Killer instinct: Pavlik was asked whether he thought Taylor lacked a killer instinct

Killer instinct: Pavlik was asked whether he thought Taylor lacked a killer instinct, contributing to his inability to finish off Pavlik in the second round of the first fight. “I don’t think he lacks it,” Pavlik said. “He was trying [for the knockout]. He was swinging for the fences.” Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew, felt Taylor’s wild punches were evidence of his “amateurish” fighting style. “He was out there swinging like an amateur and he blew it,” Loew said. Taylor admitted he got over-eager, going for the quick knockout instead of pinpointing his punches. “If I get in that position again, I’m going to finish him,” said Taylor, who told reporters Thursday that he didn’t train as hard as he should have for the fight. “I felt like I wasted a lot of energy, energy that I really didn’t have. I threw a lot of stupid punches.” Taylor’s inability to score the knockout wasn’t due to a lack of time — there was 1:38 left in the round when Pavlik went down. “And there wasn’t even another knockdown,” Pavlik said. “He blew everything he had in the second round.” When asked what he’d do different, Taylor said, “I’d hit the body and make him bring his hands down, then go back to the head. In the gym, I’ve been working on throwing punches to the body.”

Youngstown army: Although no one expects this weekend’s crowd to match the 5,000-plus Youngstown-area fans who came to Atlantic City in September, Pavlik expects a good Mahoning Valley following in Las Vegas. “I’ve heard a lot of people are going up,” he said. “A lot of people got tickets or are planning to get them. And there’s a lot of people who live out in Vegas who are from Youngstown. There might be a good-sized crowd out there.”
Familiar site: Pavlik has fought in Las Vegas nine times in his career, including twice at the MGM Grand. His last Vegas bout came in October 2005 at The Aladdin when Pavlik knocked out Fulgencio Zuniga in the ninth round to win the NABF title. He’s won seven of the nine Vegas bouts by knockout, the other two by unanimous decision.
Post-fight party: Former lightweight champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini will host a post-fight party for Pavlik fans at 10:30 p.m. (MST) Saturday at “The Bank,” a nightclub inside the Bellagio. To be put on the guest list, or to reserve a table (a bottle service fee is included), call Mike Falcione at (702) 403-2100. Proper dress is required.
Undercard: There are two major undercard bouts Saturday. Martin “El Gallo” Castillo (33-2, 17 KOs), the former WBA super flyweight champion from Mexico City, will fight WBO junior bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (35-2-1, 26 KOs), from Los Mochis, Mexico. And three-time world title challenger Jose Navarro (26-3, 12 KOs), from Los Angeles, will fight WBC super flyweight champion Cristian Mijares (33-3-2, 13 KOs), from Gomez Palacio, Mexico. “You don’t sell the event because of the undercard, but ... if you’re going to charge people to watch your pay-per-view fight, you have an obligation to give them a really good undercard,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “This is a really good undercard to go with a terrific main event.”

Joe Scalzo