Posts Tagged ‘Kelly Pavlik’

Kelly Pavlik is going back to his second home, Atlantic City, to defend the Middleweight Championship against Paul Williams.  After weeks of tireless negotiations, the two sides finally agreed on dollars to make the fight a reality on October 3.  Joe Scalzo, the Youngstown Vindicator Boxing Reporter broke the story late yesterday.

The dynamics of this fight are fascinating.  These guys are both tall and narrow and have one thing in common ~ big punch potential.  The belief that Williams cannot take Pavlik’s best punch is countered by the fact that Williams is a southpaw, something Pavlik has not faced in awhile.  Williams is a very active fighter and throws punches from bell to bell.

Williams recently fought Antonio Margarito and came out ahead.  The early predictions I have read all seem to go with Williams.  Call me a homer, but these are the same experts who picked Edison Miranda and Jermaine Taylor.  My money is always on Pavlik, and I’m ahead.  Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer,  will create ways, as he has before, to offset Williams’ strengths.  I expect more counter-punches and more body shots to keep Williams off balance. 

The fight is scheduled for October 3 and will be televised on regular HBO.  Pavlik was hinting to many that he wanted to be on HBO and not on a PPV, which I think is greater exposure setting up bigger paydays later.  HBO will be calling this their fight of the year if these two guys bring their A-games.

Tickets for the fight go on sale August 18.  I will be posting much more leading up to the fight.

Kelly Pavlik does not need to move up in weight and play with Showtime in their tournament.  As Pavlik recently said, “Careers will be ruined by that tournament and I will beat whoever wins.”  The champ is set to be interviewed within the next couple of weeks as he nears a Fall fight date.

Other great stories:

• My Sports Rumors thinks that Tampa Bay will be in for a good battle in camp to name the starting quarterback, Luke McCown, Josh Freeman, and Byron Leftwich all want it.
• Detroit4Lyfe has a screenshot collage of a call the umpires blew in the Pittsburgh vs SF Giants game.  Delwyn Young got screwed (and so did Garrett Jones).
• Tony Blogs says the NFL got it right by reinstating Michael Vick.
• The World Of Isaac found an executive for the Florida Panthers hitting on the FOX News lady, on the air.
• Pucks & Pitchforks takes a look at the greatest hockey uniforms, now and then.
• Inside The Iggles sends an open letter to NFL Commish Roger Goodell about Michael Vick, Plaxico, and addresses the fact that only four first round draft picks have signed.
• Joe Sports Fan says the influx of “Pujols 5” jerseys are so 2008.
• The Fifth Corner previews a game to have Carolina Tar Heels from the 04-05 season against members of last years team and 8 other alums in a charity contest.

Kelly Pavlik was at the Mahoning Valley Scrappers game on Thursday night and revealed his plans for the future, as well as what he has been up to lately.  A swarm of fans greeted Pavlik to get autographed copies of his book written by David Lee Morgan, Jr. and Greg Gulas.  The book is for sale on the official Team Pavlik website.

Pavlik said that the Felix Sturm (32-4-1, 14 KO’s) fight is on the board, but not set in stone yet.  “That’s the talk.  A couple of weeks ago it was definitely Felix Sturm until he backed out.  Now that this Super Middleweight Tournament is going on Showtime, I think it’s pretty much a reality that the fight [Sturm] is going to happen.” 

It seems the holdup on making the fight with Sturm official is the proposed purse from HBO.  “Somebody better throw some more money out there.  He’s got the WBA world title, I’ve got two titles.”  HBO has offered the fighters roughly $1 million each.  “If we’ve got to split that, I wasn’t going to take a fight for that.”

Pavlik (35-1, 31 KO’s) said he has been keeping busy lately and has even started to get into shape.  “We are starting at about three days a week now, I run.  Then next week we start with the weightlifting and getting back into the boxing gym.  We’re not going to do it too hard now because we still have a long way.  When you do eight weeks of seven hours a day of training, you don’t want to go too long out. I keep myself in pretty good shape, three days a week I always work out whether it’s lifting weights, or my basketball court, we get some pickup games going – we’re out there for four hours a day playing against different teams that come in, so I’m always doing some kind of activities.”

Kelly stressed that he is very anxious to get back in the ring.  ” As soon as we find out the exact date of the fight, and the date can still change, know that I am definitely excited to get back in the ring.”

Pavlik commented on the internet and blogs.  ” They wrote me off before and look what happened, I’ve got two belts.”

When asked where the fight might take place, Pavlik answered, “AC [Atlantic City], Youngstown or Cleveland.  Sturm’s coming over from Germany, I don’t see it happening in Vegas because he fought [Oscar]DeLa Hoya there and he kind of got robbed on that fight.  AC is kind of my second home, so, they’re going to have to pick somewhere in the Midwest I guess.”

On a very busy night at Eastwood Field, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers completed a sweep of the Auburn Doubledays, winning 4-3 in 14 innings.  The four hour and twenty-four minute marathon was the longest in Niles since the Scrappers beat Staten Island, 3-2, on August 6 of 2005.

Kelly Pavlik was at the park signing copies of his book alongside authors David Lee Morgan, Jr. and Greg Gulas.  Pavlik also threw out the ceremonial first pitch (above).  The weather was perfect for the big crowd to enjoy “Buck Night”, as well as an appearance from the Cavs dancers.  There was something going on everywhere before the game started.

Once the game started, Auburn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Yan Gomes double.  In the top of the sixth, Auburn tacked on another run as Jimmy Gonzales drove in Welington Ramirez with a bases-loaded RBI single with one out.  Scrapper reliever Jose Urena pitched himself out of the bases-loaded one out jam to keep the score at 2-0 in favor of the Doubledays.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mahoning Valley got on the board as Jordan Henry singled and advanced to second on Lurvin Basabe’s walk.  Jason Smit found the hole between short and third scoring the speedy Henry cutting the lead to 2-1.  After Ben Carlson walked to load the bases, Chun Chen was hit by a pitch forcing in the tying run to knot the contest at two apiece.

In the tenth inning, Auburn got a run when Welington Ramirez singled home Brad Glenn.  The Scrappers tied the game in the bottom of the tenth as Ben Carlson led off with a single.  Carlson was then lifted for pinch runner Kyle Bellows, who stole second base.  Chen came through again with an RBI double that scored Bellows tying the game at 3-3.

In the bottom of the 14th inning, Rafael Vera delivered with a two-out, two-strike RBI single that would score Chen lifting the Scrappers to their fourth straight victory.

After the game, Coach Travis Fryman commented  on the long game.  ” I don’t have a lot of answers for that ball game, I really don’t.  I thought it was a very poorly played game, but a very gutsy game.  Both teams played hard for 14 innings.  We had many opportunities to win that game and it should not have went 14 innings.”

Fryman was also very praiseworthy of his catcher, Chun Chen.  “Fourteen innings to catch, three steals, three or four hits, it was a very gutsy effort on his part.”

A new feature here will be the Smit-O-Meter, tracking the nightly efforts of Scrapper Jason Smit, one of the most charismatic athletes I have ever met.

The 7-9-09 Smit-O Meter:  3-7 with an RBI (10), currently batting .325.

What a story Lance Armstrong could write.  He is peddling his way up the standings in this years Tour de France bike race and has already won there in the past.  He beat cancer and got to date Sheryl Crow for awhile.  He is truly living the dream.

Couple of updates for you readers…  Kelly Pavlik is throwing out the first pitch at the Scrappers game tonight, I will have something posted here tomorrow of his appearance at the game.

I am interviewing Jason Smit before the game.  Smit was drafted at age 16 and is from Australia.  He is working hard to climb the ladder and get to the next level.  I have had brief conversations with him before and he is an enjoyable person.

I am close to gaining credentials for Youngstown State Football and couldn’t be more excited about the potential of Coach Heacock and this years team.

I spoke with Mike Pavlik yesterday and am very close to securing an interview with Kelly Pavlik in the next couple of weeks, stay tuned for that.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Sports Rubbish found Colin Montgomery warming up for the British Open by hitting some targets provided by Pirates.  Check out the divot he takes out of a green.
• PSAMP likes the brand of humor that Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes brings to the table.
• The Fifth Corner updates the progress of Team USA’s basketball squad in the World University Games.
• Zoner Sports thinks that Alfonso Soriano is not good enough to complain about a day off he was not expecting.
• Babes Love Baseball posted a video of Mark Wahlberg throwing some pitches and hitting a fan right in the ass on his first pitch.
• Sharapova’s Thigh looks at the ridiculous money people like Marcin Gorcet are handed as NBA free agents.
• Style Points has Albert Pujols with a blank slate after finding an interview with the machine where nothing was answered with a cliche or traditional answer.
• NESW Sports also has a video of Mark Wahlberg throwing out the first pitch that errantly hit a fan in the butt.
• Fansided previews the tough ACC Conference for the upcoming college football season.
• Cubbies Crib thinks the Cubs are too reliant on Derek Lee and need something from Aramis Ramirez and/or Alfonso Soriano.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers celebrated The Fourth of July with smiles on their faces in Jamestown.  After fighting for offense for pretty much a week, the Scrappers bats pounded out 15 hits and scored 10 runs to start a short road trip in Jamestown.

The Scrappers put up three in the top half of the first inning on a fielder’s choice, a groundout and an RBI single from Chun Chen.  Jamestown responded with two in the bottom of the first off of Scrapper starting pitcher Vidal Nuno.

In the top of the fourth the Scrappers would tack on five runs.  Jason Smit had an RBI double, John Allman (pictured) had a two-RBI single, and Kyle Smith added another RBI single.  Allman added a single in the seventh inning to end the game with 4 RBI.

Scrapper relief pitcher Jose Urena worked four scoreless innings to pick up his first victory this season.

The Scrappers and Jammers will hook it up again on Sunday night at 6 in Jamestown.

Kelly Pavlik will be at Cafaro Field in Niles signing copies of his book on Thursday, July 9.  Greg Gulas and David Lee Morgan, the authors of the biographical piece will also be on hand.  Pavlik will also throw out the first pitch at the game.

A rotten rumor about Kelly Pavlik has been circulating nationally.  The rumor is that Kelly Pavlik is in alcohol-rehabilitation.  Seeing a very healthy-looking Pavlik at tonight’s Thunder game, I am disturbed by what some people are writing and publishing on the national level when they do not know or understand any facts, but rather base a story on heresay to boost hits.

Being from Youngstown, and a nationally recognized blog, I am going to do the right thing and try to set the record straight.   Pavlik is not and was not in alcohol-rehab.  Everything the poor guy does is magnified times twenty because he is now famous.  In the months between training for a fight and fighting, Pavlik is all business.  What he does in the recreational time he has between the end of a fight and starting to train for the next fight is his business.

I know Kelly throws darts and shoots pool in sanctioned leagues in Youngstown.  Unfortunately for him, the dart matches do not take place in a church basement, but rather at a bar.  So he goes to a bar two or three times a week to throw darts or shoot pool with his friends.  Does that mean he automatically has an alcohol problem?  I shoot pool in sanctioned leagues too, the same ones as Pavlik.  I go to bars four nights a week, should I check into Betty Ford now? 

President Obama was photographed at a Washington Wizards game this past Winter.  He was photographed relaxing and drinking a beer.  Should we impeach him now?  I thought it was one of the coolest photos I ever saw because it showed him being a human being, an American.

First of all, drinking is legal in this country, and if any citizen chooses to drink, it is their legal American right.  Secondly, Kelly Pavlik is a self-advertised proud father, to him family comes first.  To me, that is respectable, because family comes first here as well.  Finally, I have had conversations with Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer, am friends with Mike Romeo, a member of team Pavlik, and have several common friends with Pavlik.  If this rumor were indeed true, I would know.  If I found out it was true, I would not write anything, especially in defense of Pavlik.

Bottom line is that my sources are people on the inside, and they would tell me the truth knowing I would not publish anything on this website to harm the reputation of someone who is pictured in my banner.  I can report here and now that Kelly Pavlik is just fine and that RingTalk.com writer Pedro Fernandez needs to re-check his sources because he was sorely misled.

The credibility of this website hangs on the balance of what I type every day.  I am willing to risk my own credibility based on who I have talked to and what they know. 

With a new deal in place with Top Rank signed about a month ago, Pavlik will continue to defend Youngstown.  With my credibility and reputation at stake, I will continue to defend Kelly Pavlik.

Things can’t get much worse for the Mahoning Valley Thunder.  Struggles on the road continued as the Thunder dropped to 1-10 losing 62-28 at Albany.  This loss extends the teams losing streak to ten straight and 18th straight road loss. 

The Thunder started new acquisition Brad Roach at quarterback.  Roach was rushed into action because Davon Vinson was banged up but could play if needed.  Roach threw interceptions on his first two drives.  Roach was pulled and Vinson was inserted only to set a franchise record by throwing seven interceptions.  Vinson did manage to find CJ Brewer twice for Thunder scores.

Albany player Alvin Ray Jackson had five interceptions in the game to set a new AF2 record.  Albany recorded 11 interceptions in the game.  He also caught two touchdown passes on offense.  Firebird QB Stephen Wasil threw for six touchdowns.

The Thunder go back to the board this week hosting Manchester.  Kelly Pavlik will be doing a book signing from 6-8 at The Covelli Centre, so get there early, meet the champ and enjoy some football.  See you there! 

Kelly Pavlik has signed a contract extension with Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions.  The details are still unknown but the beef of the agreement is that Pavlik will remain with Top Rank until at least 2011.  Pavlik was quoted by the Youngstown Vindicator as saying, “I was brought up the right way, I’ve been with Top Rank for going on 10 years now and we’ve had a good working relationship.  I wanted to give them the first chance in negotiations and they came back with a good offer “.

Top Rank and Don King are the two big players in the sport and I can’t see Pavlik under the poisonous eyes of Don King.  I am happy that this deal went through and I am pretty sure that Kelly is being forthright about being loyal to Top Rank.  They were there for his rise to stardom and he has delivered for Arum.

Arum will now turn his attention to rescheduling a Pavlik vs Sergio Mora fight sometime in September if all goes as planned.  Look for the Kelly Pavlik vs Arthur Abraham fight to get pushed into march or April of 2010.  Pavlik is ready to roll and is anxious to start training again.

The Kelly Pavlik vs Sergio Mora fight was supposed to take place on June 27 in Atlantic City.  Pavlik management has said that their fighter has an infection and will not get to train enough to be ready for that particular date.  The two sides were close to finalizing a contract last week when talks were put on hold due to Pavlik’s injury.

I’m not sure what this does to the proposed November 7 fight against Arthur Abraham in New York City.  The Pavlik-Mora fight might be rescheduled for September which would obviously put the Arthur Abraham fight into 2010. 

One thing I am sure about is that Jack Loew will not rush his fighter into a match unless he is 100%, which obviously Pavlik is not right now.  Loew made that point clear in an interview I conducted with him last month.  You can see the entire Jack Loew interview from Paneech.com.

I will post more information on this turn of events as it becomes available.