Pavlik's trainer limits media access to fighter

Scaling back: Kelly Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew, has limited some of the media access to his fighter leading up to next month’s rematch with Jermain Taylor. He’s also cutting down on Pavlik’s public appearances — Pavlik has been a familiar face at area events since September — which will allow him to focus on the fight. “This kid is getting up at 7 a.m. and running, then he’s going to Rocky’s [gym] and Ironman Gym and then coming here [to the Southside Boxing Club],” Loew said. “His private time is going to be his private time.” Although reporters will still have access to workouts — Pavlik is still much more accessible and accommodating than most fighters — he’s told representatives from Jim Rome’s radio show and Sports Illustrated that they’re not allowed to follow him around after hours. “I don’t care who it is,” Loew said. “We’re shutting down that stuff.” The change is due in part to Pavlik’s increased celebrity — he’s now much more in demand. “We wanted to get rid of some of the distractions,” Pavlik said. “We’re focused on the fight. We don’t want anything to take away from our training.”

Mouthy Miranda: Former middleweight contender Edison Miranda made headlines with his mouth prior to being knocked out by Kelly Pavlik in May in Memphis. He’s since moved up to the super middleweight level and after earning two knockout wins, he’s back to boasting, saying the only reason he lost to Pavlik was because he was weakened by weight loss. “After knocking out two guys at super middleweight with decent records, I feel more comfortable telling the world that Pavlik faced half of Edison Miranda due to my health issue that night,” Miranda said in an interview with doghouseboxing.com. “When I fight him again at 168 [pounds], he will see the whole Edison Miranda and it will be a different outcome. ... Next time it will be him moving backwards and getting KO’d, I promise.” Pavlik has no plans to move up to super middleweight, or fight Miranda, but he remained unfazed by the comments. “He’s trying to tick off some big name so they’ll fight him and he can make big money,” said Pavlik. Loew said he had no problem with the strategy. “I have nothing bad to say about Miranda. Why wouldn’t he call Kelly’s name out? Miranda’s not going to make $3-4 million against anyone else.” Miranda, who predicted he’d also beat Taylor in a super middleweight bout, weighed in on Pavlik-Taylor II. “I think Taylor actually has a good chance to win, but I’m afraid that he will fight scared. If he does this, then Pavlik will win for sure.”

More contenders: Pavlik’s next fight is almost certain to be a title appearance against John Duddy at Madison Square Garden on June 7. “We’re not worried about that fight,” said Loew of the Duddy bout. “Our whole focus is on Taylor.” Since his win over Taylor in September, several big-name boxers have expressed their desire to fight Pavlik. The latest was Roy Jones Jr., who earned a unanimous decision over Felix Trinidad last week. This comes as no surprise to Loew. “Kelly’s the biggest thing in boxing right now,” he said. “People can make a lot of money off him.”

Boxing’s big names: Yahoo! boxing writer Kevin Lole recently listed the 25 most powerful people in boxing and the list contained four men connected to Pavlik. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, whose company has represented Pavlik throughout his pro career, was third. His stepson, Top Rank president Todd duBoef, was 10th, followed by his matchmaker Bruce Trampler (14th) and his co-manager Cameron Dunkin (20th).

Joe Scalzo