Kelly Pavlik’s Looking For Redemption

And he just may get it on Feb 21st. 

A lot of people were clamoring for a “home bout” for Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, and in less than a month they will be getting their wish as he’ll take on Marco Antonio Rubio in Youngstown, Ohio.

Hardcore boxing site “The Sweet Science” recently had a chance to talk to Ohio’s finest middleweight on his quest to rebound from his sole loss – a defeat at the hands of a middle-aged Bernard Hopkins.  And while Sports Illustrated felt that this was the “upset of the year,” it appears that Pavlik is simply using it as motivation to perform in front of the home crowd.

“I still feel like a champion, but I feel as if I need to go in and shine on Feb. 21,” Pavlik said. “I need to dominate. […] Everyone asks me ‘what could be better then being the middleweight champion of the world,’ ”  Pavlik said. “I’ll tell you what’s better. Defending the title in my hometown. This is a dream come true and I want to make it a spectacular night for Youngstown. This city deserves it.”

The back-to-back wins over Jermain Taylor will be nothing but a blip on the rear view mirror if Pavlik doesn’t look like the “Ghost” of old, instead of the slow, tired Pavlik that we saw against Hopkins.  But the fact of the matter is that Pavlik has had several months to prepare for the middleweight bout – the weight class at which he should have been fighting the entire time – and there is no better place to have it go down than in his home town. 

The crowd will definitely be behind him, it will just be up to Kelly to capitalize. 

Kelly Pavlik: “I need to dominate” [The Sweet Science]