.  I took all of the required steps and had a signed mini-helmet sitting on my doorstep in a week.  That item, along with some Kelly Pavlik memorabilia, drew the most money in the auction.  In fact, it seems like every charity event I went to locally, there was always something with Tressel’s signature on it to assist the folks raising money.

The main function of a college football coach is to coach football.  Tressel cannot babysit every player he has to make sure that they are doing the moral thing 24/7.  As Ohio State Alumnus and current New Orleans Saints DB Malcolm Jenkins recently said, “They have a formal meeting with the players every year to go over the rules of what they can and can’t do.  When they [players] do something wrong, they know it is wrong.”

The boosters are a good concept at the college level.  However, there are always a couple of them who like to lean on the water cooler at work and brag about what they can do to manipulate a system for their own betterment.  I will never badmouth anyone who supports collegiate athletics with scholarship donations.  I will criticize people who do it for their own gain and notoriety as a status symbol.

Leslie Cochran, the former President at Youngstown State University recently made comments in Sports Illustrated that made Tressel and his coaching staff sound like the new regime of the Youngstown Mafia.  Cochran referred to the program as “family” and said that those things happened but were always kept within the family.  Pretty brash for the “father” who sat at the head of the table glowing with pride when Tressel was winning National Championships.  Sad thing is, Cochran thinks that a fly pattern is the path an insect travels in a corn field.

I recently stopped to buy gas on my way to work.  I was wearing an Ohio State shirt.  When I went inside to prepay for my criminally-priced fuel, a Michigan fan, wearing a Michigan shirt pounced on the wrong Buckeye fan.

“Looks like you guys are done for awhile”, he said.

“Yeah, I guess we are.  If you guys would have won any Big-10 Championships and had rings to sell you would have gotten into more trouble than us”, was about the best response I could give.

Congratulations on what you have achieved so far Coach Tressel.  You have more to do and don’t let the minority ruin what you have created for yourself.  Relish in your successes and learn from your defeats.  This may be the biggest defeat of your storybook career, but I know it won’t be the end.  You didn’t know your ex-quarterback was driving with a suspended license.  You didn’t know your running back had a tattoo of a rose on his thigh.  Guess the NCAA will have to add some more rules so they can move on to the next campsite to invade like coyotes.

The NCAA crackdown is coming to a school near you!

With the Red-White game just a week away, the Youngstown State Penguins hit the field for their last controlled scrimmage heading into the final week of April practices.  Coach Eric Wolford knows that there is plenty to be done, but was ultimately satisfied with the effort put forth by the team on Saturday.

“I was encouraged by the defense when we were doing third down situations the first time up”, said Wolford.  “At the end of the scrimmage, we created the Western Illinois game again.  There are four minutes left on the clock, and the offense tries to eat up the time on the clock by staying in bounds and taking care of the football.  We ended up popping a big run that put us up by ten points there.  Those are the two things that stick out as positives right now.”

From a statistical standpoint, Pat White (above) had the big day catching 10 passes for 206 yards and five touchdowns.  White hauled in a 70-yarder from Marc Kanetsky. White would also hook up with Kanetsky for touchdowns of 20 and 8 yards.  Najee Tyler found White for a 49-yard score, and Patrick Angle would also find White in the end zone from 21 yards out for six.

White commented on his big day.  “We are going to keep trying to get better every day.  I just made plays I am expected to make and didn’t know I had that many yards.  I’m gonna try to do my thing no matter who is front of me.  Coach commented that we took a step forward today, and that felt good.  We only had five receivers out there.”

Unfortunately, there were still plenty of dropped balls to force receivers coach, Andre Coleman (above) to rub his head a few times.

Wolford commented that the drops are still there and they need to stop.  “Pat White made some nice plays today, but we need to find some consistency with him.  We know we have a pretty good running game.  At receiver, we saw some positive things today, but we need to become more consistent.”

Kanetsky led the quarterbacks on the stats sheets.  The Hubbard, Ohio grad completed 15-17 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns.  Starter Kurt Hess was 13-26 for 164 yards and one touchdown.

Jamaine Cook also had a pretty big day getting 17 touches for 170 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

With just a week of Spring practice left, the Penguins are focusing on consistency and situations that they got beat in last season.  The Spring game will start at noon on Saturday.  Kelly Pavlik, Tim Ryan, and Jay Williams have already been confirmed as honorary coaches for the event.