By Patrick Kehoe

No crown was lost, a title neither forfeited nor voided in having suffered defeat. Kelly Pavlik was nevertheless in shock at how comprehensively he’d been out boxed by veteran tormentor Bernard Hopkins during their 12 round, 170lbs-ish catch-weight, one man, one night only, Atlantic City engagement. On October 18, 2008, the 26 year-old middleweight champion from Youngstown, Ohio had found out who was, indeed, the man on that night.

“A lot of great fighters lose fights and they bounce back... Our main goal right now and job is just to get over that fight, which I did a week after the fight was over, and move on... My whole career is not over.” Kelly Pavlik understands the value of self-belief stemming from the simplicity of purpose.

Repeating to register all the correct clichés during ones media days, leading up to his hometown middleweight title mandatory defence against Marco Antonio Rubio, at the Chevrolet Center in Youngstown, Ohio, helps Pavlik steady his nerves, aligning necessity with method. Even though Team Pavlik have been staying mainly behind closed doors, they insist their reasons for doing so has more to do with camp discipline and maintaining focus than avoiding all those irritating Hopkins questions.

He’s not thinking of anything or any-body else except for Rubio. He’s gone back to the drawing board – quaint that. Of course, he’s not taking anything for granted. The ever faithful and acerbic Jack Lowe and he have changed some things up, but, we – all interested onlookers – are “going to see the old Kelly Pavlik.” Amazing, and some of us were just getting to know the young, fresh faced kid who likes to flip monster tires, talk a bit of b-ball, ignore trash talking barbs, and punch the lights out of his opponents despite whatever skills he or they have. 

Coming off a loss and retaining a title is not the typical position for a championship boxer. In terms of economics and marketing, keeping a title matters mainly because you maintain your place at the front of the food chain and we are all mindful these are increasingly difficult times for boxing and the US economy. The champion’s head still retains the bull’s eye for fighters, in this case middleweights, at which to take aim. And yet a single defeat, even a decision to a master technician such as Hopkins, has the effect of emboldening the rank and file contenders. Thus, the talk in the Pavlik camp about making a statement with Rubio; nothing like a massive knockout to send personalized text messages to robust individuals like, say, the on deck John Duddy?

For his part, Marco Antonio Rubio has been telling the media all week he has a secret plan for Kelly Pavlik and though he is naturally guarded on the exact details, suffice it to say, the basic idea is to hit Pavlik so hard his fans will feel it. No, Rubio’s ruse is not exactly the stuff-ing of state secrets; perhaps it is? And yet, if Rubio’s cornerman Ramon Rodriguez was accurately quoted when he (apparently) said, “Pavlik’s fate is sealed like one of Jack Lowe’s driveways,” then, at least, we have a real match up of barbing camp attendants.

We should note for the record, Jack Lowe has been, in the main, in good humour this fortnight and seems determined not to put his work boot back into his often yawning mouth; as with his old man comments prior to the Hopkins debacle. If silence can be his prologue, Lowe’s going to let Pavlik’s fists do the explaining of just what they have been able to refashion in the middleweight champion’s armaments.

A fighter’s performance on route to victory alone provides the only real proof of preparation leading to merit anyway.

You get the sense that all Pavlik wants to do right now is fight. One more question about his meltdown against Hopkins and he might throw a water bottle at someone. No, Pavlik’s iced, well mannered exterior wouldn’t allow for that; but, look at the champ’s face and watch for how his forehead goes red whenever he’s in full emotional repression mode. Marco Antonio Rubio won’t be playing the role of Bernard Hopkins and that Team Pavlik fully understands. They look for the determined Rubio, a native of Torreon, Mexico, to come to them more or less trying his level best to wage a war of attrition, coming in waves, one attack formulating the measures for the next foray. We trust that Team Pavlik know the difference between simple minded and simplicity.

Team Pavlik love guys who walk into the corridors of the middleweight champion’s power hitting. What more could a big hitter ask for in an opponent but to make himself available for the champion’s major weaponry? It hasn’t yet come up that Rubio did get past the pesky Enrique Ornelas, who has a habit and ability to make fighters look bad, forcing fights into controversial, episodic skirmishes. Call it a champion’s pure state of mind; confidence in the ability to perform his tricks being a world champion’s surest asset, most necessary real time skill, no matter how predictable, no matter how many calculations have been formulated to counter them.

That’s what Jack Lowe means by “the old Kelly Pavlik,” the guy with the ability to make fighters feel his power no matter what they devise or reprise, no matter how good a night they are having. Team Pavlik feel safe whenever a fight comes down to exchanges of pure power boxing, though they like to marginally delude themselves in believing that Pavlik uses angles to work his power. If boxing has a brilliantly competent one dimensional – ok, two dimensional – champion it must be Kelly Pavlik. And virtue pours forth from his bottom-line basics. But he does look for the clean one two, emphasis on the old big bopping two; variety for Pavlik is a left hook, talk about mixing it up. We need not dwell on the slow-mo shuffle that comprises his best imitation of footwork.

And as assess Rubio with his proven style, the #1 contender has no other reasonable option than to come at the champion and match him punch for punch, combination for combination, for as long as one of them can stand up to that form of engagement.

Hopkins taught Pavlik that winning a boxing match can also result from the continual reassertion of mini engagements with skills arraying, athleticism as springboard, and tactical awareness constantly readjusting. You have to wonder if Pavlik really believes in that kind of complex thinking, partly because it demands thinking as knowing.

More likely, Pavlik just wants to get back deeply embedded into his comfort zone, delivering power punches with accurate discipline and then repeating and repeating and repeating what works for him, as if he had hand speed and flashes of creativity.

The champion of the middleweights didn’t enjoy being unable to produce his all out offense which slowly bludgeons an opponent. The straight ahead, linear power hitting and consistent force leveraged by Pavlik in the groove against his foes tends to break down even more technically skilled opposition, not named Hopkins.

And Kelly Pavlik has already fought Hopkins; he’s now eager to take a rip at Marco Antonio Rubio, who’s talking tough and making overtures about slaughtering Pavlik right in his own back yard. That was once considered dangerous, a no-brainer mistake.

Hardly anyone is giving credence to Pavlik having two opponents in the ring on Saturday night: Marco Antonio Rubio and Kelly Pavlik. With either one of them able to make or break a champion.

Patrick Kehoe may be reached at pkehoe@telus.net