Pavlik: “It’s Been a Rollercoaster”

LAS VEGAS – “It’s been a rollercoaster,” says KELLY PAVLIK of the past year in boxing. After losing his middleweight crown to Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City last year, the 29-year-old native of Youngstown, Ohio faced yet another challenger: alcohol.

Though he says no serious incidents related to his drinking ever occurred, Pavlik’s family nevertheless thought he was partying too hard, too often in between bouts. So they staged an intervention and urged Pavlik to go to rehab. He agreed. “That was the best idea I had,” he now says.

While away from his family and the sport to which he’s given so much, Pavlik had time to reflect on his life and his choices. When he was finally released, a new man — and a new fighter — emerged. “A lot of my motivation is my kids,” Pavlik, a father of two, said. Adding, “I feel even better. The stress levels are down.”

Another factor contributing to his new, positive frame of mind: moving up to super middleweight. To understand why this matters, one need only look at Pavlik. He’s 6’2″ with a 75-inch reach and a solid frame capped off by wide, imposing shoulders. How he ever got down to 160 pounds to fight at middleweight — let alone defeat as many formidable opponents as he has — boggles the mind.  And that’s before Pavlik describes how he maintained such an unnatural weight.

During training camp, he had to spend six to six-and-a-half hours a day working out just to keep at middleweight — time that he should’ve been spending focusing on the sweet science. To his credit, Pavlik doesn’t make excuses for any of his losses, including that to Martinez. Neither drinking nor the pressures, both physical and mental, of making weight kept him from winning.

Nevertheless, he does allow getting down to 160 did impact the fight with Martinez. After losing the early rounds, Pavlik found his grove mid-way through the match and started getting the better of Martinez — even knocking him down. But as the fight wore on, Pavlik’s stamina hit a wall and the momentum swung back in his opponent’s direction.

But now that he’s moving up a division packed with top-notch talent, including champion Lucian Bute, Pavlik is much happier. “Everything this time around is clicking,” he says, noting that he and trainer Jack Loew have added a nutritionist to their team. “We’re not spending eight hours in the gym” trying to lose weight.

Pavlik will need all the energy, skill, and focus he can muster when he faces the undefeated Alfonso Lopez on May 7 ^th here at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Says Pavlik, “He’s a rugged fighter. He’s got decent hand speed and decent pop in his punch. We’re not taking this kid lightly.”

In addition, to being a featured fight on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-SHANE MOSLEY welterweight title bout, it’s also an opportunity for Pavlik to show the world he still has what it takes to be a champion again. To that end, Pavlik feels beating Lopez isn’t enough — Pavlik needs to dominate him. “It’s a very important fight. I need to let the fireworks go,” he says.