Hearts and flowers and, oh yes, engagement

Pavlik has known his fiancée since they were kids.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Kelly Pavlik has been dating Samantha Kocanjer for about eight years, and here’s all you need to know about them: On their first date, they went to the movies to watch “The Fast and the Furious.”

And it was her idea.

“Oh yeah, I picked it,” she said. “We went to Barnes and Noble afterward. It was nice.”

They’ve known each other most of their lives, attending Taft Elementary together as kids — Pavlik didn’t switch to Lowellville until seventh grade — while staying in touch as teenagers through mutual friends.

By the time they started dating at age 18, they had been friends for years. “We always got along good,” she said.

Soon after, she knew Pavlik was a keeper. She didn’t even mind that he lost his hair.

“When he first shaved it bald, he looked really mean,” said Kocanjer, a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate. “But now I like it more than when he had hair. I love his shaved head.”

Almost two years ago, they had a daughter together, Sydney Ellyse, and they live together in a ranch house in Boardman, although Pavlik generally sleeps on his parents’ couch on the South Side when he’s in training.

Pavlik adores Sydney — one of the things he dislikes most about traveling to a fight is leaving her behind — and, Kocanjer said, Sydney feels the same.

“She’s a daddy’s girl,” Kocanjer said. “She knows she can pretty much get away with anything when it comes to daddy. But when he tells her no and he’s serious, she listens.”

A few days before Christmas, Pavlik got down on one knee, pulled out a ring — “The thing is gorgeous,” she said — and asked her to marry him. They haven’t set a wedding date.

Both are protective of their privacy — Kocanjer doesn’t like giving interviews, and it’s not a coincidence that her picture doesn’t appear in today’s paper — and Pavlik definitely prefers talking about boxing rings to engagement rings.

“I’ve been dating her for eight years, so it was definitely coming sometime,” Pavlik said, when asked about the engagement. “It was time.”

Kocanjer, who is a nurse’s aide, is a good fit for Pavlik, too. She’s tough, and it’s clear Pavlik isn’t the only one in the relationship with a nice jab.

When asked if Pavlik is funny, she said, “He thinks he’s hilarious. He’s funny sometimes, but not as funny as he thinks he is.”

Kocanjer is flying out to Las Vegas today, which means they’ll be able to spend part of Valentine’s Day together. And if history is any indication, it’ll be a good one.

“Kelly is very romantic,” she said. “This is eight years of Valentine’s Day, but he’s very good with flowers and romantic things.”

What about romantic comedies?

“Yeah, that doesn’t happen very often,” she said, laughing. “But every now and then, he’ll watch them. But he’s not jumping for joy.”

scalzo@vindy.com