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Buildup to bout won’t weigh these two down
By Joe Scalzo
NOSE TO NOSE
‘The Executioner’ was accompanied by a Roman soldier and Cleopatra.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Standing nose-to-nose with Kelly Pavlik in front of a crowd of 1,100 people Friday — most of them chanting “Kelly! Kelly!” — Bernard Hopkins did his best to get under the 26-year-old’s skin.
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“Four and a half years in the penitentiary,” Hopkins said.
“Yeah, and 30 minutes into Saturday’s fight, you’re going back,” Pavlik responded.
In the biggest, rowdiest and chippiest weigh-in of Pavlik’s career, both fighters made the 170-pound limit for tonight’s light heavyweight bout at Boardwalk Hall.
As usual, Pavlik Nation flooded Circus Maximus Theater, wearing fight T-shirts, holding up ghost oven mitts and shouting their praise (for Pavlik) and displeasure (with Hopkins).
Some of it was printable. Much of it wasn’t.
Pavlik, who weighed in at 169 pounds, entered the theater to a Korn song just before 5 p.m. wearing an Affliction T-shirt while accompanied by a man waving an American flag. Hopkins, who weighed 170, followed a few seconds later — he was treated to a chorus of boos that drowned out his much smaller fan base — as a rap song played overhead and look-alikes of a Roman soldier and Cleopatra accompanied him.
Both the soldier, Matt Angelucci, and Cleopatra, Natalie Addison, were from Delaware County just outside Philadelphia. This is Angelucci’s second weigh-in and, not surprisingly, he’s a Hopkins backer.
“I like ‘The Executioner,’” said Angelucci, referring to the Philadelphia native’s nickname. “I’m excited to meet both fighters. They’re both great.”
This isn’t their regular gigs. Angelucci is a bouncer at “Providence,” a nightclub inside the Tropicana casino, where Addison is a dancer.
(Don’t worry, she’s fully clothed.) (OK, maybe “fully” isn’t the right word, but she’s clothed.)
“The headdress is a little heavy, but I enjoy it,” said Addison, who was attending her first weigh-in.
The doors for the event opened at 4 p.m. By 3:45, the line outside the door snaked at least 80 feet as Pavlik fans snatched up T-shirts (which ranged from $20 to $60), beer (one fan dropped one of the six beers he was carrying to his friends; it cost him about $10) and waved oven mitts.
Three of them — Cheryl Vrabel, Jenny Ditzler and Karen Wolfe, aka “Groupies for the Ghost” — got to the weigh-in more than a half-hour early. They even had ghost pens — they could press a button and the ghost boxed each other like Rock ’em Sock ’em robots.
The three work together at Macy’s in Boardman, and Wolfe’s daughter went to high school with Pavlik at Lowellville. They’ve attended every Pavlik bout since last September’s fight with Jermain Taylor.
“It’s just a big party,” said Vrabel, whose husband is a third cousin of New England Patriots defensive lineman Mike Vrabel, also a Pavlik fan. “We all three like gambling. We have a good time.”
Another fan, Susan Meyer of Youngstown, was wearing a necklace made of little flashing ghost lights. She’s more of a Pavlik fan than a boxing fan, although she’s gone to several fights.
“I think Kelly’s a really nice guy,” she said.
Hopkins tried to bring out Pavlik’s other side Friday afternoon, getting in his face, pressing his nose against Pavlik’s and starting the trash talk. Pavlik stared back — and jawed back.
“That’s very tame for Bernard,” said Pavlik’s promoter, Bob Arum, “considering what he’s done in the past.”
The crowd, however, wasn’t tame. And Pavlik showed his appreciation by blowing kisses to his fans.
“Thanks for coming out!” Pavlik shouted into the microphone. “We’re putting on a show tomorrow night!”
scalzo@vindy.com