Pavlik excited about Abraham fight

Kelly Pavlik wins!

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Photographs by The Vindicator photographers Geoffrey Hauschild, William D. Lewis, Robert K. Yosay and Lisa-Ann Ishihara. Video by Katie Libecco and Sarah Poulton. Additional audio by Robert K. Yosay. Edited by Katie Libecco.

Kelly Pavlik Fight Night

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Photographs by The Vindicator photographers Geoffrey Hauschild, William D. Lewis, Robert K. Yosay and Lisa-Ann Ishihara.

By Joe Scalzo

“He hits hard and he’s winning, that’s the main thing. That’s what makes it interesting for fight fans.”

Kelly Pavlik

WBO and WBC middleweight champ

The two could meet in November in a matchup of top middleweights.

YOUNGSTOWN — Boxing fans weren’t the only ones abuzz Tuesday with news that Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham could meet in the fall.

Pavlik was, too.

“I’m excited,” Pavlik said. “I think it’s great. Especially after I heard he was willing to come to the [United] States to fight. That’s awesome.

“That’s the fight people want to see.”

Pavlik, who holds the WBO and WBC middleweight titles, has eyed Abraham’s IBF belt for more than a year. The two fighters are universally regarded as the top two in the middleweight division.

“He’s tough,” Pavlik said of Abraham. “He hits hard and he’s winning, that’s the main thing. That’s what makes it interesting for fight fans.”

Of course, for the bout to happen, both fighters will likely need to win interim bouts. Pavlik’s handlers are in negotiations for him to meet former WBC light middleweight champion Sergio Mora on June 27 in Atlantic City. (The date could be moved to July.) If Pavlik wins, he could fight Abraham in either October or November in New York.

Pavlik’s promoter, Bob Arum, said he will meet with Pavlik and his managers next week in either New York or Washington to talk about the Mora and Abraham bouts.

“Everything is proceeding,” said Arum, who will be in Tijuana, Mexico, this week promoting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s WBO Latino light middleweight bout. “We’ll work out the details then.

“We haven’t finalized anything yet.”

Arum said a Pavlik-Abraham bout would likely be broadcast on HBO or Showtime and not pay-per-view. The Mora bout will probably be on independent pay-per-view.

Pavlik, who successfully defended his title last month, had been hoping for a little more rest between bouts — he’s fought seven times in a little over two years — and his 36 career bouts are high for a 26-year-old.

But he said he won’t press the issue.

“Cameron [Dunkin, Pavlik’s co-manager] definitely believes I need a little more rest,” said Pavlik. “But I think things will work out. We’ll see what happens. Obviously, if I fight in late June or July, it’s not going to make much difference to have two more weeks.

“I’ll guess I’ll have to get right back into it.”

Abraham (29-0, 23 KOs) has been even busier over the past two years, although he hasn’t fought the same level of competition. After a 12-round unanimous decision over Lajuan Simon on March 14, Abraham said the only reason he’s still in the middleweight division is to fight Pavlik.

Abraham will probably fight again this summer, possibly against Vernon Forrest, before fighting Pavlik. He’s made nine successful title defenses, but none have been in the United States. His only bout in America came at 166 pounds against Edison Miranda last June in Miami.

Pavlik beat Marco Antonio Rubio last month at the Chevrolet Centre and had been hoping to fight in either Cleveland (at Quicken Loans Arena) or outside in Youngstown at Stambaugh Stadium. But Arum hates outdoor fights and said Cleveland’s city tax was too high for the Mora fight.

Ohio charges a five percent state tax and Cleveland has an eight percent city tax, Arum said. When asked if he could have negotiated a lower rate with Cleveland, Arum said, “Yeah, but we don’t have enough time to screw around. It just didn’t work out.”

Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall has been the site for three of Pavlik’s previous bouts and Arum said the city made a strong push for Pavlik and his thousands of fans to return.

Pavlik admitted he’s concerned that the poor economy could result in smaller crowds but said he’s hopeful that many fans will view it as a more affordable vacation option.

“The fans who truly want to be there will be there, but if there are fewer fans there, I’ll definitely know the reason why,” he said. “It’s hard. People have families and kids to feed.

“[But] it might be a two-day escape to get away from everything that’s been going on. Hopefully that’s the case.”

scalzo@vindy.com