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Pavlik-Mora fight plans close to final
Photo
Pavlik/Rubio Fight Night at Chevy Centre, February 21, 2009
Kelly Pavlik Fight Night
Gallery
Photographs by The Vindicator photographers Geoffrey Hauschild, William D. Lewis, Robert K. Yosay and Lisa-Ann Ishihara.
By Joe Scalzo
The middleweight title bout will be June 27 in Atlantic City on pay-per-view.
Kelly Pavlik’s middleweight title bout against Sergio Mora on June 27 in Atlantic City will likely be finalized this week, his promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, said Monday.
The Mora bout will be aired on independent pay-per-view and Arum promised a “loaded undercard,” although he declined to get into specifics.
“I want to surprise everybody,” he said. “It’s going to be really good.”
Mora (21-1-1, 5 KOs) is best known for winning the first season of the boxing reality series “The Contender.”
He’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Vernon Forrest in a WBC light middleweight bout last September. Mora had won the belt with a 12-round majority decision win over Forrest last June and blamed his poor showing in September on an inability to make weight, prompting him to jump to middleweight.
A Pavlik win over Mora could set up a showdown with IBF champion Arthur Abraham on Nov. 7 at Madison Square Garden.
Abraham (29-0, 23 KOs) will fight mandatory challenger Giovanni Lorenzo on June 27 in Germany and Arum would like to air that bout (on tape delay) during the Pavlik-Mora telecast in order to increase Abraham’s exposure in the United States.
Following the Abraham bout, Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) could meet two-time WBA super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, Arum said.
Pavlik and co-managers Mike Pavlik Sr. and Cameron Dunkin met with Arum and Top Rank president Todd DuBoef last Friday in New York City to discuss upcoming fights and Pavlik’s contract with Top Rank.
Pavlik’s three-year deal with the organization expires before the Mora bout.
Both sides are confident an extension will get done soon.
“We’re still hashing things out,” said Mike Pavlik Sr., Kelly’s father. “I’m sure they’ll come to some type of agreement. Time has gone so fast, I haven’t even thought about it.”
Pavlik is excited about fighting Mora, his father said.
“We’re ready to go,” he said. “Kelly’s ready to get into training.”
As for the Abraham bout, Pavlik Sr. was reluctant to look that far ahead.
“You don’t want to count your chickens before they hatch,” he said. “Sergio may have something to say about the Abraham bout.”
Pavlik’s return flight from New York on Friday was canceled due to the weather and they flew home on standby.
scalzo@vindy.com