2,351 see Pavlik win 18th

By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NILES -- In improving his record to 18-0 Tuesday, Youngstown middleweight boxer Kelly Pavlik proved to Top Rank Inc. that he could put people in the seats.
Pavlik stopped Rico Cason at 2:02 of round two of a scheduled 10-round bout to remain undefeated before a crowd of 2,351 at Cafaro Field.
"Anytime you can take a guy out early, it means something because the longer an opponent can stick around, the better chance he has of beating you," Pavlik said.
The night's six bouts were promoted by Top Rank Inc. and George Chung, and telecast by ESPN2 on tape delay.
For the opening bout, the grandstand was filling as Pavlik and Cason were introduced.
No pushover
Despite the short fight, Cason (16-8) was no pushover as he worked well in an early exchange with Pavlik.
But Pavlik methodically pumped his left jab at Cason's face and midway through the first round drove home a left hook to the body.
Pavlik's ring philosophy, borrowed from former middleweight champion Tony Zale, is "to kill the body and the head shall die."
Like Zale, Pavlik's signature punch is a devastating left hook downstairs. That early body shot took its toll of Cason, though he worked well inside and withstood an end of the round volley of punches.
But there was no withstanding anything in round two.
After Cason landed a straight right and the two fighters worked through a good exchange of punches, Pavlik decked the veteran from Tennessee with a solid right cross for an eight count that had the partisan crowd chanting, "Kelly, Kelly."
"Cason had a right that came at me from different angles and once I was used to him, I was able to counter with some good shots," Pavlik said.
"On the first knockdown, I knew he was hurt from an earlier shot, and I stepped back and nailed him with a right cross," Pavlik said.
To the canvas
Seconds later, that signature left hook to the body took everything out of Cason, and a right that followed had him going to the canvas.
"Cason was covering up protecting his head and he was wide open for the left to the body," Pavlik said. "My left has become much stronger lately because I have been favoring my right due to the injury."
When he tried to rise at the count of eight, referee Jimmy Villers stopped the fight, giving Pavlik his 17th knockout.
Pavlik said his injured hand "feels good even with a little stinger on my second knuckle, but that is natural after a fight."
Trainer Jack Loew said Pavlik "looked sluggish in the early going and his layoff had a lot to do with that. But when round two began, I told him to go to work and stay busy with this guy, and he came out loose and more confident."
Cason said he "tried to get inside and work him, but he was timing my right and tagged me with a good left to the body that took the wind out of me.
"It caught me completely off guard," Cason said. "Then when the referee was counting, he asked me if I was okay and could continue to fight and I answered yes on both counts. But then he stopped the fight."
Happy with crowd
After a ringside interview by the ESPN2 crew, Pavlik went to the home plate area of the grandstand and began signing autographs.
Then like Cal Ripken on the night he broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games, Pavlik toured the field in the same manner to the cheers of the local fans.
"To fight on national television in front of a home crowd is a dream come true for me," Pavlik said.
Pavlik was very happy with the crowd and admitted that he fed off of it.
But Pavlik's father Mike, who is his co-manager, had mixed emotions.
"Under the circumstances with the lack of proper promotion, this was an exceptional crowd," Pavlik said.
Bruce Trampler, matchmaker for Top Rank Inc., thought the late walkup crowd was exceptional.
"Another Pavlik fight in the area could happen and soon," Trampler said.