Saturday, February 21, 2009
VINDICATOR STAFF/EDITORS
Elvis Presley had his Memphis Mafia. Frank Sinatra had his Rat Pack. Kelly Pavlik has Team Pavlik. Not that any of these groups actually issued membership cards, mind you (though Elvis did have those gold TCB necklace/pendant things).
And State Sen. Joe Schiavoni is still a member of Team Pavlik, he says, despite this column’s rather awkward attempt to oust him from the group Friday. In relating Schiavoni’s teenage beat-downs at the hands of Pavlik, we might have implied that the state senator’s Team Pavlik days were over and that he was no longer Pavlik’s attorney.
Allow us to reinstate him today.
This is a powerful feeling.
Celebrity watch: Maybe we should call this “Jock Patrol” since Hollywood celebs don’t seem Youngstown-bound at the present (many of them, instead, will be at something called “The Oscars” on Sunday). Rumored to be at the fight: Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn; Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk; and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Troy Smith as well as some members of your Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers including Ike Taylor, Anthony Smith, Charlie Batch, Ryan Clark and William Gay.
This just in: Be on the lookout for former boxing champ Roy Jones Jr.
Stork watch: There will be two very pregnant ladies in the house Saturday night.
Yes, at a boxing match.
One is Kelly’s wife, Samantha. The other is Chevrolet Centre staffer Bridget Wolsonovich.
Should either give birth during the fight, don’t be alarmed. Kelly ensured tickets were in the hands of his wife’s doctor.
The media message: If you did not check in with the outside world this week, you might be under the impression that only the local media is keeping tabs on fight week. So, here are some samples from what others are saying about the big fight tonight...
From Chris Mannix at Sports Illustrated’s SI.com: “A jaw-rattling, crowd-pleasing knockout won’t mean much to Pavlik. Nor will it be of much consequence to [trainer Jack] Loew. Their confidence wasn’t shaken. They didn’t shed any tears after the Hopkins fight. They stewed on it for a week and moved on. But for the fickle fans and even-more-fickle media who have dismissed Pavlik from boxing’s upper echelon, a quality win would put him back on the map. Not that he ever really went anywhere to begin with.”
From Dave Larzelere at Sporting News’ The Sporting Blog: “As for Pavlik’s opponent, Marco Antonio Rubio, I suspect that he also is in for a heap of trouble, heading into the Youngstown epicenter of Pavlik-mania to face a recently humiliated man looking to reclaim his knockout swagger.”
From Tom Pedulla at USA Today: “[Pavlik] is eager to put behind him a lopsided 12-round decision vs. Bernard Hopkins, who taught him a boxing lesson in October. That fight was above the middleweight limit, however. Pavlik is still unbeaten at middleweight and holds the linear middleweight title in addition to The Ring’s title and the WBC belt.”
From Lance Pugmire at the Los Angeles Times: “Pavlik told me Wednesday he takes great delight in knowing his hard-core hometown fans who’ve traveled to Anaheim, Las Vegas and Atlantic City to watch his most recent fights (and helped sell out the Chevy Centre by buying more than 5,000 seats in the first 12 minutes of sales) will “now get to go home the same night and sleep in their own beds.”
That guy seen knocking on doors: Team Pavlik, while fighting at home, is still on the road, so to speak. They’re all camped out at a local hotel.
The job of doing bed checks on Thursday night fell to the champ himself — knocking on doors making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be.
Friday night was spent playing video games and watching movies.
Kelly’s heroes: Jack Loew will bring seven up-and-coming boxers from his Southside Boxing Club gym to the fight Saturday, including two that he feels will make it big sooner rather than later: The Salinas brothers – Juan, 16, and Alejandro, 14 – of the East Side. Juan and Alejandro were profiled in The Vindicator on Thursday.
T-shirts: Pavlik fight T-shirts are available at Buffalo Wild Wings in Austintown, Boardman, Niles and Youngstown; East Side Civics, Cornersburg Italian Specialties, Clemens Wine Cellar, all in Youngstown; Bedford Trails Golf Course, Coitsville; Shirt Wizard, Poland; and Inner-Circle Pizza, Canfield. They are $26. Those shirts and lots of other merchandise are available at www.teampavlik.com.
X“The Pavlik Factor” is a column featuring news and notes about Saturday’s fight at the Chevrolet Centre. It will run daily through Sunday. If you have an item, e-mail news@vindy.com.