Pavlik ready to fight and hush his critics from 2009

Youngstown’s Kelly Pavlik successfully defended his World Middleweight Championship twice in 2009, and yet the year was considered a disappointment by many reporters and fans.

“I took some heat for those fights as mandatories,” said Pavlik. “But I went in there and did what I was supposed to do with my mandatories. I took them out.”

The mandatories Pavlik is referring to were his 2008 bout against then #1 WBO title challenger Gary Lockett and his 2009 bout against then #1 WBC title challenger Marc Antonio Rubio. His other successful title defense in ‘09 was against Miguel Espino.

This Saturday night on HBO Pavlik will face his first challenge of 2010, junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez.

“He’s a dangerous fighter and it’s a dangerous fight for me to take,” Pavlik said.

Martinez (44-2-2), who is the reigning WBC junior middleweight champion, is coming off perhaps the most impressive performance of his career. Even in defeat.

Last December, in a hotly contested middleweight bout, Martinez faced Paul Williams, in what many fight fans and writers considered as the best fight of 2009. Williams won the bout by majority decision but many saw Martinez as the winner, including Pavlik.

“I think he beat Paul Williams in his last fight,” Pavlik said.

Throughout 2009 Pavlik had two agreements in place to fight Paul Williams. Pavlik versus Williams, who is a top contender in three boxing divisions, was a fight many boxing fans were clamoring to see. However, a staph infection in Pavlik’s left hand forced the cancellation of each bout.

“I wasn’t going to go let him [Pavlik] fight a guy like Paul Williams when he wasn’t 110%,” said Pavlik’s longtime trainer Jack Loew.

After the Williams fight was postponed for a second time, then again after his victory over Martinez in December, Williams tried to dictate and renegotiate the terms for a fight with Pavlik. Something Jack Loew could not understand.

“Paul Williams acted like he was [middleweight] champion there for a while, and he’s not,” Loew said. “The way he was demanding things to fight Kelly…then he went in there and fought Sergio [Martinez] and I thought he got beat.”

Since the controversial loss against Williams, Martinez’s stock has risen dramatically. He has not been featured on American television very much in the past, but after seeing his fight with Williams many writers and fans believe Martinez is primed for an upset victory.

“I think he’s a good fighter,” said Pavlik. “It’s going to be one of them fights you got to go into and be 100% [for].”

Now that Pavlik is completely healthy, he is very confident that he will be victorious against Martinez. Martinez, who is a slick and awkward southpaw, has great footwork and showed excellent punching power and speed against Williams. Many analysts believe the fight against Williams, even in defeat, was the blueprint on how Martinez will defeat Pavlik.

“Everybody’s got a plan when they get into the ring,” said Pavlik’s trainer Loew. “But then once you get hit by Kelly, a lot of things go out the window.”

For Pavlik, a win Saturday will silence the critics who hampered him in 2009. By defeating Martinez Pavlik will put himself back in the limelight and as a top draw throughout the boxing world. Pavlik’s promoter, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, feels a Pavlik victory would make him a viable headliner at Cowboy Stadium, the massive NFL venue which hosted the March 13 Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey mega fight. But first things first. Taking care of Sergio Martinez Saturday night on HBO.

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