Pavlik Roundup - News and notes

Unlikely fan: Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini chuckled when recalling the first time he met Bernard Hopkins. “He said, ‘Boom Boom,’ I love you man! All the guys in the joint love you! You were our favorite fighter!’” Starting at age 17, Hopkins served almost five years in prison and turned to boxing after his release to escape his criminal past.

Al Bundy’s take: Youngstown native Ed O’Neill predicts Kelly Pavlik will K.O. Hopkins in the eighth round Saturday. “Hopkins will be looking for a soft spot to land,” said O’Neill. O’Neill, an Ursuline High graduate and boxing aficionado, is best known for playing Al Bundy on Fox’s “Married With Children.” He lives in L.A.

First Take: ESPN2’s Howie Schwab will wear a Team Pavlik T-shirt on his Couch Potato skit, “First Take,” at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday. Schwab also did a podcast of Pavlik and the fight that will be available on ESPN.com.

Speaking of T-shirts: If you’re looking to pick up a T-shirt before this weekend’s trip, you can buy one at the following places: BW-3 in Boardman and Austintown, O’Donald’s in Austintown, Clemens Wine Cellar, Knoll Run Golf Course, Bedford Trails Golf Course, Jimmy’s Italian Food Specialties on Belmont Avenue, Cornersburg Italian Specialties, Patrone’s Landscaping in Girard, East Side Civics, One Stop in Austintown Plaza, Todor Physical Therapy in Warren and Groover Roofing and Siding. Shirts are $26.

Weigh-in: Friday’s weigh-in will be at 5 p.m. at the Circus Maximus Theater inside Caesars —the same site as June’s weigh-in. As always, Pavlik’s fans are encouraged to attend. If you can’t make it, HBO will show live streaming video on www.hbo.com/boxing.

More HBO promotions: HBO will replay its 30-minute special, “Countdown to Pavlik-Hopkins” Friday (10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (4:15 p.m.). It will also be available several times on HBO2 and for HBO On Demand subscribers through Oct. 27. HBO2 will replay the first Jermain Taylor-Pavlik fight, followed by the Hopkins-Antonio Tarver fight from 2006 at 11:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

No news Wednesday: Aside from some assorted interviews, Pavlik and his camp had a light day Wednesday. “The most exciting thing that happened today? Nothing,” said his trainer, Jack Loew. Loew and Pavlik will take part in a media round table today.

Joe Scalzo