No Pavlik plea deal in OVI case

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

Former middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik declined a plea deal Monday, and a trial date is set for a charge of operating a motor vehicle while impaired.

Pavlik, 31, was in Mahoning County Court 4 for a pretrial hearing on a charge of OVI from December 2013. He pleaded not guilty Dec. 10. His trial is set for 9:30 a.m. May 14 in the same courtroom.

He was cited on an OVI charge about 12:25 a.m. Dec. 9 at the Youngstown-Niles exit on the Ohio Turnpike. He refused a breath test, but the trooper still cited him because he had reasonable cause, a report said.

In a separate case, Pavlik pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct Feb. 28 in Canfield. He was fined and granted 30 days to pay the fine. That case stemmed from an incident with a cabdriver who accused Pavlik of not paying for a $25 cab ride Sept. 18, 2013.

He also was charged with driving under the influence in 2011 and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of failure to control in April 2012 in Canfield.

The former boxer went 40-2 in his professional career, with 34 knockouts. He was the middleweight world champion in 2007.