Pavlik fight confirmed, says it’s a matter of “life and death”
Former middleweight titlist Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik will attempt to resurrect his career on the Antonio Margarito-Manny Pacquiao undercard November 13. Pavlik will take on Texan Brian Vera in a ten-round bout he admits is “life or death” for him as a fighter.
Speaking about the undercard, Top Rank chief Bob Arum recently said: "In addition to the main event, which we believe is destined to be the Fight of the Year for 2010, we are presenting a tremendous undercard featuring some of the top boxers today. From
top to bottom this will be a sensational card and will keep the viewing audience entertained throughout the evening.”
The bouts, which will take place at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, boast to attract some 70,000 fans. The event will be broadcast live on HBO pay-per-view.
Pavlik is looking to redeem the middleweight title bout he lost to Sergio Martinez, in which he was defeated in a twelve round decision. As Arum said, “Vera holds important wins over Andy Lee of Ireland and Sebastien Demers of Canada.”
“This is life and death for me as a fighter. I must win,” Pavlik said seriously. “The future is now.”
Pavlik’s long-time trainer Jack Loew had his own opinion on the fight, saying: “No disrespect intended to the card because it’s a terrific show to be associated with, but fighting on an undercard is not where we want to be. Kelly has been a headliner since
he won the middleweight title three years ago. We dug this hole and now it’s time to climb out of it and Brian Vera is not going to prevent Kelly from becoming a two-time world champion.”
In September 2007 Pavlik rose to prominence after knocking out then-undefeated Jermain Taylor to become WBC and WBO middleweight champion. The bout was selected as fight of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Since then Pavlik defeated Taylor a second time and made two more title defences before meeting Martinez.
“Pavlik’s Cinderella story is going to end for good with me at Cowboys Stadium,” Vera recounted. “Rust never sleeps – even for a so called man of steel.”
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