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WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik returns to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, April 17 to defend his titles against WBC super welterweight champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez.
Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs), who over two years ago, in a near sold-out Boardwalk Hall which included thousands making the trek from his hometown of Youngstown, OH, became WBO and WBC champion by knocking out the previously undefeated and undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in a bout selected as the “Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Pavlik defeated Taylor handily in their rematch in February 2008 to solidify his claim as one of boxing’s top pound for pound fighters and has since had three successful defenses, all by knockout, two of the wins coming against No. 1 contenders and mandatory challengers.
Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs), a native of Argentina who fights out of Madrid, Spain, first made his presence known to the boxing world in 2007 by knocking out Saul Roman in the fourth round of their WBC super welterweight title elimination bout. One year later, Martinez captured the WBC interim super welterweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Alex Bunema.
He was elevated to WBC super welterweight champion in the latter half of 2009. In his last fight, he lost a highly-disputed 12-round majority decision to former world champion Paul Williams, in a non-title middleweight bout, ending Martinez’s 10-year, 29-bout unbeaten streak.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with DiBella Entertainment and Caesars Atlantic City, Pavlik vs. Martinez will be broadcast live on HBO10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. World Championship Boxing, beginning at 10PM.
Tickets, priced at $350, $200, $100 and $50, go on sale this Monday, February 22nd at Noon ET and can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster (800) 736-1420 or online at www.Ticketmaster.com.
