Posts Tagged ‘Kelly Pavlik’

Kelly Pavlik will get back in the ring on April 17th when he faces Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City.  The fight will be part of an HBO Boxing telecast and will serve as the main event.  Pavlik vowed after his last fight in December, a 5th round TKO over Miguel Espino,  to be more active in 2010 and has stayed busy to keep in good shape.

Sergio Martinez is no pushover.  Paul Williams can testify to that.  Martinez stunned Williams, knocking him down, but losing a controversial decision on December 5.  Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer, has even been quoted as saying that Martinez will be a tougher fight than Williams would have been.

The split-feed telecast by HBO will start in Quebec where past Pavlik opponent Edison Miranda takes on heavily-hyped IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute.  Bute is one of many possibilities for Pavlik’s next fight should he win against Martinez.  The action then will shift to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall for the Pavlik-Martinez fight.

Other possibilities for Pavlik’s next fight are the always lingering Felix Sturm, Paul Williams (who should be mad at his handlers for running their mouths, he has nothing in the hopper as of this writing), Bute, or the winner of the Showtime Tournament. 

Pavlik is vacationing in California and will resume his pre-fight eight week training camp on Monday.  Loew has said that Pavlik may train in Florida for a few weeks to keep Kelly clear of pre-fight distractions.  Obviously, the Florida move would be favorable in the road work department.  Pavlik would have to run behind a snowplow and salt truck if he dares to enter Mill Creek Park for a jog.

The lights just seem to project a higher magnitude when the words ESPN are attached to a camera. It is a treat to see Youngstown State play in a nationally televised game. It was also great marketing by the YSU Athletic Department to pack the house using reduced ticket prices. At night’s end, the Penguins could not pull out a victory, falling 69-59 to visiting Milwaukee.

Milwaukee held an 18-13 lead with 7:50 to go in the first half. YSU had earlier tied the game at 13 when DeAndre Mays delivered a perfect alley-oop pass to Kelvin Bright who slammed the pill home to absolutely rock the house.  Beeghly Center had not been that loud since the Kelly Pavlik fight in December.

Ricky Franklin hit a couple of consecutive long-range threes to jump the Milwaukee lead to 24-15 with 6:23 left in the first half. Franklin had already compiled 14 points and the Penguins needed to pay better attention to him.

The Penguins cut a little off of the lead right before the half when Ashen Ward nailed a three. At halftime, Milwaukee held a 31-23 advantage riding the hot hand of Franklin, whose trio of threes was pretty much the difference of a hard-played physical half.  YSU did not have a player with more than five points and shot just 1-10 from long distance.

At halftime, new YSU Football Coach Eric Wolford addressed the packed house promising that Youngstown State Football would be back on the map real soon and enticing the crowd to tailgate before the Spring game. Coach Wolford got a rousing ovation with all of his positive comments and is doing a great job promoting the future of football at YSU, especially the recruitment of local A-list talent.

The Penguins trailed 38-27 with 15:49 left in the game. Trailing by as many as 15, YSU started using a half-court press to rattle Milwaukee into committing a couple of turnovers.  Ashen Ward took the ball the length of the court off of a Milwaukee miss and layed it in as he was fouled. Ward also hit the free throw to cut the lead to 42-34 with 12:22 left in the contest.

DeAndre Mays got the crowd back into the action when he glided through traffic and hit a finger roll to trim Milwaukee’s lead to 45-41 with 7:28 left. Milwaukee went back to it’s most reliable source on offense, and Ricky Franklin again responded with another two points to make it 47-41.

With the Penguins down 50-44 with 4:39 remaining in the game, Mays again drove and scored. After James Eayrs converted for two to build the Milwaukee lead back to seven, Mays hit a three to cut the lead to just four points. Franklin responded again as he hit another three, his fourth, to re-establish the seven point lead at 56-49 with 1:59 left. Franklin finished the game with 21 points, taking high-scoring honors.

The Penguins went into ‘foul mode’  but Milwaukee was making the majority of their tosses from the charity stripe. Conversely, YSU could not score when they had the ball. The end result was a 69-59 Horizon League victory for the visiting team from Milwaukee.

After the game, Coach Jerry Slocum addressed the things that hurt his Penguins.  “We are not the type of team to take 27 three-point shots in a game, we took 20 more shots than they took and they had more turnovers.  We couldn’t make our shots tonight.”

Dallas Blocker had his best all-around performance of the season with eight points and eight rebounds.  Vytas Sulskis also scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds.  The Penguins will return to action on Sunday afternoon when they host Green Bay at 2 PM.

Kelly Pavlik returned home to get back in the ring and defend his championships against Miguel Espino. Pavlik needed to have a good showing to merit the favor of his critics.  The mission was accomplished, at least partially.  Pavlik used his power, body shots, and some timely uppercuts to turn away the challenger Espino in front of 3,407 fans at Youngstown State’s Beeghly Center.

Pavlik entered the arena with what has become his trademark music – KORN – blaring through Youngstown’s Beeghly Center.  The ovation was authentic and the city that fell in love with a fighter had that special feeling again.  Pavlik entered the ring looking hungry.

Pavlik worked hard the first round as Espino was fighting back.  This was a mistake that Espino pointed out at the post-fight press conference.  “I got away from the plan.  The plan was originally to avoid going toe-to-toe and exchange blows with Kelly.  He hit me a couple of times but never really hurt me.  Respectfully, I don’t think he was at his best tonight.” For four rounds, Espino tried to exchange blows with Pavlik, and landed plenty of good shots of his own, but ultimately the firepower Pavlik’s punches contained were too much for the challenger.

 Espino got a point deducted for hitting after the first round bell.

In the second round, Espino proved he was more than just happy to be in Youngstown by landing a couple of solid shots. Pavlik was pounding on Espino’s body throughout round two. Espino was behind two rounds to none. A small cut was noticable under the right eye of Pavlik.  The other thing that was obvious was that the Espino Camp stressed blocking the overhand right – Pavlik’s mealticket.  ‘The Ghost’ sought alternatives and came up with a couple of uppercuts in between vicious body punches.

Give Espino credit, he was here to fight. He was fighting Pavlik’s style and exchanging blows. Pavlik connected with a good right that started some blood pouring out of the nose of Espino mid-round. Espino was again warned for throwing punches below the belt. There was not alot of dancing and jabbing taking place to this point, just alot of leather flying at both fighters. After three, Pavlik was up three rounds to none in what was by far the closest round.

The fifth round was when Pavlik cashed in on all of those previous body shots. Pavlik nailed Espino with another and Espino took a knee, ala Gary Lockett.  After regaining posture with the count at eight, the two boxers were throwing again.  A sharp Pavlik uppercut dazed Espino and a nice combination that followed floored the challenger.  As Espino struggled to regain his balance and barely beat the count, his corner threw in the towel to avoid serious injury.

The win hoists Pavlik’s record to 36-1 with 32 KOs.  Espino fell to 20-3-1 with the loss.

Bob Arum, the man in charge at Top Rank, made a pretty strong statement directed toward the Paul Williams camp after the fight.  “Kelly couldn’t go through with the [Williams] fight because of the injuries to his hand, he couldn’t even make a fist.  They couldn’t wait and wanted to go ahead with a fight on December 5.  Williams nearly got licked and many feel he lost that fight.  We have got a signed contract that is truly no longer valid.  All they have to do if they want to fight Kelly Pavlik is initial that contract and send it to me and the first available date that HBO has, we will do the fight.”

Pavlik was happy to return to action and vowed to be busier in 2010.  “I felt more comfortable as the fight went on.  The off time I had was not spent relaxing or doing things I enjoy.  I couldn’t lift anything heavier than a half gallon of milk for six weeks, so the time spent in Vegas to train was me playing ‘catch-up’.  I want the Williams fight.  The reason I fought Bernard Hopkins was because the Williams camp pulled out.  If we can’t get Williams, we will look toward Felix Sturm or someone else.  I want to take about three weeks off and then resume training.  Ideally, I would like to have three fights in a year.”

With Kelly Pavlik getting ready to defend his championships Saturday, I leaf around the internet looking for articles.  There is so much negative stuff written about Pavlik because he is not fighting Paul Williams.  Instead, the opponent is little-known, but ranked, Miguel Espino.  The thing that surprised me most was the negativity directed toward Jack Loew and comments about how much grander Pavlik would be if he shook Loew away.

I don’t buy it for a minute.  Emanuel Steward is like a pimp.  He has many people with high profile matches in his stable.  Is it really possible for him to channel his best effort to each and every guy he trains?  I have not seen Mr. Steward in too many winning corners lately unless he is working for HBO and doing a post-fight interview with the victor. 

 Who else? Mayweather?  The guy can’t even work with his own family (until recently, again). 

OK…  point taken.  Jack Loew does blacktop work in the Summer.  That fact was spotted in at least every fourth article Google lined up when I searched.  SO WHAT?  Loew is a person who also runs a gym and has an upcoming stable of local talent to heed notice of.  Not only that, but he can focus on Pavlik as his big gun.  I’m in no way downplaying what Pavlik has accomplished, but c’mon, give credit where it is due.  Who knows where Kelly would be if he was just another one of Steward’s fighters?

Jack Loew will succeed with another fighter in the sport of boxing.  I have said it before and I will say it again, he is no one-trick pony.  He loves what he does and is more successful than most trainers in the sport, Pavlik’s gold is the proof.

Before anyone opens their mouth about Jack Loew being the beneficiary of geographic proximity, think again.  Loew is a boxing trainer with a pretty darn good record.  Bravo!

Kelly Pavlik wants to get a fight in by then end of 2009.  Mike Pavlik, Kelly’s father and co-manager, has confirmed the date and opponent to be Miguel Espino (20-2-1, 9 KO’s).  Pavlik (35-1, 31 KO’s) has been battling a staph infection for months which caused the cancellation of two scheduled fights against Paul Wiliams.  The fight will take place on the campus of Youngstown Stae University’s Beeghly Center.

Espino has rattled off 11 straight wins, six by knockout, since losing to Peter Manfredo in 2004.  The fight will be a Top Rank Pay-Per-View event which will co-feature two fights from Cancun.  When Pavlik beat Marco Antonio Rubio in nine round at the Covelli Centre in February, Top Rank fielded a similar package of combining locations with co-features.  The other two fights on the “Latin Fury” PPV are Humberto Soto (49-7-2, 32 KO’s) moving up to 135-pounds to challenge Jesus Chavez (44-6, 30 KO’s), and Vanes Martirosyan (25-0, 16 KO’s) against a yet to be named opponent for the vacant NABF Jr. Middleweight Championship.

Pavlik was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago with a 104 degree temperature, skin discoloration, and a racing heartbeat.  Therapy has done him well in recent days as the champ continues on his road to recovery.  Having followed Pavlik from the beginning, I can tell you that he will duck no one, including Paul Williams.  Williams’ Manager, George Peterson, was recently quoted as saying, “We weren’t surprised.  This is really the fourth time now, so this fight will never take place.  We’re going to move on.  There’s no injury, he [Pavlik] just needs a heart transplant.”  Very observant Mr. Peterson, very observant indeed. 

Jack Loew would be the first person to tell you that he will not let a fighter who is not at 100%, which Pavlik was not even close to, enter a fight.  When I interviewed Loew in May, he was quick to blame himself for allowing the Bernard Hopkins fight to even take place.  “The writing was on the wall twice, and I chose to ignore it.  In the future and moving ahead, if I have a fighter who is not at 100%, whether it be Kelly Pavlik or a 15-year old Golden Gloves entrant, he will not fight.”  I am sure Loew would vouch, as would many others who have seen Pavlik’s ailing hand, that to be ready for Williams would have been catastrophic at best.

The national media can say what they want about Pavlik.  He is used to people doubting his abilities and was quick to point out that nobody picked him to beat Jermaine Taylor, either time they fought.  Keep doubting him, but never question the heart.  If it were his decision alone, he would have tried to fight Paul Williams with one hand.  Management and trainers will not let that happen.  Don’t worry Paul, he will still be the man to beat at the 160-pound mark next year.  Hope you win yours.

Jerry Slocum has been coaching basketball at Youngstown State University for five seasons.  His program has made many leaps forward in that span of time.  A new state-of-the-art weight room, a clubhouse atmosphere in the locker room, and putting his recruits on the court with a little experience will all be telltale signs of YSU basketball’s forward progress.  Slocum is just a cool guy.  I cannot say enough good things about him or the way he processes information.  The guy is a genius of this sport and I think that YSU will make it to the big dance in March under his guidance very soon.  YSU fans take notice, we are lucky to have him here and the fruit of his hard work will become visible this season.

Paneech:  In your five seasons, you can finally put your stamp on this team as they are all your recruits playing with some experience.

Slocum:  I don’t think there is any shortcut to look at that.  Experience is what it is.  What comes first, the chicken or the egg?  Are you good without any experience?  I think you have to go through a process to get it.  Once you have that experience process in place, you start building towards winning.  Last year we had seven new guys, I thought it would come quicker than it did, but by February, we had a pretty good basketball team.  That kind of excitement has led into the Spring and the Summer.  Now we are into early Fall, and we are pretty excited about where we are.  You are what you experience, and I think that the experience we have gained will show this season.

Paneech:  Only losing two players from last year and having all this experience back you have to really be excited with the returning talent, the cupboard is stocked for the future too.

Slocum:  We have a tandem with three of the five with Dallas Blocker, Dan Boudler, and Eddie D’Haiti that I think will really play out and be a positive factor for this team this year.  When this class goes, everyone is going to look and say you lost all of these seniors.  We are going to have Ashen Ward return at the two-guard spot.  You are gonna have both three-men back.  You are going to have Damian Eargle back at the four, and Eddie [D’Haiti] coming back as a five.  We have alredy gotten verbal commitments from some kids, so in my mind, we have got the classes where we want them, we have got the kids coming up that are learning from the older guys and there is just a good attitude and symmetry that the group has taken.

Paneech:  Who is the team to beat in the Horizon League this season?  Did you take offense to being picked 7th in the preseason poll?

Slocum: I think there are two teams that are a cut above with Butler and Wright State.  Then there are four or five teams in the next tier, and I would put us in that group, anywhere between three and seven.  I maybe took a little bit of offense to being picked seventh.  Our league doesn’t respect us.  It’s like I say to our guys – respect is earned.  In the last two years we have finished fourth and sixth.  Did I think we would maybe be in that fourth spot?  Yeah, I thought so.  I think we finish third or fourth.  Being picked seventh shows that the league doesn’t have alot of respect for us and the pressure comes back on us to prove it.

Paneech:  Who are your go-to guys with five seconds left in a game, who takes the shot?

Slocum:  I think there are two guys that are pressure shooters and pressure players for us.  I think a bunch of guys can make the shots.  The two guys who can create a shot, follow their shot, and then maybe pitch it to a shot are DeAndre Mays and Vytas Sulskis.  Both of those guys are guys who can find a way to pick us back up with a big shot. 

Paneech:  When it happens, and it will someday, how big of a shot in the arm will it be for this program to appear in the March Madness brackets?

Slocum:  Obviously, it’s a dream that we all have.  To me, it wasn’t as much of a dream as it was a reality to achieve.  I think we are headed in the right direction.  Everybody talks about how you only have to win three games at the end of the year to get in, and I believe that to be true also, but, in the same breath, you have to be able to get to the end and have the confidence.  The way we finished last year should carry over into this year.

Paneech:  Is your group healthy?

Slocum:  Right now, we are healthy.  Every Fall, we do a little bit of a different approach to get our guys ready.  I’m not a big guy on coming in at 100%  top shape.  I think progressively, we get there.  Across the country, some guys get pushed too hard before their bodies are ready to take that kind of a pounding.  Right now we are healthy, and I am cautiously optimistic about our health.

Paneech:  Have you gotten comfortable with Youngstown as your home yet?

Slocum:  We love the valley and Youngstown.  My wife is a nurse at a local hospital.  This is home.  We enjoy the area, we enjoy Mill Creek Park, we enjoy all of the different things that are unique to Youngstown.

Paneech:  I am a fan, yet there are detractors.  Do you care about criticism or is it just accepted as part of the job?

Slocum:  It is what it is.  If you let those people govern you or disturb your thought process, then you don’t focus on your job and doing it the right way.  We knew when we got here that it would be a great challenge for us.  We knew that the recruiting hadn’t been what it should’ve been relevant to the Horizon League.  We had to learn Youngstown and how to recruit for YSU and the challenges of recruiting in a state with the MAC.  I don’t lose any sleep from all of the people that say things behind my back, or to my face about this criticism or that criticism.  I know that right now, the infrastructure of our program is higher than it has ever been and I know that our talent level is better.

Paneech:  How fun is it to play schools like Xavier, Kent, and Pitt?

Slocum:  I think it is fun for our guys.  In the time since I have been here, we have really changed our profile relevant to our schedule.  When you play schools like Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Pitt, Xavier, and Kent, it gives our guys the chance to play the best teams in the country.  It also gives you a measuring stick to get ready for your conference play.  We will contnue to do that while I am here.  I think it is a great recruiting tool and it allows our guys to dream a little bit.

Paneech:  Talk to me about riding a motorcycle and the trips you take.

Slocum:  I ride a Honda.  My wife doesn’t have a motorcycle, she just rides with me.  It really started in my youth.  I had motorcycles until I was 23 or 24 when we had our first child.  I went away from them for about 25 years.  Now that the kids are gone, I have picked it back up in the last ten years.  It gives us a chance to go and travel and we love being on the road.  We rode to the very top of Nova Scotia.  Next year, we are planning to go to South Dakota.

Paneech:  If you were asked to coach the Olympic Basketball Team, who would be your starting five?

Slocum:  Obviously, your top two guys would be LeBron and Kobe.  Kobe is probably the hardest working guy in the game.  My big guy would have to be Howard because he is so agile.  Bosh and Garnett would be there too.  The point guard spot would probably be Chris Paul. 

One Word Answers

Best All-Time Coach At Any Level:  Dean Smith.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  (long pause)  Black Raspberry.

Mountaineer or Cedar Point?   Cedar Point.

Restaurant In Youngstown That You Have To Get To:  MVR Club.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Best Boxer At Any Weight Class:  Kelly Pavlik.

Favorite Group Of All-Time:  The Who.

A Short Description Of This Year’s Team:  Mentally Tougher.

Least Favorite Chore To Do At Home:  Clean Up The Dog’s Poop.

Can The Cavs Win This Year?  Yes.

Favorite Fruit:  Peaches

Best Movie Ever Made:  Patton.

Everyone reading this knows who the guy in the middle is.  The other two guys are probably the best at what they do in Youngstown.  The man on the right is Dana Balash, WFMJ Sports.  Dana has been covering Youngstown area sports for a long time and people will not get sick of him because he has an obvious passion for what he is doing.  Balash is the go to guy for area sports.  Maybe I am biased because of his longevity, but to sit in a press conference when he is present is like going to school.  He asks the right questions. 

The gentleman on the left is Joe Scalzo, who I have stolen (and credited) information from concerning Kelly Pavlik on this website.  Scalzo recently ran in the Peace Race this past Sunday and finished 11th in his age bracket.  Sitting next to Scalzo at a few Scrappers games has been rewarding in many ways.  He is the most genuine person I have met in all media so far.  Joe has a firm grip on the boxing beat, but his true colors shine in Thursday editions of The Vindicator when he does his high school footbal rap.  Scalzo’s style is so genuine because he uses real life situations such as stories about his wife, personal texts he has received from a coach for not picking the local team to win, or just raving about a bands halftime performance from an obscure Columbiana County school. 

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Vindy.com publshed Scalzo’s rendition of running the race Sunday, going back to run the last mile with his wife, and being satisfied with a reputable finish.  If you read this you will know why I am such a big fan of Joe Scalzo.
• Josh Q. Public draws a unique comparison of what it feels like for a Packers fan to watch Brett Favre as a Viking against what it felt like for Red Sox fans to watch Roger Clemens pitch for the Yankees.
• Detroit4Lyfe has video of Pistons rookie Austin Daye hustling back on defense to block a shot of D Wade’s in what should have been an easy lay-up.
• The Cage Doctors present 11 of the bloodiest MMA photos I have ever seen.
• PSAMP has visual proof that the WWE Divas looked pretty good in Steeler stuff on RAW last night.
• Buster Sports tracks the recruitment of college basketball star-to-be Harrison Barnes with neat plane tracking graphics.
• Not Qualified To Comment found some pretty cool footage of Johnny Knox returning a kickoff for a TD Sunday.  Watch the video closely as the ballboy keeps up with Knox for several yards.
• NESW Sports has video of Kobe Bryant shutting up Derek Rose. 
• Babes Love Baseball writer Sooze is going to the Twins vs Tigers one game playoff today in Minnesota.  Sooze writes about why 162 games are just not enough.

A press conference to be held at the New York Giants practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J. on Tuesday will confirm that Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams will finally meet up to sign the deal that will see them face off on December 5th.  The fight will be held at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hotel. 

The fight was originally scheduled to take place on October 3 but Pavlik backed out days before a press conference in August to promote the fight with a severe staph infection.  Since then, Pavlik has been careful with the injury, sporting a splint, and undergoing IV drips to heal the bad hand.  Obviously, the attention has helped the hand as Pavlik will resume running next week. 

The fight will be televised on HBO, something Pavlik seemed adamant about from the time I interviewed him in July.  Tickets will cost $400, $300, $200, $100, and $50 and will go on sale Wednesday, one day after the press conference.  Tickets can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hotel box office or via Ticketmaster.

According to Youngstown Vindicator boxing reporter Joe Scalzo, Jack Loew is thrilled to finally get back at it with Pavlik.  Scalzo quoted Loew in Tuesday’s Vindicator as saying, “The last time we took this amount of time off, he came in and fought a left-hander, and knocked him out to win a championship.”  Loew was making reference to Pavlik’s 9th round TKO of Bronco McKart after a 10-month layoff.

 Youngstown area night life is about to get a big shot in the arm.  Eric Ryan has teamed with Kelly Pavlik to bring Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round  to downtown Struthers.  This is not a normal mom and pop neighborhood bar, but more an event. 

Formerly known as South Bridge, a place where people went to play pool, hear some live music, or eat a decent meal upstairs at Fat E’s, the conversion to Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round is nearly complete and the doors to a whole new nightlife experience open to the public on September 11. 

The only thing that will stay the same is the lower level, aka The Cellar.  Eric Ryan and staff will continue to feature the best local and national musical talent to this exclusive venue.  Anyone who has been to The Cellar for a Disco Inferno night understands the level of entertainment you can still get for a few bucks.

The mid-level, formerly South Bridge, a pool hall and bar is undergoing the biggest makeover.  There will be a boxing ring right in the bar.  The bar itself will be huge and there will be a kitchen open to serve food to the patrons in the form of hamburgers, wings, fries, and many other menu items.  The big menu item will be called “The Knockout”.  The Knockout sandwich weighs three pounds and is basically the size of a loaf of bread.  Anyone who purchases the sandwich will also receive a T-shirt.  Kelly Pavlik was even contacted by the popular show Man vs Food to showcase the new sandwich. The customer can order food and will be given a blinking light box that will activate once an order is prepared and ready for consumption.  The bar itself will also feature 13 flat screen TV’s and will carry mostly any sport on any day.  My personal favorite feature will be something I cannot really comment about until the bar opens, but I will give you a hint in that I am a sports memorabilia fanatic.  If you even remotely care about sports this is your place. 

The top level has also undergone many upgrades both in appearance and class.  Chef Jeff Chrystal of Chrystal Catering notoriety will be in charge of the top level food.  Alligator is an appetizer choice, duck is also an option, but the menu will have several other “normal” selections such as steaks.  The picture above denotes one of the cool ideas incorporated into the new establishment.  A designer has painted, in different colors and fonts on the wall, quotes from several notable boxing legends.  There is a similar project associated with this concept downstairs which I will save as a surprise to the clients. 

Alan Drennen is the general manager for the entire complex and talked about what a great menu Jeff Chrystal is going to provide.  “It’s going to be a well-rounded unique menu.  There are unbelievable pasta dishes, steaks, steakburgers that are hand-pattied not bought processed.  It’s going to be really good food yet still be affordable.”

Ryan is pumped about the new establishment and said that Kelly Pavlik is more involved than people may think from an insider standpoint.  “It’s something Kelly and I have been talking about for a long time.  It is a way for him to generate some income without getting punched in the face.  We have business meetings and when he is in attendance, he certainly is no dummy.  I’m the manager of the place, but Kelly has had input on the menu, he has had input on the look of the place.  We have transformed the billiards room in to the most incredible sports bar you are ever going to see.”

I am really excited for the premier of this establishment.  Eric Ryan brings a spotless track record and a resume filled only with success to a higher level yet again.  The Covelli Centre is hot right now, don’t think it’s because Ryan didn’t have anything to do with it.  This guy does not hide in his office.  He has a knack of putting the right people in place to oversee facets of every project he attempts.  More importantly, the guy follows through on everything.  Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round is going to be special. 

Thank’s Kelly and Eric for giving the valley another shot in the arm!

The Kelly Pavlik vs Paul Williams fight originally scheduled for October 3 has been put on hold due to a staph infection on Pavlik’s left index finger.  The fight will be reschduled for November 21 and still be televised by HBO.  This hand injury dates back to February and has already prevented Pavlik from fighting against Sergio Mora in June.

Jack Loew told me that Kelly is not depressed, but rather relieved at the postponement, “We don’t want to go in there unprepared while nursing this injury.  Kelly is relieved that he will not be pressed into this fight without being prepared.”

Loew told me that when Pavlik ran through Mill Creek Park on Monday that his hand was wrapped.  When Pavlik finished his run, Loew had him remove the bandages so he could check the status of the infection.  “It was disgusting, not even a cut, but more like a hole in his finger,” Loew commented.

Loew stated in an interview with me in May that if Pavlik was less than 100% that he would not compete in a championship fight.  This belief is what the end feelings were in the Pavlik vs Bernard Hopkins fight, where Loew commented that “the writing was on the wall twice, and we chose to ignore it,” referring to Pavlik needing to get his arm drained and a bout with pneumonia in weeks close to the fight.

Pavlik is currently undergoing serious IV treatments.  “He is doing IV treatments twice a day every twelve hours to fix this.  The doctor said he should be ready to resume training in a few weeks and that it can be healed,” added Loew.

Paul Williams and his group knew nothing of the postponement and have yet to agree to the November 21 reschedule date.  Joe Scalzo, of the Youngstown Vindicator, quoted Dan Goosen (Williams’ promoter), “Obviously we are very surprised.  When I hear that date [November 21], I’d be very interested in one thing: Who’s he [Pavlik] going to fight?  We know nothing about it.”