ROUNDUP News and notes

ROUNDUP
News and notes

Price of fame: Although Kelly Pavlik’s fame has grown exponentially over the past year, he knows he’s a lightweight compared to some other celebrities. “I’m not like Oscar De La Hoya or Britney Spears,” he said. (Top Rank chairman Bob Arum chuckled when he heard those two names, saying, “That’s some combination.”) “It’s very hectic at times,” said Pavlik. “I’m a simple guy and I like to do things around the house and see my daughter. I haven’t had a lot of ‘me time.’ At the same time, even though it’s a pain in the [butt], there’s some great things that come with it. You have to take what you like from it and enjoy it and things you don’t like, you’ve just gotta block out.” A reporter followed up with a question about Spears, asking Pavlik if he’ll end up in a mental hospital anytime soon. “No, I haven’t got any pills,” he said, laughing. “I’m feeling pretty good. There’s no cars following me around or cameras.”
Magazine man: Pavlik is featured in a four-page story written by Richard Hoffer in this week’s Sports Illustrated, which rarely writes so much about a boxer outside of Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather or Mike Tyson. “ Sports Illustrated has largely ignored boxing for years,” said Arum. “Now we have a great four-page story and that resonates with the general community.”
Preview special: HBO will premiere “Countdown to Pavlik-Taylor II,” a 30-minute special previewing the fight, Saturday night immediately following the “HBO Boxing After Dark” telecast, which begins at 9:45 p.m. The countdown special will be replayed several times on HBO and HBO2 as well as HBO On Demand subscribers.
Giant upset: Pavlik and his trainer, Jack Loew, each predicted a Patriots victory in the Super Bowl. When asked about it, Pavlik backtracked. “There was a [betting] line on that game and nobody knows about this, but I took the line and I won,” said Pavlik. “They caught me off-guard when they asked the question because I was putting on my shoes after a workout. If I had sat there and thought it through, my prediction would have been right on target.” Arum, a Brooklyn native who now lives in Las Vegas, is a big New York Giants fan and bet on them to win when the playoffs started. (A reporter joked that, consequently, he should be able to afford a good media dinner before the fight next week.) Arum has had season tickets for the Giants since 1957 when they played at Yankee Stadium and Sunday’s game was the first Super Bowl he’s missed involving the Giants. Arum’s two Super Bowl tickets went to his son and grandson. He watched the game at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. “I’m still on a tremendous high,” Arum said. “That game was second only to when Kelly won the middleweight championship.” Pavlik is a big Browns fan and Arum expects big things from Cleveland next year. “They’ve got a good coach and Brady Quinn is going to be a great pro quarterback,” said Arum. “Not good, great. He’s a super kid. They’re going to have a very good team next year.”

Joe Scalzo