Kelly Pavlik “If guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao get a pass, Why not me? I’m Ready For Andre Ward!

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    Kelly Pavlik is tired of talking about the past and is ready for Andre Ward

    Kelly Pavlik was a guest on Thaboxingvoice.com’s radio show this past Sunday. Pavlik pulled no punches when discussing several topics and offered up some answers to some of the things that have plagued his career in recent years.

    The biggest issue with Kelly right now is the potential showdown with lineal super middleweight champion Andre Ward. The fight is still being negotiated and nothing is finalized, but it could be next on the agenda for the two super middleweights.

    “I got word from my trainer Robert Garcia — because that’s the only guy that gets in touch with me — that the fights going to happen. It’s like a 95% chance that it’ll happen, but it’s not guaranteed and you know how the boxing game goes. I’m down for it; I respect the kid (Andre Ward). I think he’s probably one of the best fighters in boxing right now,” Pavlik said on Thaboxingvoice radio airwaves.

    There’ve been mixed reactions from fans and media and while some feel the fight is a good matchup, others don’t believe Kelly has done enough to merit the fight since beginning his comeback from an alcohol related rehab stint. Pavlik seems to think he has what it takes to test Ward.

    “I will go into that fight and give it to Andre Ward and he’ll have the hardest fight in his career.”

    Kelly believes that his entire career credentials warrant the fight with the 168lb leader Ward and that it is unfair to judge him based on his past personal problems. He also feels like his issues have been under the microscope for far too long and that his peers have had similar issues go unnoticed or undetected.

    “Everybody keeps talking about my past problems, but nobody talks about Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Chavez Jr.’s problems. All these guys are able to smoke pot, cock fight, dog fight, push pregnant women down the steps and get 9 days in jail. Everyone wants to keep talking about my past problems from 3 years, but I’d like to get past it. Fighting Andre Ward would be the biggest thing for my career. I think the fans would want to see it and he’ll be in for a fight,” Pavlik said.

    While many feel that Kelly hasn’t done much since his “comeback” from an April 2010 loss to reigning middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, there have been some positives associated with the latter part of his career. In fact, Kelly has been featured on many media outlets that don’t normally cover boxing and his story was featured on ESPN’s E:60 program. He’s brought some attention back to the sport with the inspirational story. Still, it doesn’t diminish Kelly’s feelings on the way his story has been depicted versus how some of boxing’s other super stars’ shortcomings are brushed off in the media.

    “The positive is I came back and I made a big point and I showed the media everything. How come guys like Manny Pacquiao can get away with cock fighting? How come Chavez Jr. can bypass drug tests over and over and get away with it, then when he finally does take a test he gets busted for marijuana. How come I’m still charged with being a drunk 3 years later?

    “Floyd Mayweather is one of the biggest derelicts in boxing, look at him on all the 24/7’s. The guy is a typical fuck up, but he makes millions for HBO so nobody cares. Pacquiao is a great fighter, but he’s had his problems and he changed and became a “born-again-Christian,” Pavlik said.

    Kelly went on to express his frustrations further.

    “How come Chavez Jr. got pulled over and got a DUI two weeks before his fight and nobody knew nothing about it. I hit a lamp post with my ATV 500 yards from my house and I’m a felon. That’s why I get tired of the sport, I’m tired of the politics. This is where being a white fighter comes into play. They see a Midwest fighter who hit a lamppost with an ATV and I pushed my brother through a window because we got into a little argument, which wasn’t that bad and I’m the bad guy of boxing because I went to rehab.

    “You got Pacquiao that cockfights, dogfights, and gambles his advances from Top Rank. You got Mayweather that pokes a Sherriff in the eye at the titty club and all these people get away with it. He got sentenced to 90 days in jail and he’s not even doing half, if that was Kelly Pavlik I would be done.”

    It’s clear that Kelly has had enough of the politics, but with a potential Ward fight looming is the good enough to outweigh the bad? Or is Kelly on the verge of hanging up the gloves? If so does taking the Ward fight become more of a last big paycheck sort of fight, or is it Kelly’s attempted to leave a lasting legacy with one last big win. Kelly hinted at retirement a few times in the interview, but also seems intent on delivering the best Kelly Pavlik possible for the Ward fight.

    “Give me the fight with Andre Ward, if not I’m done with the sport. It’s been 12 years since I’ve been pro and I think an Andre Ward fight will be the gusto. I think the fans want to see a Pavlik-Ward fight, anybody can say what they want to say, but Kelly Pavlik still carries a big name in boxing. Me fighting Andre Ward is an interesting fight, it’s an honor fighting him.”

    This Ward fight isn’t the first big fight Kelly’s been offered since his “comeback” and the first offer didn’t play out so well in the media. Kelly had the opportunity to fight Bute last year, but it was reported that Kelly felt the money wasn’t sufficient enough to proceed. That left a bad taste in the mouths of Kelly’s doubters, as well as Kelly’s own fans. When Carl Froch dethroned Bute earlier this year, it stood to reason that Kelly might’ve regretted his decision to turn the fight down.

    “I do and I don’t, Bute is a great fighter. Here’s the whole thing that happen with the Bute fight and everything else. I had a 30-day notice for a fight in Youngstown, Ohio and they were only paying me $45,000 and then I turn around and go over to Bute’s hometown and fight him in Canada for 1.3 million.

    “1.3 million Is a lot of money to a lot of people, but when you fight Gary Lockett for 2.5 million, why would I go over there and fight a guy you have to put in a casket to win? Why would I take that fight [with Bute] when I made 2.5 million against Gary Lockett?”

    Kelly explained that this incident was one of the reasons he left his longtime trainer Jack Lowe, who trained Kelly since the beginning of his pro career. He said that the money was becoming an issue with Jack and that Jack was negotiating on the behalf of Kelly without Kelly’s complete knowledge.

    “The reason why I left Jack Lowe is because everything was about money with him; he was the one negotiating with Bruce Trampler and Top Rank. I didn’t know anything about it till a week before the fight. When I first turned pro Jack wanted to take 15% from my fights. Jack got pissed off because he had his son signed up to make money and he was going to be like the “runner” you know what I mean, like the guy who went and did everything else. Top Rank was going to pay Jack and Jack was going to give his son a shit load of money for my fight with Darryl Cunningham– the prelude to the Bute fight. Jack got so mad he started running me down and that’s when Ray Mancini started talking shit,” Pavlik said.

    It seems as though Kelly has gotten a raw deal over the last several years. This is a guy who made his career by defying the odds and he will have to reclaim some of the magic if he wants to defeat Ward. While many would criticize that fight, I feel that there aren’t many better fights to be made with Ward at 168lbs. There is a consensus that Ward should move up to fight Cloud or Pascal, but if Ward is content with super middleweight for the time being then we must be satisfied with the best fights that can be made.

     

    For Full Audio Of this interview click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/10/14/kelly-the-ghost-pavlik-miguel-mikey-ngel-garca