Pavlik charged with theft after cab fare complaint

YOUNGSTOWN — Kelly Pavlik was charged with theft today after a cab driver told a Mahoning County Sheriff’s deputy that the former boxing champion failed to pay his $25 cab fare after he gave him a ride home from a South Meridian Road bar at about 2:45 a.m.

A sheriff’s report said Pavlik asked to be taken to his home in the 3200 block of Sugarbush Drive in Canfield. When the cab driver dropped Pavlik off about 10 minutes after he picked him up, he told Pavlik the fee was $25.

The driver said in the report Pavlik told him he would not pay and swore at him twice before walking into his home. The driver then went to a gas station on U.S. 224 and called 911, reports state.

Pavlik has had issues in the past with alcohol including a driving under the influence charge in 2011. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of failure to control in April 2012 in Mahoning County Court in Canfield.

In the past he had attended a treatment program to try and get help for his alcohol problem.