Pavlik ready for Sturm, will wait for Abraham

By JOE SCALZO

Vindicator sports staff

NILES — Kelly Pavlik said he’s willing to wait his turn to fight Arthur Abraham, but he’s not willing to fight Felix Sturm for $1 million.

Pavlik, the WBC and WBO middleweight champion, had been slated to fight Sturm, the WBA champion, on Oct. 3. But talks hit a snag when HBO offered just $2 million for the bout, a significantly lower amount than the two fighters had been seeking.

“If we’ve got to split that, I wasn’t going to take a fight for that,” said Pavlik, who signed copies of his new book at Thursday’s Scrappers game. “He’s got the WBA world title. I’ve got two titles.

“Somebody better throw some more money out there.”

Sturm, a German, has emerged as the leading candidate for Pavlik’s next bout due in no small part to Abraham’s involvement in Showtime’s upcoming super middleweight tournament. Pavlik said he was not asked to be involved but would have been interested.

“Yeah, but I’m going to take care of business at 160 [pounds] first,” he said. “In the future, I’d like to fight the winner.

“If he [Abraham] does take part and he ends up winning it, I’ll fight him when I go up [in weight].”

For more details, read Friday's Vindicator or visit Vindy.com.