By Mark Vester

WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik told BoxingScene.com last week that he moved his training camp to Las Vegas to avoid all of the distractions in his backyard of Youngstown. Pavlik defends his titles against Miguel Espino on December 19 in Youngstown, which tops a Top Rank pay-per-view event.

The move by Pavlik was a smart one. Early Tuesday, his older brother Michael Pavlik voluntarily turned himself in at local police station and faces a charge of felony domestic violence and abduction. Michael is a member of "Team Pavlik" and worked his younger brother's corner in the past and helped the team as a coordinator and media handler.

According to the Youngstown Vindicator, the charges stem from an incident with an acquaintance that took place last Friday. A 33-year-old woman claims that Michael punched her in the eye, threw her into a coffee table and dragged her across the floor, and also says the physical fighting continued on Saturday. Michael will be arraigned Wednesday in Youngstown Municipal Court.

Kelly, if he stayed in Youngstown, would have been hounded by the local media and would have been dealing with the local drama. For this fight, and probably for future fights, Pavlik wants to train with a clear head by moving his camp away from Youngstown.

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