Pavlik Returns on June 8th, Big Plans Ahead in The Fall

By Rick Reeno

Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has advised BoxingScene.com that former middleweight king Kelly Pavlik (38-2, 33KOs) will headline a show on June 8th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The event is taking place on the eve of the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley HBO pay-per-view. Popular light heavyweight prospect Mike Lee (8-0, 5KOs) will also appear on the June 8th show.

The overall plan is to build Pavlik up for a major fight in the fall. Pavlik, now trained by Robert Garcia, returned on Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas and knocked out Aaron Jaco in two rounds. The Jaco fight took place at a catch-weight of 170-pounds. Pavlik will attempt to slowly get down to 160-pounds, but even Pavlik admits there is no guarantee that he will get there.

"Pavlik will return in June and we hope to get him into a major fight before the end of year," Arum told BoxingScene.com. "We have to determine what is the ideal weight for Pavlik and go from there."

If Pavlik ends up at 168-pounds, two of the potential future opponents, according to Arum, are Arthur Abraham and Lucian Bute.

"At 168, he could fight someone like an Arthur Abraham, and there is also Lucian Bute," Arum said.