Kelly Pavlik opponent fuming over bout cancellation
In light of Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik’s pull-out from the November 13 Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard the man he was supposed to face, Brian Vera, has weighed-in on the development.
Vera doubted Pavlik’s professionalism with the late reportage of the injury, telling WKBN.com: “I thought he was a world class fighter. Right now it doesn’t seem like he’s acting like one, to be pulling out this late to the fight. If he was hurt, they would’ve
said something right away. I think maybe he’s having problems with weight or something. If he was a man of his word he’d get ready and fight no matter what.”
"It's not just a good pay day for him, it's his opportunity," Vera’s trainer, David Watson, said about his fighter. "It's not fair to my fighter and it's not fair to the fans."
Vera was scheduled to go head to head with Pavlik at the Cowboys Stadium, in the HBO pay-pay-view event that will receive wide coverage and be one of the most anticipated bouts of the year.
Due to Pavlik’s withdrawal, Top Rank announced that lightweight prospect Brandon Rios will be filling the spot against a yet unnamed opponent.
Vera spared no words over the news, speculating that Pavlik’s career doesn’t look good from here on out and that there may be undisclosed issues impeding his progress. “It doesn’t look good,” Vera said. “His reputation is already kind of down a little by
him doing this in the past. I think a lot of people are looking down on him right now.”
Pavlik is coming off an April defeat to Sergio Martinez in which he lost a unanimous decision. Pavlik lost his WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine titles in the bout, and claimed afterwards he had severe troubles making the 160 pound limit. The 2008 bout with the legendary
Bernard Hopkins, where he fought at a catchweight of 170 pounds, suggested that the Martinez bout may have been difficult to trim down for.
Tags: