BOXING No title bout on horizon for Youngstown fighter

Kelly Pavlik is preparing to face Dorian Beaupierre on Showtime's Shobox series.
YOUNGSTOWN -- When Jermain Taylor stopped Daniel Edouard in the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder in February, it put the Arkansas middleweight first in line for a title shot with middleweight world champion Bernard Hopkins.
The fans of Youngstown middleweight Kelly Pavlik wonder why Taylor at 22-0, is getting a title shot before Pavlik (23-0), who is not even mentioned as a qualified title contender.
Before the Edouard fight, Taylor was ranked fourth in the world and Pavlik was anywhere from seventh to 10th. But there isn't a Pavlik-Taylor matchup on the horizon, according to Cameron Dunkin, Pavlik's Las Vegas-based agent and co-manager.
"Taylor was an Olympian and Pavlik wasn't," said Dunkin. "Pavlik is with Top Rank Inc., and Taylor isn't, and we at Top Rank are only interested in what happens with Pavlik's career since he is our responsibility.
"We really can't comment on Taylor's career, and in the future if there would be a bout with Kelly and him, that would be the time to comment and compare their careers. Right now Kelly Pavlik is less than two weeks away from what we consider the most important fight of his professional career."
His next foe
Pavlik is scheduled to fight Dorian Beaupierre (12-2-2) in a scheduled 10-round bout March 4 as part of Showtime's Shobox series. The card is being promoted by Top Rank and will be held at the Silver Star Hotel and Casino in Choctaw, Miss.
"I feel great and because of working through a long layoff, I am stronger than I have ever been and probably in the best shape of my life," said Pavlik. "I remember Beaupierre from when we fought before and I know that he has an awkward style and comes at you from different angles, which can be a plus for him and a plus for me in that he leaves himself open with his style of fighting."
Dunkin seemed irked by the questioning about the apparent lack of movement in Pavlik's career.
"Julio Caesar Chavez had 38 fights before he was moved and what has to be realized is that Kelly is still looked at as a promising prospect and an undercard fighter," Dunkin said.
"But with this next fight, he will be looked at as a main event fighter and with an impressive win he will be a contender.
The co-feature on the Showtime card will be a bout between undefeated lightweights Almazbek Raimkulov, a.k.a. Kid Diamond, who is 19-0 with 11 knockouts, and Koba Gogoladze, 17-0 with seven knockouts.