Kelly Pavlik: I Am Only Interested in Big Fights

Added on Oct 27, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

When Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik enters the ring on November 13 against Brian Vera in Arlington, Texas it will be the first time in three years that he won’t do so as a world champion.

Pavlik took on former WBC junior middleweight king Sergio Martinez this past April at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Over the course of 12 rounds the challenger used his superior hand and footspeed to keep the champion frustrated. Cut over both eyes, Pavlik scored a flash knockdown in the seventh round to make things interesting. However it wouldn’t be enough A’s all the judges scoring the bout had it in favor of Martinez thus giving him the middleweight championships that Pavlik had taken from Jermain Taylor.

As with the majority of professional fighters, Pavlik chose to look to the future rather than dwell on the unfortunate outing.

“I lost a fight, big whoopee. I will say over and over, it is what it is. Great fighters lose fights. It is how you bounce back and I didn’t lose any confidence. I know what happened in the fight and now what I need to do from now on and it is a learning experience.”

However, when asked about it, Pavlik didn’t hesitate to let the media know that making weight was an issue prior to the bout.

“We lost a couple of fights, which all fighters lose. The top guys now have five losses. I had problems with the weight the last fight and that’s not getting away from it, that’s just gaining too much weight in between fights. I have to stay busy. It’s not the distractions; it’s just how you bounce back. I was middleweight champion and that is nothing that can be taken away from me, but I definitely want to get back the middleweight titles and that is enough motivation right there.”

His first step in regaining the glory and stepping back into the headlining role that he recently held will start off next month A’s the co-feature bout A’s the iconic Manny Pacquiao takes on Antonio Margarito.

“Humbling? It is what it is. I lost the titles. If I was on an undercard of someone other than Pacquiao I would be a little concerned. Pacquiao is the main guy in the sport right now and there is nothing you can do about that. As long as I am co-main event it is not a big problem.”

With the weight being an issue it shouldn’t come As much of a surprise that his upcoming bout with Vera is at a catchweight of 164 lbs. While he doesn’t count a future in the middleweight division completely out, this does provide him with a chance to see how his frame and skillset translates to the super middleweight division. No matter what division he ends up competing in, it is with absolute certainty that he must defeat Vera come November 13.

“I am only interested in big fights. I’ve been fighting for 10 years and was middleweight champ for 3 years. I am not interested in taking tune-up fights. I only want the big fights. I jumped up two weight classes to fight Bernard Hopkins who is the most experienced fighter out there who is still fighting. I fought Jermain Taylor in the rematch at 166 and he was top dog and who was doing well in the Super 6 until the last couple rounds. I am not at the point of my career where I need tune-up fights or stepping-stones. I’ve been there and done that. After we take care of the Vera fight, we will see what unfolds at middleweight or super middleweight.”