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In pre-fight war of words, few can top Loew of Team Pavlik
Chris Farina - Top Rank
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World middleweight boxing champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik of Youngstown poses in front of a banner touting his upcoming title fight against WBC super welterweight champion Sergio Martinez of Argentina during Media Day on Thursday at the historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Top Rank, in association with DiBella Entertainment and Caesars Atlantic City, is promoting Saturday’s fight, which will air on HBO World Championship Boxing.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik speaks to the media at a news conference in New York, Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Pavlik was there to promote his fight against WBC super welterweight champion Sergio Martinez on Saturday, Apr. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
By Joe Scalzo
ATLANTIC CITY
Putting Kelly Pavlik’s trainer, Jack Loew, in the midst of a group of reporters is like putting LeBron James on a basketball court or Michael Phelps in a swimming pool.
He likes a small feud. He loves a big one.
Pavlik may be a man of few words. Loew is no such thing.
For instance, when asked this week about Pavlik’s opponent, he referenced Sergio Martinez’s background as a cyclist.
“I’m glad he knows how to ride a bike, because he’s going to be on it Saturday night,” Loew said.
Or this one.
“[Martinez’s promoter] Lou DiBella made a comment at the press conference announcing Kelly’s fight with Martinez, comparing Martinez to Carlos Monzon,” Loew said. “DiBella may be a good promoter, but he is no boxing historian. He wouldn’t know Carlos Monzon from Gorilla Monsoon.
“Make no mistake. Sergio Martinez will lose to Kelly Pavlik and Lou DiBella will go 0-for-3 against Youngstown. Three strikes, Lou. You’re out.”
They were good lines, although he may or may not have actually said that last one.
In Top Rank Boxing’s Fred Sternberg, Loew has a better publicist than Yogi Berra, who famously said “I never said most of the things I said.”
Back in December, Sternberg credited Loew with saying Miguel Espino “would be dropped more times than Tiger’s trousers.”
(Espino was dropped three times, putting him well behind Woods’ pace.)
A week ago, the Loew/Sternberg combination came up with this: “Not even a tetanus shot will protect Sergio Martinez and his promoter ‘Diabolical L.O.U.’ DiBella from the power of Kelly Pavlik and the Rust Belt city of Youngstown!”
Sternberg (er, Loew) topped himself on Thursday with this: “I’d like to wish Lou DiBella a happy income tax day since he’ll be writing off Sergio Martinez as a loss on April 17!”
When asked about the quotes, Loew chuckled and said, “Did you see the tax day one? That was pretty good.”
After a month’s worth of lighthearted exchanges, things will get serious today when Pavlik steps on the scale before his biggest title defense since winning the WBC and WBO crowns in September of 2007.
Today’s weigh-in, which takes place at 3 p.m. at Caesar’s, will be both a party for “Pavlik Nation” and a relief for the fighter himself, who came into camp in terrific shape, albeit a little too strong.
But after weighing close to 185 two months ago, he was at 1631‚Ñ2 on Thursday afternoon, Loew said.
“We’ll be at 1611‚Ñ2 when he wakes up [today],” he said. “We’re on track.”
After rehydrating and refueling, Pavlik will likely weigh near 175 when he steps in the ring and should hold a sizable size and strength advantage over Martinez, whose best weight is probably 154.
“I definitely feel I have a strength advantage, but I don’t bank on that,” Pavlik told reporters at Thursday’s round table with the media. “I go into a fight, I work on my hand speed, I work on my conditioning.
“Going back through the films, for being a cyclist and a soccer player, he kind of peters out through a fight. That’s what happens when he’s in there with a natural middleweight that’s hitting him and putting pressure on him.”
If Pavlik has his way, Martinez might need a doctor — but not for a tetanus shot.