Originally Posted by TheDukeof74
Full Fight Record
Kelly Pavlik 30-0 (27 KOs)
• Ranked WBC #1, WBA #3, WBO #4, IBF #8, The Ring #9 at 160 pounds…
• NABF middleweight champion, two successful defenses…
• 1999 U.S. National Under-19 amateur champion, 147 pounds…
• 1998 National Jr. Golden Gloves amateur champion, 147 pounds…
• 1998 National Jr. PAL amateur champion, 147 pounds…
• At the age of 25, Kelly is a six-year pro. A top young contender at 160 pounds
who is coming into his prime, he has stayed active in the ring and made steady progress.
At the age of 25, Kelly is a six-year pro. A top young contender at 160 pounds who is coming into his prime, he has stayed active in the ring and made steady progress.
He has stepped up in class of opposition in recent fights, given several impressive performances, and is coming off a spectacular knockout win against Jose Luis Zertuche in his last fight on January 27.
Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com, “In his HBO debut, Pavlik...impressed and emphatically made the point that he is one of the top young middleweights to be reckoned with in an increasingly exciting division. This was a terrifically exciting fight for the first three give-and-take rounds, and then it was all Pavlik, who put the tough-as-nails Zertuche away in style. He ended it in the eighth with a highlight-reel knockout. He blasted Zertuche with a right hand that knocked him unconscious while he was still standing, and then nailed him flush with another right hand. We want to see Pavlik back in a big-time fight as soon as possible, either a title shot against Jermain Taylor or against the winner of the March 3 Allan Green - Edison Miranda showdown.”
Doug Fischer of MaxBoxing.com wrote, “Kelly Pavlik...gained no. 1 contender status in the WBC's 160-pound rankings with a brutal, breathtaking knockout of the ultra-durable Jose Luis Zertuche... It was the best performance of Pavlik's six-and-half year pro career. The Youngstown , Ohio native exhibited an awesome offensive arsenal that was backed up with tight technique and tempered with a veteran's patience and poise. In a nutshell, Pavlik looks like a nightmarish opponent for any of the top middleweights in the world, and that includes (in this fight scribe's opinion) champion Jermain Taylor, title holder Arthur Abraham , and contenders like Edison Miranda.”
Boxing columnist Graham Houston reported, “ Kelly Pavlik's HBO debut was a year delayed but the middleweight power puncher made the most of his opportunity when it arrived by knocking out Jose Luis Zertuche in exciting fashion... Zertuche can take a good punch, but not the sort of punches that Pavlik delivers - not for round after round. Once Pavlik had weathered Zertuche's wild-swinging early attacks it was just a matter of time before he would knock his man out. It was exciting stuff, but Pavlik was not actually easy to hit flush because he was good at rolling with the blows when he was not ducking them. When Pavlik's express-train right hand dropped Zertuche flat on his back in the sixth it looked all over, but the Mexican got up and was saved by the bell. Saved - but not for long. It was a picture-perfect KO and capped a performance that all in all was everything that Pavlik could have wished for in his HBO debut.”
Kelly had recurring hand injuries for several years, but they now seem to be behind him. He said, “It started right before the Dasoyan fight, probably 2002. Once you've had a hand injury, that's always going to put a big dent in being comfortable with your hand. It's felt really good, but in the Zuniga fight, I hurt it in the later rounds. But then we went all over the country to get MRIs, x-rays, to find out what's exactly wrong with it.
“It came back that I had post-trauma arthritis in both of my hands. So, now we go to a guy who's very, very good, doing ultrasound and therapy on it. The guy is unbelieveable. Knock on wood, I have not had one problem with it sparring and banging it up like crazy. I don't even have to ice it or put heat on it. It feels great. I'd have to say it's just about like it was at the beginning of my career. I've cracked it over and over again and there's no problem with it at all.”
Regarding his nickname, Kelly said, “Kids on an amateur boxing team in Cleveland started calling me ‘The Ghost' because I never got hit that much in my fights. The nickname has to do with my defensive abilities.”
Key Fights – 2006 – 2 ND NABF M TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 1-27-06 in Anaheim, CA, he TKO'd Jose Luis Zertuche (19-3-2): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight and a spectacular knockout; Zertuche, a 2000 Mexican Olympian, gave a strong effort and scored effectively in the 2 nd and 3 rd rounds, but Kelly rallied after that and steadily wore him down; he rocked Zertuche with two left hooks in the 5 th round, then scored a knockdown with a right hand that put Zertuche flat on his back late in the 6 th ; Kelly scored another knockdown in the 8 th round – he landed a right hand that froze Zertuche in his tracks, then landed another one that dropped him face-first to the canvas – and the referee jumped in to stop the fight without a count, falling to the canvas with Zertuche, at 1:40; after the fight, Kelly said, “We wanted to box a little more, but the first round, I felt like I was in a little bit of quicksand. Every time I tried to move and get my rhythm going, I just couldn't do it and I was getting caught with stupid punches. By the third or fourth round, I started finding my rhythm a little bit, my balance was a little more fluid and I was able to sit there and counter his mistakes and take my time little bit more. I'm a humble fighter, and he hit me with some good punches. Take nothing away from him, the kid's a hell of a fighter. He came to fight tonight, but I was just a better man at the end. You seen the changes I made and how I adapted. You adapt to the fight, and I think I did a good job of that tonight. Anybody that's in the way of me getting to the world title, I'll go and fight. I'm there for it.”...
On 11-2-06 in Youngstown, OH, he TKO'd Lenord Pierre (18-2): Kelly headlined in his hometown at the Chevrolet Centre, drew an announced crowd of 4,416, and dominated the fight; Kelly scored a knockdown with a right hand late in the 1 st round, and rocked Pierre repeatedly in the 2 nd and 3 rd ; Kelly scored another knockdown with a left hook in the 4 th round, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 0:46; after the fight, Kelly said, “I've never hit a guy so hard that didn't go down.”; after the fight, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote, “Pavlik is a tremendous puncher... He is one of the sport's bright, young potential stars...”; Boxing News reported, “Pavlik seemingly has the skills and power to dethrone the world champ.”...
1 ST NABF M TITLE DEFENSE – on 7-27-06 in Uncasville, CT, he TKO'd former WBO jr. middleweight world champion Bronco McKart (48-6): Kelly had the edge in the early rounds, but McKart scored a knockdown when both of Kelly's gloves touched the canvas in the 4 th - replays showed that Kelly fell forward, off-balance, after a glancing blow to his shoulder; but Kelly rallied and rocked McKart in the 5 th round, then scored a knockdown with a series of punches and cut McKart over his right eye in the 6 th ; Kelly scored another knockdown with another series of punches later in the round - McKart got up, but the referee stopped the fight at 2:45; after the fight, Kelly said, “I think I ruined his whole game-plan. When he felt my power in the first round, I threw him off his plan. I figured, ‘Eventually you're going to get tired and not me,' and that's what happened. We always train to keep the pace. In the fifth round, my trainers noticed he was keeping his elbow up. I just touched him under the elbow and snuck in another shot. I've been doing this for six years, and this was a convincing win. The way I won, it has to open doors, but all I can do is pray to the boxing gods.”...
2005 - WON VACANT NABF M TITLE - on 10-7-05 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd Fulgencio Zuniga (17-1-1): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight; Zuniga scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 1 st round, but Kelly recovered quickly, dominated most of the rest of the fight, and wore him down; Zuniga was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads, and his corner stopped the fight after the 9 th round; after nine rounds, Kelly led by scores of 88-83, 87-83, 87-83; after the fight, he said, “I got it under my belt. He's a pretty strong guy. I know I should have fought from the outside, but you can't always do it. He had sneaky quickness.”…
On 8-26-05 in Houston , TX , he TKO'd Vincent Harris (12-17-2): at 2:19 of the 2 nd round…
On 6-10-05 in Chicago , IL , he TKO'd Daniel Neal (9-8-1): at 1:49 of the 1 st round…
On 3-4-05 in Choctaw, MS, he TKO'd Dorian Beaupierre (12-2-2): Kelly dominated the fight - he scored a knockdown with a right hand midway throught the 1 st round, and staggered Beaupierre again just before the bell; Kelly scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 2 nd round - Beaupierre got up, but Kelly staggered him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:35…
2004 - on 11-27-04 in Las Vegas he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Ross Thompson (26-9-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera III main event, and Kelly dominated; he consistently outworked Thompson and landed the harder punches, and won by scores of 80-72, 80-72, 79-73…
On 9-18-04 in Las Vegas he knocked out Carlton Holland (16-9-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins-Oscar De La Hoya main event, and Kelly gave a very strong performance; he scored one knockdown in the 1 st round and two more in the 2 nd , and Holland was counted out at 2:59…
On 7-2-04 in Struthers, OH, he TKO'd Pedro Ortega (30-13-1): Kelly wore down Ortega with body punches, rocked him several times, and Ortega did not continue after the 6 th round; after the fight, Kelly said, “This guy was very smart, as he knew to stay away from my power. But because of the body shots, especially to his ribs, I knew it was only a matter of time before he went.”…
On 3-26-04 in Phoenix , AZ , he TKO'd Roberto Baro (11-3): Kelly scored two knockdowns in the 2 nd round with body punches, and Baro was counted out at 2:50…
On 1-23-04 in Kansas City , MO , he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Anthony Ivory (28-66-4)…
2003 - on 7-1-03 in Niles, OH, he TKO'd Rico Cason (16-7): Kelly entered the fight with a sore right hand, but scored two knockdowns in the 2 nd round - the first with a right hand, and the second with a left hook to the body - and the referee stopped the fight at 2:02; after the fight, Kelly said, “It's a dream come true to fight on national television in front of a home crowd. I was very happy with the crowd tonight. On the first knockdown, I knew he was hurt on an earlier shot. I stepped back and nailed him with a right cross. My left has become much stronger because lately I have been favoring it because of the injury to my right. Anytime you can have a guy out early it is beneficial, because the longer an opponent lasts, the better the chance he has of beating you.”…
On 3-22-03 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Cesar Avila (8-3-1) at 2:00 of the 6 th round…
On 2-8-03 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Eduardo Gutierrez (31-12-2): Kelly scored one knockdown in the 1 st round and another in the 2 nd , and stopped Gutierrez at 2:59 of the 2 nd round…
2002 - on 9-14-02 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Edson Madrid (4-3-1): Kelly scored knockdowns in the 1 st and 2 nd rounds, and won by scores of 60-51, 60-61, 60-52…
On 7-30-02 in Concho , OK , he knocked out Abel Hernandez (5-3-1): Kelly scored three knockdowns in the 1 st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:54…
On 6-21-02 in Las Vegas he knocked out Eric Olds (4-2): Kelly scored a knockdown in the 1 st round, and Olds was counted out at 2:45…
On 2-23-02 in Las Vegas he knocked out Robert Dasoyan (12-6-4): Kelly scored a knockdown in the 2 nd round, and Dasoyan was counted out at 2:15…
2001 – on 11-21-01 in Youngstown, OH, he knocked out veteran Rob Bleakley (77-40-1): it was Kelly's first fight as a pro in his hometown, and an enthusiastic crowd of 2,000 was on hand; Kelly scored one knockdown late in the 1 st round and another one in the 2 nd - Bleakley beat the count, but the referee stopped the fight at 1:56; after the fight, Kelly said, “ When I dropped him in the second, I knew it was just a matter of time. Jack told me to still be careful. After that, I was just trying to time my punches and pick my spots. It's great. I'd rather fight here than anywhere else. If they ask me would I rather fight here or in Las Vegas , I'd come back here anytime.”...
On 8-4-01 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Mario Lopez (3-1-1): Kelly scored one knockdown in the 1 st round and another one in the 2 nd , and Lopez's corner stopped the fight at 1:42…
On 6-8-01 in Baraboo , WI , he TKO'd Grady Brewer (7-1): Kelly scored one knockdown in the 1 st round and two more in the 2 nd , and the referee stopped the fight at 2:48…
He debuted at the age of 18 on 6-16-00 in Indio , CA , and knocked out Eric Tzand (0-0-1) in the 3 rd round…
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 1999 U.S. National Under 19 champion, 147 pounds…1998 National Jr. Golden Gloves champion, 147 pounds…1998 National Jr. PAL champion, 147 pounds…
2000 Olympic Trials, Tampa, Florida, 156 pounds, double elimination tournament: in his first fight on 2-9-00 he lost an 11-5 decision against Jermain Taylor of Little Rock, AR; i n his second fight on 2-10-00 h e won a 9-6 decision against Darnell Wilson of Lafayette, IN; in his third fight on 2-12-00 he lost a 15-7 decision against Tony Hanshaw of Mansfield, OH; regarding the losses against Taylor and Hanshaw, Kelly said, “They were both really close fights. Both of those fights could have gone either way.”…
2000 U.S. National Championships, 156 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight in Colorado Springs, Colo., on 1-12-00 he won a 20-8 decision against Darnell Wilson of Lafayette, Ind.; in the quarterfinals on 1-13-00 he stopped Dorian Beaupierre of South River, N.J., at 0:28 of the 4 th round; in the semi-finals on 1-14-00 he lost a 22-12 decision against Sechew Powell of Brooklyn, N.Y.; in the bronze medal box-off on 1-15 he stopped Francisco Diaz of Kansas City, Mo., at 1:30 of the 2 nd round…
1999 U.S. National Under 19 Championships, 147 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight he stopped Alvino Villalobos of Napa , Calif. , at 1:34 of the 4 th round; in the quarterfinals he won a 33-6 decision against Joel Salas of of Oxnard, Calif.; in the semifinals he stopped Terry Cade of of Gloverton, S.C., at 1:33 of the 3 rd round; in the finals he won a 15-6 decision against James Parison of San Diego, Calif. [note: Luis Collazo of Brooklyn, who went on to win the WBA welterweight world title, and current welterweight contender Paul Williams of Aiken, S.C., also competed, but both were eliminated in the first round of fights; Collazo was beaten by Raymond Biggs, Williams by Joel Salas]...
Kelly said, “I was born and raised in Youngstown . I have two older brothers. They used to box as amateurs, but they don't box now. My oldest brother is the head tech at the kidney center, and my brother Ricky was in the Navy. He's been out for a couple of years. My dad sells insurance for AIG. He also works a side job at Mr. Anthony's. My mom, she works at Vic & Syl's, it's a restaurant.
“At the time, I wanted to take up martial arts a lot. I played all the other sports, football, baseball, and I just liked contact. When I was nine, I went down to Southside Boxing Club, where I train now, and Harry Arroyo was in there. [note: former IBF lightweight world champion] I didn't even know it was him until I left. My mom told me. I just kind of fell in love with the sport after that. He was a great guy, funny as can be. The first time I got to go in and spar and actually hit somebody, where in martial arts, you didn't do none of that. I got hit and hit people back, it was fun. My amateur record was 89-9.
“I had a lot of hand speed and I was outboxing people then. When I hit 17, the power seemed to really come all of a sudden, and I had more snap to the punches and I was getting more and more stoppages. But I learned those basic boxing skills. I don't have to go in there and slug and rely solely on power. I can box, too.”…
In addition to Arroyo, Youngstown is also the hometown of former WBA lightweight world champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini ; Kelly said, “Their careers are an inspiration to me to win a world title and defend it a couple of times. I talked to Boom Boom a lot earlier in my career, and Harry Arroyo I talk to a lot.”…
Kelly graduated from Youngstown 's Lowellville High School ; he studied computer graphics at Mahoning County Joint Vocational School , and graduated in 2000…
He said, “I'm single, but I've been with my girlfriend for about six years now. We just had a little baby girl. She was born last May 11, her name is Sydney . She's doing new things every day. It's a great thing, but you don't get as much sleep. But her mama's good during training time. She lets me get as much rest as I can. I still like to get up, though, and play around ‘cause Sydney don't wake up crying. She wakes up wanting to play and wanting attention, then she'll go back to sleep.”...
STRENGTHS: At six-foot two, is very tall for the division...has an aggressive style and good skills...has tremendous punching power in both hands, a good body puncher…has stayed active in the ring and made good progress…has stepped in class of opposition...had a strong amateur background…
