by David P. Greisman

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik pleaded guilty late last week to one count of disorderly conduct in a case stemming from a September incident. Pavlik had allegedly refused to pay a taxi driver $25 home after a ride home from an Ohio bar, according to the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator.

He had been facing one count of theft of less than $1,000.

Pavlik was fined $300.

He also has a pretrial hearing scheduled for March 17 in a separate case, one in which he’s accused of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, according to online court records.

In December, police responded early one morning to a report of a potentially impaired driver on the Ohio Turnpike.

“A trooper spotted Pavlik’s car at the gate trying to exit the turnpike, but Pavlik did not have a pass or ticket on him to exit the toll road,” said the Vindicator’s newspaper report at the time, citing police. “As the trooper questioned Pavlik, he showed signs that he was impaired.”

Pavlik refused a breath test but “was still cited because the trooper had probable cause to believe Pavlik was drunk,” the newspaper reported.

The 31-year-old retired last year after a planned fight with Andre Ward was postponed due to Ward suffering an injury in training camp. His last bout was in July 2012, a decision win over Will Rosinsky. That brought his record to 40-2 with 34 knockouts.

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