HBO offer has Pavlik getting ready

June 24, 2012 at 12:09a.m.

The last time Kelly Pavlik only took a month off between fights, he was an 18-year-old junior middleweight in his fifth professional fight.

Twelve years and two weight classes later, Pavlik is preparing to fight Will “Power” Rosinsky on 29 days rest in a 10-round super middleweight bout at the Home Depot Center on July 7 in Carson, Calif.

Why? Three letters: H-B-O.

“It’s the big network,” said Pavlik (39-2, 34 KOs), who defeated Scott Sigmon by seventh-round TKO on June 8 on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”

“Nothing against fighting on ESPN but they’re [HBO] on the top. I fought on HBO when I won my [middleweight] title and they want me back on it again.

“It’s a step closer to fighting for a world title.”

Rosinky (16-1, 9 KOs) is a 27-year-old from Ozone Park, N.Y. He’s won two straight fights since losing to Edwin Rodriguez by 10-round unanimous decision on Oct. 21.

“He comes to fight,” Pavlik said of Rosinsky. “I haven’t seen too much power from him. I don’t think he’s a big power puncher and his chin’s a little iffy.

“He’s not overly fast, but he’s not slow and he’s in really good shape.”

Pavlik’s plan is to get a decisive victory, then fight again in late fall, preferably for a world title.

“Cameron [Dunkin, his manager] is thinking about getting me a big fight,” Pavlik said. “I have no idea who it will be yet but it’s going to be pretty big, so I’m pretty excited.”

Pavlik spent a week in Youngstown after the Sigmon bout before returning to Oxnard, Calif., to train with Robert Garcia.

He came out of the Sigmon fight unscathed, allowing to him to fight on a month’s rest for the first time since defeating Lafayette Randolph on Nov. 17, 2000.

“The big reason [I was able to take the fight] was my hands were fine,” said Pavlik, who, like many power punchers, is prone to hand injuries. “Everything is fine.”

Pavlik’s family will join him in California this week — his 6-year-old daughter, Sydney, was in school the past few months, so this is her first chance to visit training camp. While he would have liked to spend more time in Youngstown, he said his family has been supportive.

“It’s a business and this is something I had to do,” Pavlik said. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.SDRq