Kelly Pavlik believes he finally has his injuries behind him, and he’s ready to face Sergio Martinez in what amounts to a comeback fight for the WBC middleweight champ.
Since rocketing to stardom with a knockout of Jermain Taylor almost three years ago, Pavlik has defeated a trio of overmatched challengers, lost to Bernard Hopkins when he was ill, and was sidelined for several months because of a persistent staph infection on his hand.
The rough run has turned many fans against him and Pavlik said during a conference call on Thursday that the reason he was taking a risk by fighting Martinez — considered one of the top junior middleweights in the world — was to prove he’s not afraid to face anybody.
“The flack is going to be there, there’s nothing I could do,” Pavlik said. “This was my way of going out there and showing people I will take dangerous fights, against a very good fighter, when I’m healthy and 100 percent ready to go.”
Pavlik will defend his WBC and minor WBO versions of the title on April 17 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the same seaside arena where he stunned Taylor in September 2007 and defended his championships nine month later against fringe contender Gary Lockett.
Along the way, Pavlik defeated Taylor in a catch-weight rematch that many people seem to have forgotten. Instead, they point to the Hopkins loss at light heavyweight and a pair of wins last year against Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Angel Espino as evidence that Pavlik is unwilling to defend his title trinkets against the best in the sport.
“I probably have never seen Kelly look so good,” his trainer Jack Loew said. “This is a very serious fight for us, and I think everybody is going to finally be able to see the best Kelly Pavlik they’ve seen in a long time.”
Martinez — 44-2-2, 24 knockouts — is far more than simply the B-side to the fight.
He’s an exciting puncher with plenty of power, and his only losses have come against former champions Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams.
Many believe that Martinez defeated Williams in December, when they traded knockdowns in the first round at Boardwalk Hall, then proceeded to trade punches the rest of the fight. Williams earned the mixed decision, but Martinez earned plenty of praise.
And now, he has a shot at the reigning middleweight king.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was