‘GHOST' RETAINS WORLD TITLE
By JOE SCALZO
Vindicator sports staff
- Pavlik vs. Espino.
-
- STORY: FIGHT NIGHT
- STORY: Giuriceo angered by majority draw decision
- STORY: Some Valley bars serve up bout despite blackout order
- GALLERY: Pavlik vs. Espino
- COLUMN: Pavlik’s handlers took Ghost Nation to be dumb
- STORY: The basics on boxing’s belts
- GALLERY: Chris Hazimihalis vs. Norman Allen
- VIDEO: Pavlik vs. Espino weigh-in
- STORY: Area bars KO'd
- GALLERY: Jake Giuriceo vs. Henri White
- STORY: Pavlik fight: Where’s the hype?
- VIDEO: Pavlik's public work out Dec. 8
- COLUMN: Pavlik’s star has dimmed, but there’s time to recover
Pavlik vs. Espino
YOUNGSTOWN — Kelly Pavlik waited 10 months to get back in the ring.
He only needed five rounds to get back out of it.
Fighting for the first time since his February bout at the Covelli Centre, Pavlik dropped Miguel Espino three times in the final two rounds before Espino’s corner threw in the towel, handing Pavlik a fifth-round TKO victory in front of 3,409 fans Saturday night at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center.
“There was a little bit of rust,” said Pavlik, who retained his WBC and WBO middleweight titles. “I tip my hat to him. He came to fight. He was finding his way inside. He was a determined fighter. The kid fought a great fight.”
In the days leading up to the fight, Espino promised he was coming to fight and he backed it up, brawling in the middle of the ring while refusing to back up against the bigger, stronger Pavlik.
It was an exciting, courageous — and exceptionally unwise — strategy as Pavlik’s right uppercuts and hooks to the body proved too much for Espino.
“I didn’t stick to the game plan,” Espino said. “When I first got hit, it didn’t affect me too much. So I said, ‘The heck with the game plan. Let’s rumble.’”
Espino’s trainer, John Bray, said the game plan was to circle to the right, jab at Pavlik and force Pavlik to back up. Espino never tried it.
“As soon as he got hit, the warrior came out and he went toe to toe,” Bray said. “It was a big mistake. Kelly is a big puncher, and we fell into his trap. You can’t beat Kelly Pavlik by fighting his game. He is a great champion.”
The fighters traded big blows for the first three rounds and both got in a few good shots, although Pavlik consistently landed big power shots and mostly avoided Espino’s best punches. The biggest sign of rust came with Pavlik’s defense, which got sloppy at times.
Finally, midway through the fourth round, Pavlik hit Espino with a big right uppercut, dropping him to one knee for a standing eight count. He dropped him again a minute later with a big left hand and a right uppercut.
Referee Steve Smoger talked to Espino’s corner between the fourth and fifth rounds and he was cleared to continue.
Finally, a big straight right early in the fifth round stunned him and Pavlik patiently put on the pressure before the stoppage at 1:44.
“I was never seriously hurt,” Espino said. “It is what it is.”
Pavlik battled a staph infection in his left hand for much of the layoff and admitted afterward his hand was a little tender, but didn’t affect his performance. “It held up,” he said.
The fight was a replacement for a scheduled Dec. 5 bout with Paul Williams, which was canceled due to Pavlik’s injuries, prompting Williams’ camp to accuse Pavlik of ducking him.
Immediately after Saturday’s bout, Top Rank Boxing chairman Bob Arum said he still hopes to make a Pavlik-Williams bout in 2010.
“Let me say this to the loudmouths in the Williams camp — just initial the [original] contracts and we’ll make the fight first thing next year,” he said. “If they don’t do it, let them shut their damn mouths.”
Pavlik originally wanted to fight Williams in summer 2008, but said the Williams camp never signed the contracts. So, Pavlik instead jumped up two weight classes to fight Bernard Hopkins. Pavlik (35-2, 32 KOs) lost by unanimous decision.
“Paul Williams is not the most feared fighter in the world,” Pavlik said. “He’s got a guy standing right here in Youngstown who wants him.”
All three judges awarded Pavlik every round. He was ahead 40-33 on all three scorecards of judges William Lerch, Jack Woodburn and Steve Weisfeld.
The fight was part of a two-site broadcast on Top Rank pay-per-view. Because the Mexican portion ran long, Pavlik’s fight didn’t begin until 11:59 p.m.
Espino entered the ring walking to a crooning Spanish ballad. He got half-hearted boos from the crowd. Pavlik entered the ring to the heavy metal band Korn — as always — and got huge cheers. He all but ran into the ring and looked eager to resume fighting after a 10-month layoff.
The fans weren’t awarded with a long fight, but they were awarded with a good one.
“It was awesome,” Pavlik said. “The fans supported me in Atlantic City and Vegas, so this is a little giveback twice in a row and they deserve it. I’d like to thank them for coming out and showing their support.”
Pavlik only took Saturday’s fight after the WBC and WBO threatened to strip him of the belts if he didn’t defend the title. Espino, who was ranked No. 3 by the WBC, was available on short notice and passed muster with both sanctioning bodies, so he got the nod.
This was just the second time in Pavlik’s career he fought after such a long layoff. On July 27, he beat Bronco McKart by sixth-round TKO after a 10-month, 20-day layoff. It was the first time McKart had been knocked out in 56 pro fights at that point.
Pavlik’s hand problems actually began in late 2008 when he got a cortisone shot in the index finger of his left hand, near the knuckle. Pavlik has had issues with his hands throughout his career and the cortisone shots allow him to train and fight.
scalzo@vindy.com
Jake Giuriceo vs. Henri White
Chris Hazimihalis vs. Norman Allen
Campbell High graduate Christos Hazimihalis wins his pro debut at YSU's Beeghly Center Dec. 19, 2009 as part of the undercard for the Kelly Pavlik title fight.
PAVLIK
Notebook
Referee Jim Villers collapsed after the seventh bout of Saturday’s undercard and underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He collapsed near the press section ringside.
Villers was in no apparent discomfort while refereeing the bout between Miguel Angel Garcia and Yogli Herrera, which ended in a third-round knockout by Garcia. Early reports were a possible heart attack. A large crowd gathered around him and a stretcher was brought in to take him to the nearest hospital.
The crowd was told about 45 minutes later that Villers was conscious, alert, and on his way to recovery.
Roy Jones Jr., former boxing champ, was in town to see one of his fighters, Gabe “Big G” Brown, fight former WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter. Jones and Brown are both Pensacola, Fla., natives.
Brown, who weighed in at 363 1‚Ñ2 pounds, was TKO’d in the fourth round but made a lot of fans in Youngstown. Afterward, Jones was brought into the ring, where he was asked by the announcer if he could bring “Big G” back to Youngstown. “Y’all want him?” Jones said, drawing huge roars. “I love Youngstown, and thank you all for supporting everything I do. If y’all want him back, I’ll bring him back.”
Buster Douglas, a Columbus native and the former heavyweight champion best known for giving Mike Tyson his first pro defeat, also attended the fight. “There’s no place like home,” Douglas said. “Go Buckeyes.”
Tom Miller of Mineral Ridge was one of the three judges for the undercard bouts. Miller is a well-known boxing judge who works fights across the globe. Entering Saturday’s contests, Miller has judged 70 title fights.
The referee for the Pavlik-Espino bout was Steve Smoger, who worked the two most memorable bouts of Pavlik’s career: his win over Edison Miranda in Memphis in May 2007 and the first Jermain Taylor bout in Atlantic City in September 2007.
Pavlik won both by seventh-round TKOs, winning the middleweight titles in the second bout.
State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, a former attorney for Pavlik, attended the fight, as did former state Sen. Harry Meshel, a de facto member of Team Pavlik.
“I really think this is great for the Valley,” Schiavoni said. “There was obviously a lot of hype for the first fight, but it’s great that fans get to see the middleweight champion of the world for the second time in the same year.”
Schiavoni, like a lot of fans, was upset about the pay-per-view bar ban and communicated that message — respectfully — to Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “There are a lot of people who watch it at the same bar every time, and they should have been able to do that for this fight,” Schiavoni said. “But, all in all, it’s a good night, and I’m expecting a big knockout from Kelly.”
Harry Arroyo, the former IBF lightweight champion, attended Saturday’s card. He attends most of Pavlik’s fights. “I’ve heard different things about Espino. Some people tell me he was put there for Kelly to beat,” said Arroyo, a South Side native. “He’s ranked No. 3 [by the WBC], but he’s more like No. 45. But other people tell me he’s really tough, and he’s not going to back up.”
Arroyo sided with the first perspective and felt it was the perfect comeback fight for Pavlik. “With the way Kelly punches and the fact that the kid doesn’t back up, I don’t see it going past three rounds,” Arroyo said. “You heard it here first. From Harry.”
When one fan joked that they were going to put him back in training, Arroyo laughed and said, “Yeah, I’m going to fight Ray Mancini.” Arroyo has often said the biggest disappointment of his career was not getting to fight Boom Boom. Mancini did not attend Saturday’s bout.
Vanes Martirosyan (26-0, 17 KOs) won the NABF/NABO super welterweight title with a third-round TKO of New Orleans native Willie Lee. It was the first pay-per-view bout of the night.
Martirosyan, who was born in Armenia before moving to California when he was 4, nearly dropped Lee in the first round. Then, in the third, he dropped Lee twice. The second one ended the fight.
“Vanes is ready for a world title,” said his trainer Freddie Roach, who also trains Manny Pacquiao, the welterweight champion.
Martirosyan is a former U.S. Olympian. He won a decision over Niles’ Billy Lyell last February. “He’s 26-0, and he’s done his homework,” Roach said. “He’s ready for the big fight.”
— Joe Scalzo