Pavlik notebook | From Atlantic City

Making weight: Mike Pavlik Sr., said his son was at about 163 pounds on Thursday afternoon, which is typical before a fight. “We haven’t really done anything to lose the weight yet,” he said around 1 p.m. Although Pavlik will always have trouble making the 160-pound limit due to his size (6-foot-2 1/2), he doesn’t expect a problem at today’s weigh-in. “My weight is very good,” he said. “Everything’s going great. My energy level is sky high. I wish I was fighting tonight [Thursday].” His opponent, Gary Lockett, hopes that’s not true. “I wouldn’t hope to God at any time that a boxer would kill themselves to make weight, but I hope that guy is so dry at the moment, I hope he’s so thirsty,” he said.

Traffic jam: Both Pavlik and Lockett were stuck in traffic on Wednesday while driving from Manhattan to Atlantic City, making for a long day. (The problem stemmed from a semi clipping the bottom of an overpass.) “It wasn’t ideal preparation,” Lockett said. “I understand Kelly was two hours behind us, so that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, but since he’s the guy I’m fighting on Saturday night, I wish he was in traffic for 10 hours.” Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew, said it was 5 1/2 hours, meaning Team Pavlik went about eight hours without food. “I was not in a good mood,” Loew said.

Pavlik’s politics: Pavlik nabbed headlines with his endorsement of Hillary Clinton during the primaries. Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination, Pavlik was asked his reaction. He didn’t bite. “No comment,” he said with a smile. One of his cornermen, Michael Cox, then said, “I hope Chelsea [Clinton, Hillary’s daughter] calls me,” he said.

Not-so-sweet-suite: Pavlik had a palatial suite in Las Vegas for his fight with Jermain Taylor in February. This week, he’s moved up from Bally’s (where he stayed for the first Taylor fight) to Caesar’s, but it’s still a far cry from Vegas. “The suite is horrible this time,” he said. “It’s a bathroom bigger than the regular hotel room. The suites at the Holiday Inn in Boardman are bigger and nicer than this one. There’s a little radio from 1972. You can put five of these in the room I had at the MGM Grand.” He famously opted to sleep on the couch in Vegas, but that hasn’t happened this time. “There’s a couch, but you can’t lay on it,” he said. “I’d rather have the suite I had the first time at Bally’s.” The amusing rant aside, Pavlik said he doesn’t need a big suite to be happy. “The MGM was cool to show people, but when it was me by myself, I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

Paycheck protection: Mike Pavlik Sr. made headlines last fall when he left his son’s check (and his own) in the Bally’s hotel room. “They don’t give me the checks anymore,” Mike Sr. said. “I don’t know why.” Added his son, “I might put my dad at Caesar’s and me back at Bally’s.”

Finally: Loew and Lockett’s trainer, Enzo Calzaghe, have spent plenty of time trading barbs leading up to Saturday’s bout, but both have said it’s in jest. “It’s tongue-in-cheek,” Calzaghe said. “Most trainers, when they hit their first jackpot, they think they’re the best thing since hot chocolate. He believes in his own way, we believe in our own way.” One of Loew’s favorite jokes is about Calzaghe’s height, but Mike Pavlik Sr. thinks Calzaghe has a slight edge in that category. (The builds are different. Loew looks like a former fullback, while Calzaghe resembles a cross country runner.) “Enzo is a half-inch taller,” Mike Sr. said. “Make sure you print that.” Loew, who was prepared to go back-to-back with Calzaghe on Thursday, refutes that claim. “I’m taller,” he said. “He looks taller because he’s wearing high-heeled shoes.”

Joe Scalzo