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Pavlik’s ‘army’ boosts Boardwalk
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Vindicator sports staff
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Ken Condon affectionately calls them the “Pavlik Army,” referring to the massive group of Kelly Pavlik fans who routinely travel to Atlantic City to cheer on their hometown hero and (more importantly) spend big money on hotel rooms, slot machines and enough alcohol to make up for Prohibition.
“He’s now the East Coast hero of boxing,” said Condon, a consultant for Harris Entertainment who handles many of Atlantic City’s biggest events. “He brings such a tremendous following from Ohio that it makes Atlantic City come alive whenever a Pavlik fight is in town.”
The East Coast is now the Ghost Coast, and this weekend is no exception.
Fewer than 1,300 tickets remain for Saturday’s bout — officials are optimistic the 13,000-set Boardwalk Hall will sell out — and you’ve got better odds of winning at roulette than finding a decent hotel room this weekend.
“It’s been great for the town,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “Atlantic City hasn’t been doing too well lately, like most casino loacations, so the business they’re going to do this weekend is really tremendous.”
Pavlik’s following has brought back memories of Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, who fought in Atlantic City more than 25 times and was a huge fan favorite.
His last nine fights were at Boardwalk Hall, most recently in July 2007. Like Pavlik, he had a fan-friendly style heavy on punching power and heart.
“You knew with Gatti that no matter what happened, he was gonna give it his all,” Condon said. “The harder he got hit, the harder he hit. That was the warrior-type fighter that he was.
“I think he and Kelly Pavlik have a lot of similarities.”
Both fighters are humble, both are appreciative of their fans and both are approachable, Condon said. The biggest difference is, Gatti hails from nearby Jersey City, N.J., which is a two-hour drive.
Pavlik’s fans drive eight hours.
“It’s incredible,” Condon said. “We’ve never seen a weigh-in like the last time when we got almost 1,000 people. That just hasn’t happened in Atlantic City over the last five years.”
Condon traveled to Youngstown for a pre-fight press conference in late August and was surprised to see hundreds of people show up during work hours — wearing costumes and waving banners — all in support of Pavlik.
He even congratulated the fans for their success at the casinos the last two fights, which got a chuckle from Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew.
“Yeah right,” he said. “Don’t let them tell you that bull[crap] of, ‘Oh, all you people won.’ Yeah, OK. Well, why did you want us back, then?
“It’s huge business when Kelly fights in Atlantic City. When you’ve got guys from the New Jersey Athletic Commission, who had guys like Gatti there, and they’re telling you at the weigh-in, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this,’ that’s big.”
Pavlik is 2-0 in Atlantic City, having beat Jermain Taylor for the middleweight crown in September 2007, then defending the title in June against Gary Lockett.
Bally’s ran out of beer during the Taylor after-party in its lobby — this may or may not be something to be proud of if you’re a Youngstowner — and Caesars quickly secured the rights for the Lockett after-party.
Today’s weigh-in at Circus Maximus is expected to be like the previous two in Atlantic City, with hundreds of beer-swilling, Pavlik-crazy fans showing the world what Pavlik Nation is all about.
“It’s like a second home to me and a second home to the Youngstown fans,” said Pavlik, who was a Gatti fan and said he’s flattered by the comparison. “The atmosphere is great and I think they have a great time here.”
scalzo@vindy.com