Second-round stumble didn’t cause fumble Pavlik got up then stepped up to a title

Youngstown middleweight Kelly Pavlik will fight Jermain Taylor on Saturday in a rematch of their classic bout in September at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Here’s a look back at that bout through the eyes of those involved. Quotes from Jim Lampley, Lennox Lewis and Larry Merchant come from the HBO broadcast. All other quotes come from a combination of post-fight interviews and original interviews leading up to the rematch.

RING ENTRANCE

The vast majority of the 10,127 fans inside Boardwalk Hall are cheering for Pavlik, who enters the ring to a song from the metal band Korn. Most Youngstown fans are wearing white T-shirts and can be seen all around the arena’s upper levels. Pavlik arrives in the ring wearing gray trunks featuring Ohio State’s Block O in the bottom corner and black boxing shoes. Taylor wears white Arkansas Razorback trunks and red shoes.

“It’s always nerve-wracking. It’s your son going in there in the heat of battle. Walking in there, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Not even when he fought at the Chevy Centre. The first thing I did was look up and said, ‘Oh my God.’ We were walking right into the eye level [of the fans] on the other side of the arena. I was like, ‘This is unbelievable.’ I reflect on that moment over and over. I’ll never forget that.” (Mike Pavlik, Kelly’s father and co-manager)

“I remember distinctly that I was very confident going into the fight. I really thought we had a great chance to win. I felt we were gonna win.” (Pavlik’s promoter, Top Rank Boxing president Bob Arum)

ROUND ONE

The bout begins at 11:35 p.m. Taylor starts fast while Pavlik takes about a minute to get going. It’s clear from the opening action that both boxers came to fight. Taylor, irritated by critics who were unimpressed with his recent fights, is thought to be the better boxer, but seems ready for a slugfest. All three judges award the round to Taylor.

“Taylor needs to give Pavlik a lot more respect and keep his hands up because this is where Pavlik is dangerous, especially in the first rounds.” (Lewis)

“I thought the first round, I dominated.” (Pavlik)

“The first round, I thought Kelly seemed stiff. Kelly is a notoriously slow starter. He doesn’t seem to loosen up until the second or third round. The impression I had was that he did well [toward the end] and was starting to loosen up.” (Mike Pavlik)

“I thought he fought a very good first round.” (Arum)

“The first round was so active, it seemed short.” (Lampley.)

ROUND TWO

Pavlik looks strong through the first minute, but with 1:49 left, sticks his chin out too far and gets hit with a big right hand behind his ear. He’s stunned, setting off a flurry of punches from Taylor. With 1:38 left, Pavlik hits the canvas and immediately gets back up for a standing eight count from referee Steve Smoger.

“That was a tremendous barrage from Jermain Taylor. That was the best offensive showing in Taylor’s last six fights.” (Lampley).

“I wasn’t trying to knock him out. I caught him with something. I didn’t even know I hurt him.” (Taylor)

“All I could see was blacktop driveways. He did the one thing he could not do. He got away from the game plan.” (Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer who also owns a driveway sealing company)

“I was thinking, ‘Get up. You worked too hard for this.’ ” (Samantha Kocanjer, Pavlik’s fiancée and mother of his daughter, Sydney Ellyse)

“My first thought was ‘How bad is he hurt?’ I was in panic stage. If they would have stopped the fight there, I would not have cared. I just remembered looking at the clock and thinking, ‘Oh my God, there’s so much time left.’ ” (Mike Pavlik)

“In the second round, he got sloppy. He got clocked and he looked out of it. [Top Rank matchmaker] Bruce Trampler was sitting in the row behind me and I said to Bruce, ‘Are we finished?’ He said, ‘No, the kid’s gonna recover.’ ” (Arum)

“I said, ‘He’s gonna be OK, Bob.’ I told him he’d knock Taylor out in the fifth round. That’s what I felt and believed.” (Trampler.)

“I knew he’d get up.” (Kocanjer)

Taylor goes for the knockout, throwing wild punches from every angle, but can’t get Pavlik back on the canvas.

“I’m so surprised that Pavlik can come back from that. Jermain is going for broke; he wants to end this fight right away. (Lewis)

“I felt like I wasted a lot of energy, energy that I didn’t really have. I threw a lot of stupid punches.” (Taylor)

“He still got hit a few more times and he got staggered. A real ugly stagger, too.” (Mike Pavlik)

“It shows you what kind of determination Pavlik has. He’s still hanging on. Pavlik is a tough cookie from Youngstown.” (Lewis)

“I was just trying to survive. My legs were shaky.” (Pavlik)

“He knows how to survive. He made a mistake that cost him, but I knew he wouldn’t make that mistake again.” (Loew)

With 30 seconds left, Taylor starts to tire and Pavlik starts to regain strength. The crowd erupts at the bell. All three judges award the round to Taylor, with an extra point for the knockdown.

“What an assault, and what a survival!” (Lampley)

“That’s when I knew we’d win the fight.” (Arum)

“Once I survived, I knew the fight was mine.” (Pavlik)

Pavlik returns to his corner, where he is treated by Loew, who chides him for dropping his left hand. When asked if he’s OK, Pavlik smiles at his cornermen and says, “I’m good.”

“He gave that stupid smile. He said, ‘Boy, that was pretty stupid.’ The referee went over and Kelly smiled and said, ‘I can go. I’m OK.’ ” (Mike Pavlik)

ROUND THREE

Pavlik looks strong. Midway through the round, the crowd starts chanting “Kelly! Kelly!” Pavlik regains his aggressiveness, backing Taylor into the corner at one point. All three judges award the round to Pavlik.

“Jack Dempsey said champions get up when they don’t think they can. So do challengers.” (Merchant)

“After the third round, I knew it was just a matter of time. Even though he didn’t win all the following rounds, he was pushing the guy back. The guy was fighting on defense.” (Arum)

“Gentlemen, we have a fight.” (Merchant)

ROUND FOUR

Pavlik is again the aggressor. Midway through, Taylor gets warned about a low blow. Pavlik again backs Taylor into the corner, but Taylor gets out of it. Pavlik wins round on two of three cards.

“The Pavlik camp has felt that if they can get into late stages of fight, the fight would be theirs because Taylor has faded in some fights in the late stages.” (Merchant)

“After the third round, I said, ‘We’ve got problems.’ I could see the fight moving in Kelly’s direction,” (Emanuel Steward, Taylor’s trainer)

“I felt from the third round to the seventh round, Jermain Taylor was not a factor at all in the fight.” (Mike Pavlik)

ROUND FIVE

The round is more of a boxing match than a slugfest. Taylor is counter-punching well. Pavlik gets a trickle of blood from his nose. Very comfortable round for Taylor, who uses his strengths as a boxer. Pavlik is still aggressive, but he doesn’t land anything substantial. It’s probably the quietest round of the fight. Taylor wins on all three cards.

“Both fighters seem to be scratching to find a new answer now as they’ve sort of leveled out through all the violent assaults in earlier rounds.” (Lampley)

“In the later rounds, I went into survival mode. I was tired.” (Taylor)

ROUND SIX

When Taylor goes to his corner after the fifth round, Steward tells him, “He’s fading, he’s fading fast. Keep working that golden left.” Pavlik’s nose is still bleeding. Both fighters land some good punches during the round. Taylor wins on all three cards.

“This must be a good fight. I’ve already got five dots of blood on my shirt. And it’s Pavlik’s blood.” (Merchant)

“I haven’t seen Pavlik go for the body yet. He needs to mix up the punches.” (Lewis)

“Pavlik seems to be winning the boxing contest right now.” (Merchant)

Pavlik again backs Taylor against the ropes. Again Taylor fights his way out of it.

“When Jermain Taylor hits the ropes, it’s like something goes off inside his head and says, ‘This is the time to fight.’ ” (Lewis)

ROUND SEVEN

Steward warns Taylor that Pavlik is controlling the fight. Pavlik enters the round trailing on all three judges’ cards. HBO’s Harold Lederman, however, has Pavlik leading 57-56. Merchant has Taylor leading by one point.

With just more than a minute left, Merchant tells viewers, “Pavlik said he didn’t think Taylor liked to get hit. Nobody likes to get hit but Taylor has taken those hits.”

A split-second after the word “hits,” Pavlik lands a straight overhand right that lands flush.

More Merchant: “That was the punch that ended the fight. As soon as Kelly hit him, it’s like somebody who knew he hit a home run. He just threw the bat down. I said to myself, ‘This is it. It’s over. He’s hurt.’ Kelly is a notorious closer.”

A stunned Taylor backs toward the corner. Pavlik, smelling blood, goes for the knockout.

“And that right hand hurt Taylor! Tayor is stunned! Left hook knocks Taylor’s head up! Uppercut has Taylor in big trouble! Down goes Jermain and Steve Smoger is going to stop the fight! There’s a brand new middleweight champion! He’s from Youngstown, Ohio! (Lampley)

“He was gone.” (Smoger)

“Kelly had his back to me and I just saw the other guy slumping down. I didn’t realize it would come that quick. The guy just collapsed.” (Arum)

Seeing the fight was stopped, Pavlik ran to the other side of the ring with his hands raised and the crowd whipped into a frenzy. Pavlik’s cornermen flood into the ring.

“I was like, ‘Thank God.’ He finally got what he was fighting for since he was a child. He proved to everybody he was as good as a fighter as he said.” (Kocanjer)

“I was in my hotel room waiting for them to call me. I couldn’t watch. I was just waiting for the call. Immediately after he won, my oldest boy called while he was in the middle of the ring on his cell phone. Then my husband called. They told me he won. I didn’t find out until the next morning about the second round.” (Debbie Pavlik, Kelly’s mother)

“I jumped into the ring and I’ll never forget this: I was wearing a light gray suit and Kelly’s blood was all over me. The kid says, ‘I got blood all over you.’ I said, ‘That can happen a million times, as far as I’m concerned.’ We sent the suit to the cleaners and they actually got the blood out. It’s my lucky suit. I’m wearing it this Saturday.” (Arum)

With the belts draped over his shoulder, Pavlik says hello to his daughter, Sydney, and thanks Youngstown for its support.

“It was a storybook fight. I don’t know if there will ever be another one like that.” (Mike Pavlik)

The difference in this fight — one man got off the floor, the other man didn’t. (Merchant)

XCompiled by Vindicator sports writer Joe Scalzo.