Pavlik considers May 7 fight ‘most important’ of his career

By John Bassetti

sports@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

If it could be put into an equation, “postponements plus rehab equals credibility gap.”

That may be the premise of Kelly Pavlik’s statement that his upcoming super-middleweight fight against Alfonso Lopez is “one of the most important fights of my career, believe it or not.”

It seems implausible, but careers in boxing — and life — aren’t always predictable.

Although no new revelations surfaced, the former world middleweight champion was grilled during Friday’s conference call about his status entering the May 7 non-title bout in Las Vegas as a co-main event on the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley welterweight championship battle.

“This is a very important fight where I have to go out and look good,” Pavlik said of facing the lesser-known Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs) from Cut and Shoot, Texas.

Read the story in Saturday’s Vindicator and vindy.com.