Pavlik: Bobblehead ‘looks just like me’

By Eric Hamilton

NILES — Few people have ever accused world middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik of having a big head because of all his success.

But on Kelly Pavlik Bobblehead Night at Eastwood Field, the champ admitted that maybe he did in fact have a nice-sized dome –— physically speaking.

“I’m not sure who did the bobbleheads, but they did a great job — it looks just like me — a skinny body with a big head,” said Pavlik on the field Saturday prior to the Scrappers’ game against Jamestown. “They even got the tattoo, beard and the title belt.

“It’s pretty awesome to be here and visit with the players,” Pavlik said. “There have been a lot of things going on, but it’s all been fun, too.”

The real Pavlik — and the 1,000 bobblehead dolls given away — drew quite the crowd. The gates opened at 3 p.m. for the 7:05 p.m. game and the Pavlik replicas went very quickly.

The visit to Eastwood Field was one of many public appearances for Pavlik this summer. Last week, he played in the Pavlik Softball Slam against Team Media at Cene Park. After going 3-for-4 in Team Pavlik’s loss, he was back on the diamond Saturday, tossing the ball around and taking batting practice.

“I’m just trying to stay athletic,” said Pavlik, who also signed autographs, posed for pictures and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. “I’m trying to stay busy until it’s time to get down to business.”

Pavlik’s public appearances will slow down in the next two weeks as he begins training for his upcoming fight against Bernard Hopkins in October. “The Ghost” said he’ll start hitting the gym hard beginning Aug. 25 to prepare for the bout.

“We always start eight weeks out from a fight,” Pavlik said. “Starting any sooner really takes a toll on the body. We’ve been doing charity events and other stuff, sometimes four or five days a week.

“But once my training starts, a lot of that stuff comes to a halt — it’s pretty much family and training at that point,” Pavlik said. “We might do a handful of charity things, but it’s mainly business.”

With such a busy schedule, Pavlik hasn’t found much time to watch any Olympic boxing, although he has managed to keep track of what the Americans are doing in the ring.

“I really haven’t had the time to watch, but I’ve been keeping up on the Internet,” the middleweight champion said.

One thing he said he is looking forward to is the start of college football season in two weeks. He plans to make time to watch as many games as he can between sessions in the gym.

“I’m a huge college football fan,” Pavlik said. “You can’t get me off the couch on Saturdays.

Pavlik said he’ll try to make the trip to Columbus on Aug. 30 for the Youngstown State game against Ohio State.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it down, but I’ll definitely try to make it down for that one,” Pavlik said.