Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 4, 1982 in Youngstown, Ohio) is currently the reigning WBC, WBO, NABF, and Ring Magazine middleweight champion of the world. Known as "The Ghost", Kelly Pavlik grew up in a Slovak-American family on Youngstown's Southside (in Lansingville) and graduated from Lowellville High School and Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 2000.After a long amateur career, he signed with Bob Arum and Top Rank Boxing. Pavlik has been trained by Jack Loew of Youngstown's South Side Boxing Gym for the entirety of his professional career.
Pavlik turned pro in 2000 and remains undefeated. His record includes an impressive 29 of 32 wins by way of KO. On October 7, 2005, Pavlik won the then vacant NABF Middleweight Title belt by beating Fulgencio Zúñiga by way of TKO 9. His recent fights include a successful title defense against former Light Middleweight Title holder Bronco McKart. Pavlik successfully defended his title on January 27, 2007, against Mexican Jose Louis Zertuche (19-4-2). The fight was shown live, on the HBO presentation Boxing After Dark.
Pavlik defeated Edison Miranda on May 19, 2007, by TKO in the seventh round. The fight was a WBC eliminator bout. This fight put him as the #1 middleweight.
Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor (27-1-1) on September 29, 2007. Pavlik was knocked down in the 2nd round only to come back and win by TKO in the 7th round to become the Ring, WBC and WBO Middleweight Champion of the world.
Kelly Pavlik
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