Pavlik v. Miranda — both have knock-out power

Pavlik's weigh-in was in a basement with a sparse turnout.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A few minutes after Youngstown middleweight Kelly Pavlik walked silently past the FedEx Forum crowd to prepare for Friday afternoon's weigh-in, his father, Mike Pavlik, was asked if his son was nervous about making weight.

"Oh [heck] yeah," Mike Pavlik said. "This is the worst part. Look at Kelly now and then look at him in two hours. There's going to be a big difference."

Pavlik had spent the past few weeks trying to drop 15 pounds to reach his fighting weight of 160. He'd basically spent the last 24 subsisting on sips of water and trips to the sauna. He was fantasizing about steak and pasta.

In short, he was hungry.

Since Pavlik wasn't staying in a hotel with a scale, he and his handlers drove around town on Thursday night looking for one. When they found one, Pavlik was one pound over. He kept working on Friday morning. The moment of truth came at 2:30 p.m.

Unlike the fighters in tonight's main event — World Boxing Council champion Jermain Taylor and challenger Cory Spinks — Pavlik's weigh-in wasn't in front of the crowd of 300. It was in the basement with just a few people watching.

And when Pavlik stepped on the scale, it read 159.8 pounds.

"I was pretty relieved," he said a few minutes later, gripping a water bottle. "I don't think I had anything more left to lose."

Other guy

Pavlik's opponent, Edison Miranda, weighed in at 160.2 pounds and spent the next two hours doing whatever he could to cut two-tenths of a pound. At 2:55 p.m. — 55 minutes after the official weigh-in was supposed to start — Pavlik appeared shirtless in front of the crowd for his photo op, lifting one fist in the air while barely breaking a smile.

"I'm ready to go," said Pavlik. "Especially once I eat. I'm really ready to go eat. Carbs, pasta, steak, bread. Everything."

Although tonight's main event is between Taylor and Spinks, most observers expect the Pavlik-Miranda fight to be more entertaining. Pavlik (30-0, 27 KOs) is the WBC's No. 1 challenger, while Miranda (28-1, 24 KOs) is ranked No. 1 by the International Boxing Federation. Both are power punchers. Both have been knocked down. That combination is a big reason why HBO shelled out $1.5 million for the co-feature.

"People don't want to see technical fighters," said Pavlik's promoter Bob Arum, president of Top Rank Boxing. "They want to see guys with knockout power. It's the same thing in baseball — people want to watch home run hitters."

Outside the ring, the two fighters are very different, starting with their appearances. Pavlik is a white kid from Youngstown, and Miranda grew up in Colombia and doesn't speak English. Pavlik is laid back; Miranda outspoken.

Miranda has spent the past few months making outlandish predictions about the Pavlik fight and nothing changed at Thursday's press conference. Miranda referred to Memphis' barbecue tradition by saying, "Edison Miranda is going to have barbecue. And then I'm going to barbecue Kelly Pavlik."

At one point, Miranda took a quick step toward Pavlik, who didn't flinch. Pavlik merely winked and blew Miranda a kiss.

"It doesn't bother me," Pavlik said, when asked about Miranda's comments. "I know right now he has a lot of fear. He's got no self-confidence. He's trying to gain any advantage he can."

Pavlik's trainer Jack Loew wasn't quite as reserved. Loew was already fidgeting at Friday's weigh-in and admitted Miranda's comments got under his skin.

"I'd like to smack [Miranda] in the mouth," said Loew, who has trained Pavlik since the beginning. "Kelly keeps me calm. He said, 'Don't let him get in your head. That's his game.

"You should have seen the look on Miranda's face when he jumped at him and Kelly didn't even flinch. He [Miranda] was worried. He knew he was up against a guy he couldn't intimidate."

Direct styles

Both fighters have direct styles and Pavlik — one of the hardest punchers in any weight class — plans to fight power with power. He knows Miranda has a big right hand, but he's confident he can avoid taking the big hit.

The winner of the fight could get a shot at Taylor, who is a heavy favorite against Spinks. Then again, Taylor could opt to move up in weight classes and vacate his WBC title. (Much of it will depend on money.) Either way, there's a lot riding on tonight's outcome.

But if Pavlik was nervous, it didn't show.

"Right now, losing is not part of my future," he said.

Pavlik planned to spend Friday night watching movies, eating (obviously) and relaxing. (When asked if they'd be watching the Cavs-Nets game, Mike Pavlik shook his head and said, "No, right now I'm thinking about other pro sports.") Loew planned to work at an amateur boxing card down the street from the FedEx Forum.

Hey, whatever works.

"I had to shave my back hair off," Loew said, "because it was standing up."

scalzo@vindy.com