By Mark Vester
WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is looking to bounce back in a big way in 2009. After building himself up as one of the best in the world, he faced veteran Bernard Hopkins last October and saw his unbeaten record snapped into pieces when he was dominated over twelve rounds. When speaking with Jose "OnFire" Aguirre of BoxingScene.com, he appeared to view the loss as a learning experience.
"What can I say about that. It was a bad night, an off night. It wasn't me. There is nothing you can do about it. It's all about how you bounce back and move on," Pavlik said.
After the loss, a lot of fans and media members were hard on him. He didn't allow any of the negative press to alter his state of mind.
"Half of them don't know a left hook from a fishing hook so I don't let it bother me too much, but they all do that. I had two great wins against [Jermain] Taylor who beat Hopkins twice and I was out there against [Edison] Miranda and I beat him up for seven rounds and he was one of the most feared fighters and of course you get the one loss and everybody says 'see I told you' but that's where we have to come back out and make a statement in the next fight," Pavlik said.
He fought Hopkins at a catch-weight of 170-pounds, nearly two weight divisions above the middleweight limit. He says the return to middleweight feels good. After clearing out the middleweight, he plans to rise up to 168.
"The weight feels good. Right now we maintained it after the fight. We're down pretty low and I don't think it will be a problem. If we do the right thing, there won't be no issue. When we accomplish everything at 160, 168 will be the next step," Pavlik said.
In order to clear out the middleweights, Pavlik is targeting IBF champion Arthur Abraham and WBA champion Felix Sturm. He admits the fights are not easy to make because the other two champions are from Europe and there would have to be some heavy negotiations to work everything out.
"Right now you have Sturm who has a belt and Abraham who has a belt. Once they get their mandatories out of the way and everything is taken care of, then the hard part comes. They are from Europe. They are overseas and we're from the States so issues come, on where we're going to fight at and when they want to fight and the money issue. All of that comes into play," Pavlik said.
On February 21, Pavlik returns to the ring against durable mandatory Marco Antonio Rubio. He expects a tough brawl.
"He's a tough kid, determined. He's got a golden opportunity. He's got good pop, so he's coming to fight. He wants to make a statement," Pavlik said.
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
