Workouts commence Monday for Pavlik

By Joe Scalzo

The middleweight champion will resume training after the only loss of his career.

YOUNGSTOWN — Although boxing has made him rich and famous, Kelly Pavlik’s trainer sometimes wishes he could switch sports.

“If you lose in football, you can come back the next Sunday and make All-American,” said Jack Loew, a former fullback at Cardinal Mooney. “With boxing, you have to wait two or three months.”

Pavlik will begin training Monday for his second middleweight title defense, a 12-round fight with WBC No. 1 contender Marco Antonio Rubio on Feb. 21 at the Chevrolet Centre. It will be his first bout since Pavlik’s loss to Bernard Hopkins in October.

“We’re anxious to get back in the ring and get that sour taste out of our mouth,” Loew said. “We have to live with that defeat but I think that loss can be a very positive thing.”

Pavlik (34-1, 30 KOs) was not at 100 percent for the Hopkins fight, dealing with an elbow injury during training camp and bronchitis in the days leading up to the bout, which he lost by unanimous decision. He is now healthy and has done light workouts over the last week, mainly to avoid soreness once full workouts begin. He will begin sparring in a few weeks.

“We’re very upbeat,” Loew said. “There’s been no talk about Bernard Hopkins. That’s behind us. This is a new fight and we’re moving on and we’re glad it’s here.

“Our main focus is not on Bernard, it’s on beating Rubio.”

The 28-year-old Rubio (43-4-1, 37 KOs) is coming off a 12-round split decision over Enrique Ornelas on the undercard of the Pavlik-Hopkins bout.

At 6-foot-1 1/2, his size and fighting style are similar to Pavlik’s, preferring to stay in front of opponents and out-slug them.

“There’s nothing fancy about him,” Loew said. “He’s gonna be in front of us and he’s going to try and take us out.

“He’s not the greatest household name, but he’s a big, strong Mexican kid and he can punch.”

The fight will be Pavlik’s first in the Mahoning Valley since his third-round knockout of Lenord Pierre on Nov. 2, 2006 at the Chevy Centre.

“It’s great, it’s lovely, it’s the best thing Top Rank could have done for Kelly,” Loew said. “To have 7,100 screaming fans is a great thing for him and us.”

The fight will be broadcast on pay-per-view as part of a two-site double feature. The Miguel Cotto-Michael Jennings will be shown on the same broadcast, which is being financed by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. (Showtime and HBO passed on the broadcast.)

Tickets are expected to go on sale in about a week, according to a Top Rank spokesman.

Loew has spent the past few weeks readying the new Southside Boxing Club at 1714 Market Street. The 4,000-square foot building is more than four times the size of his old building. Loew has already moved his equipment from the old building to the new and is awaiting delivery of his second ring along with some ellipticals and treadmills.

“Once we get everything in there, it’s gonna be something else,” he said.

scalzo@vindy.com