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Pavlik: A simple man amid luxury
Staying in a $1,100-a-night suite, Kelly says, ‘This stuff doesn’t matter.’
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LAS VEGAS — On the 29th floor of the MGM Grand, inside the master bathroom on the second floor of the penthouse suite, Kelly Pavlik, sporting an Affliction T-shirt and several days worth of stubble, posed for the camera in front of his oversized bathtub.
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Pavlik's Suite
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From the other room, his friend, Youngstown police officer Michael Cox, yelled out, “Hey, wait Kelly!”
Cox ran in with a book on fine wines from the hallway shelf, handed it to Pavlik and said, “Act like you’re reading this.”
Pavlik chuckled, opened the book and then tossed it to the side. Then he got up, walked over to the master bedroom, pointed to the king-sized bed and said, “That’s the bed. I haven’t slept in it yet.
“I slept on the couch last night. I like the couch.”
A few feet away, next to his bed, was a floor-to-ceiling window with a spectacular view of Vegas. You could look down on the other casinos. You could see the roller coaster next to the MGM Grand. You could see the Disney-esque castle of Excalibur. You could see the outlying mountain ranges.
But to do so, you’d have to drop down at least $1,100 a night.
Before you balk, remember you’d also be getting flat screen televisions above your Jacuzzi, walk-in showers with shower heads that spray down from the ceiling (and from the side), a steam room, a pool table and a bevy of flat screen TVs throughout your 2,800 square foot fortress of high-rolling luxury.
Hungry? How about some fresh fruit?
Thirsty? How about some Vitamin Water?
Underdressed? Closet space isn’t a problem.
“To me, all this stuff is pointless,” said Pavlik, looking around. “I don’t even use this stuff. I stay in one room.”
Pavlik has fought in Las Vegas almost a dozen times — including twice at the MGM Grand — but never like this.
He always stayed in cheaper hotel rooms, fighting in front of 100 people (inside an 18,000-seat arena) on the under-cards of bigger fights featuring bigger names.
But Thursday, as he walked from the Grand Garden Arena, he was greeted by fans yelling out his name next to giant signs promoting Saturday’s rematch with Jermain Taylor.
His was the bigger fight. He was the bigger name.
“This stuff doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m just a simple guy from Youngstown, Ohio.”
Pavlik’s biggest hotel concern, in fact, was getting his Playstation 3 to work with the TV. So far, no one had figured it out. His copy of “Fight Night,” EA Sports’ video game featuring Oscar De La Hoya on the cover, was sitting on the coffee table, unused.
Pavlik spent much of Thursday afternoon giving interviews via satellite to outlets across the country (and the world), answering the same questions, giving the same answers, bragging about his pool-playing abilities whenever he got a free moment. Pavlik lost a series of games when he arrived Monday. By Wednesday, he was beating everyone. One of the first things Pavlik did when he got back to his hotel room was play a couple games of pool with his trainer’s son, John Loew.
Jack Loew, meanwhile, couldn’t help but reflect on how far they’d come.
“This is a long way from the Pennywise Inn,” said Loew. “When we first started, we stayed in awful hotels. There’d be beer cans in the swimming pool.”
One time, Pavlik’s father, Mike, approached a hotel clerk with a TV problem.
“I can’t find my remote,” Mike said.
“Remote?” the clerk responded. “We ain’t got no remote.”
Pavlik’s penthouse suite, meanwhile, has flat screen TVs built into the bathroom mirror.
But you know what? To him, it’s just a bunch of unnecessary space.
“Why would anyone need all this?” he said. “Seriously.
“Are you going to go to Vegas and spend all day in your room?”
scalzo@vindy.com