Pavlik notebook

Final round woes: At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Kelly Pavlik’s trainer were both baffled by Pavlik’s performance over the final four rounds against Sergio Martinez, which saw the challenger outland the champion 112-51. “I have no … idea [what happened],” Arum said. “I’m terribly disappointed. I didn’t think that I would see what I saw in the last four rounds. I figured, hey, we finally got the lead and we could just coast to victory.” Although Pavlik had cuts around both eyes, Loew said the cut around the right eye was especially troublesome. But the biggest problem was Pavlik’s inability to fight back. “We just stopped punching in the ninth through 12th rounds,” Loew said. “I even told Kelly — just keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t need to knock this kid out.” Loew admitted there was a small concern Pavlik’s cuts would force them to stop the fight, but they were able to control it enough for him to finish.

Just following orders: When asked if he had any concerns about the matchup beforehand, Arum said he had never seen Martinez fight and relied on Pavlik’s other handlers when he made the bout. “I make matches and fighters fight,” he said. “The manager wanted the fight, the trainer wanted the fight. So I made the fight.” When asked what happened to the Pavlik that beat Jermain Taylor in 2007, Arum said, “I think that question should be directed to Kelly Pavlik.”

No accident: Martinez did some showboating during the bout, even circling his left arm like a windmill in one of the later rounds. “None of the movements I do in the ring are by chance,” he said. “Not when I drop my hands, not when I smile, not when I talk to my opponent. I study every millimeter of my rivals. I know everything about them when I go in.”

Impressive in defeat: The Martinez camp unanimously praised Pavlik for his heart and his graciousness in defeat. “I thought he showed unbelievable heart and guts and I think he’s a great champion,” said Martinez’s promoter, Lou DiBella. “He got outboxed by a faster guy. By the way, if he would have landed flush, that could have been really scary. But he was slower and he wasn’t as skilled a boxer and not as quick.”

Joe Scalzo