Kelly Pavlik rallied from a second-round knockdown to stop fellow American Jermain Taylor in the seventh round on Saturday and claim Taylor's World Boxing Council middleweight title.
Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) remained unbeaten and handed Taylor the first defeat of his career when he stopped the champion after two minutes 14 seconds of a brutal seventh round in front of a crowd of 10,127.
"He caught me flush but I showed heart," Pavlik said of the earlier knockdown. "Once I got up and shook off the cobwebs, I knew it would be a good night."
Both fighters came out with plenty of spark in the opening round going toe-to-toe. Taylor (27-1-1, 17 KOs) landed a flurry of punches in round two, flooring Pavlik who somehow managed to survive the round.
"My first thought was [expletive]. This is going to be a long night," Pavlik said. "I got back up. I have been trained to take a punch like a mule and I did what I could to survive that round."
Pavlik, who was the underdog going in, regained his composure in between rounds and came out and had a strong third round.
Pavlik was finding plenty of success with his jab, picking off Taylor almost at will as he moved the champion around the ring.
But it was a stunning power punch that sent Taylor reeling back into Pavlik's corner midway through the seventh.
Pavlik again sent a left jab through the Taylor defenses before delivering a crunching right that shook the champion to his core and sent him back-pedaling into the corner.
Pavlik went straight after him continuing his assault with a stunning series of punches, a right upper-cut to Taylor's chin followed by a clubbing left hook and then another left that had his man sinking to the floor and out of the fight.
Referee Steve Smoger stepped in to stop the fight as Taylor absorbed a barrage of blows while slumped against the ropes in Pavlik's corner.
Taylor said he made a tactical error in the second round by pressing too hard for the knockout.
"I just can't believe I lost," Taylor said. "I had him hurt and I thought I had him."
"I wasted a lot of energy by throwing unnecessary punches that I shouldn't have. I got caught," he said.
There is a rematch clause in the contract and both fighters said they would honor the agreement.
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