Pavlik resting at home

Kelly and his trainer agreed that their fight plan worked to perfection.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Back home, less than 24 hours after dispatching Edison Miranda in the seventh round, Kelly Pavlik was able to laugh.

It didn’t feel well.

“I’m really sore right now. Everything hurts,” said the 25-year-old Youngstown middleweight, who remained unbeaten with an impressive knockout of his Colombian opponent.

Ironically, Pavlik said his hands, which he’s battled with injuries in his career, “are about the only thing on my body that isn’t hurting.”

Pavlik spent most of Sunday sleeping, after first visiting his daughter, Sidney. His father, Mike, and trainer and co-manager, Jack Loew, weighed in on the battle in Memphis.

“It was a tough fight and Kelly was pretty beat up afterwards,” said Mike Pavlik. “He fought a very smart fight and I don’t believe Miranda expected him to come out so aggressive.

“Miranda was overlooking us. He was already talking about a postfight press conference with Jermain Taylor. We were the underdog, but we knew that we were going to win.”

Mike Pavlik said he “died a thousand times Saturday night.

“There was a time that I even considered leaving the ring and going back to the locker room to wait it out.”

Plan works to perfection

Loew and Kelly Pavlik agreed their game was worked to perfection.

“The fight was just a perfect execution of the game plan that we had set up before the fight,” said Loew. “Kelly showed that a champion can’t just be an offensive fighter and has to be able to take the shots. And he took some good ones.

“This was probably Kelly’s toughest fight, but it was also probably his best fight,” added Loew.

“I knew if I attacked him and got him moving backwards I could take the fight to him,” added Kelly.

After a fast and furious first round that saw 181 punches thrown by the two fighters, Pavlik said Loew told him “Not to throw any stupid punches. If I got him against the ropes I didn’t want to be too aggressive.

“I knew we couldn’t go the whole fight at that pace but I was feeling pretty good. The number of punches in that first round was unbelievable.

“I was a little winded in the third round but I got my second wind and by the fourth round, I felt pretty good.”

Next fight out of his hands

Pavlik said he knows a championship fight against Taylor is out of his hands.

“I know my agent is going to be calling me in a couple days, and hopefully we’ll know something in the next couple of weeks. If the money’s right, he’ll fight me. But if it’s not, he’ll move up [in weight class].”

“Taylor doesn’t want any part of Kelly and it will only be a matter of time until he vacates the title,” said Loew.

Reports already surfaced Sunday that Taylor’s promoter, Lou Dibella, was negotiating for Taylor to fight Joe Calzaghe, the WBO super-middleweight champion, for a fight in London in September.

“I know that Bob Arum of Top Rank will do everything in his power, even if it means legal action, to get Kelly a shot at the title,” said Loew.