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Stakes high for Pavlik entering title defense
By Joe Scalzo
Youngstown
Soon after Kelly Pavlik began training for his upcoming fight against Sergio Martinez, he was asked whether it was the biggest fight of his career.
He shooks his head.
“I look at it as a very important fight,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a career-defining fight.”
Saturday’s bout in Atlantic City may not be the biggest of his career, but it’s the most important title defense of his 21‚Ñ2-year reign as middleweight champion.
Although he’s already defended his title three times, none of those opponents carried the same weight in the boxing world that Martinez does. A convincing win in front of a nationwide HBO audience would provide Pavlik with his biggest win since his back-to-back victories over Jermain Taylor in 2007-08.
“This is one of the most important middleweight championship fights in a long time,” said Top Rank Boxing chairman Bob Arum, Pavlik’s promoter. “I am convinced beyond any measure that we’ll see the old Kelly Pavlik against Martinez.
“As soon as we see that, and as soon as the public sees that thanks to the huge HBO audience, he’ll be back on top and people will be clamoring for his next fight.
“People love to see knockout fighters.”
Pavlik’s reign began in September 2007 with a seventh-round knockout of champion Taylor. Although Pavlik won a rematch with Taylor the following February — a unanimous decision above the middleweight limit — and has since won three title defenses by knockout, Taylor’s former promoter, Lou DiBella, hasn’t seen the same fighter.
“I haven’t seen him look very good since the Taylor fight,” said DiBella, who now promoters Martinez. “With that being said, I know he’s had health issues and other issues.
“There’s reason to think we’ll get a pretty good Kelly Pavlik on April 17. Whether he’ll go back to the form we saw right in the middle of his prime, we’re going to find out.”
Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs), for his part, knows the stakes. He also knows how fickle public perception can be. He was relatively unknown before 2007, then exploded in popularity that year. Now the pendulum has swung back a bit.
“There’s definitely a little pressure but that’s there in any fight,” said Pavlik, who turned 28 on April 4. “My last fight [against Miguel Espino in December], I was coming off a staph infection against a lesser name and there was a lot of pressure to look good.
“The main thing I’ve got to focus on is going in there and taking care of business and following the game plan. If I do that, everything else will fall into place.”
The 35-year-old Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs) is coming off a majority decision loss to Paul Williams. It was his first loss in almost 10 years — he was knocked out by Antonio Margarito in February 2000 — and many observers, including Pavlik, felt he won the fight.
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Martinez was a standout cyclist and soccer player growing up and got a late start in boxing. He’s known for his fitness, his footwork and — in DiBella’s words — his “movie star good looks.”
“This is a kid that, if he wins the fight, he could really become a superstar,” DiBella said. “The women that are around Sergio would blow your mind. He’s dated starlets and models and all that kind of stuff.
“He knows what this fight means to him.”
A southpaw, Martinez fights an unconventional style, throwing punches from a variety of angles. But the 5-foot-11, former welterweight hasn’t fought many middleweight bouts and will be at a size — and power — disadvantage against the 6-2 1/2 Pavlik. DiBella even went so far as to compare Martinez-Pavlik to David and Goliath.
“Kelly is a much bigger man,” DiBella said. “I think if Kelly wins, he’s going to catch him.
“It’s a battling of contrasting styles. I don’t think it can help but be a good fight.”
Although Pavlik may not draw the 10,000-plus fans that saw him win the title against Taylor, “Pavlik Nation” should bring several thousand back to Boardwalk Hall. This is Pavlik’s fourth fight in Atlantic City, where he has replaced Arturo Gatti as the city’s biggest boxing draw.
Martinez, meanwhile, is well-known in boxing circles but is not a big draw to casual fans. DiBella believes his fighter can draw 1,000 fans, many of them Hispanic, but “obviously, I still think it’s Kelly’s room.”
With the title — and both boxers’ legacy — at stake, both sides are hoping the fight, not one fighter, will be the biggest draw.
“It’s a big fight,” Pavlik said. “I know he’s a dangerous fighter making a name for himself right now.
“I need to dominate and get back on track.”