The lone boxer to be honored in this year’s class, he becomes the 61st pugilist from the boxing-rich Mahoning Valley and first since Att’y. Lou Schiavoni in 2019 to be so honored.
The 1998 National Jr. PAL amateur champion (147 pounds), he was the National Jr. Golden Gloves amateur champion that same year and in 1999, also at 147 pounds, became the U.S. National Under-19 amateur champion.
After a stellar amateur ring career, he turned pro in 2000 where he competed until 2012 winning the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor (2007), making three successful title defenses.
Born April 5, 1982, “The Ghost,” as he was affectionately known, is a 2000 graduate of Lowellville High School who took the boxing world by storm, winning his first 26 fights before stepping up in competition, that coming on October 7, 2005, when he faced Fulgencio Zúñiga for the vacant NABF middleweight title.
Zúñiga scored a knockdown with a left hook in the first round but this year’s honoree recovered quickly and dominated the rest of the fight. Zúñiga was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads and his corner stopped the fight after the ninth round.
On July 7, 2006, he defeated former WBO light middleweight champion Bronco McKart with a sixth-round TKO in the first defense of his NABF middleweight title. McKart scored a knockdown when both of Pavlik’s gloves touched the canvas in the fourth-round, but Pavlik knocked McKart down twice in the sixth-round before the referee stopped the fight.
He headlined in his hometown at the Covelli Centre on November 2, 2006, and put on a dominant performance against Lenord Pierre, scoring a knockdown with a right hand late in the first round then rocked his opponent repeatedly in the second and third rounds. Another knock down in the fourth round forced the referee to stop the fight.
Curbstone Coaches HOF Spotlight: Philip Rogers, Boxing Honoree(Opens in a new browser tab)
On January 27, 2007, in Anaheim, California, he defeated Jose Luis Zertuche with an eighth-round knockout in the second and final defense of his NABF middleweight title. It was a fast-paced, exciting fight that concluded when he landed a right fist that froze Zertuche in his tracks, then landed an uppercut that dropped him face-first to the canvas.
On May 19, 2007, he defeated Edison Miranda with a technical knock-out in the seventh round, the fight a WBC middleweight title eliminator bout that established our honoree as the No. 1 middleweight contender.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a pro-Pavlik crowd, he defeated Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 to become the new WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion.
In the pre-fight build-up, Taylor’s trainer Emmanuel Steward called Pavlik “overrated” and promised a knockout win for his boxer. It nearly happened as he was knocked down in the second round. Pavlik then used his reach advantage and ability to trap opponents in the corner to slowly turn the fight in his favor and by the sixth round, many at ringside saw the fight as even.
In the seventh round, he stunned Taylor with a clean left hook to the chin and backed him against the ropes, knocking him out with a barrage of punches.to become the new WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion.
The fight was so popular that it was named ‘Fight of the Year’ by the Boxing Writers Association of America, this year’s inductee earning Boxing Times ‘Fighter of the Year’ laurels that same year.
In all, he posted a 40-2 mark as a professional, winning 34 bouts by KO and his other six by decision. His two losses came by decision, also.
On January 19, 2013, he announced his retirement from boxing.
Considered one of the most media and fan-friendly athletes in any sport, he currently owns and operates several area gyms and work-out centers, has delved into the media with his own podcast and remains available when approached by promoters desiring his services ringside.
He and his wife, Samantha, are the proud parents of two children, son Kelly, Jr. and daughter Sydney.
They reside in Boardman.
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