With his infected left hand nearly healed, middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik is ready to resume his reign of dominance at 160 pounds.
WBC and WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is very close to getting back on track. With the second surgery for a staph infection on his left hand behind him, “The Ghost” and his team hope to get back into training by Oct. 12.
With the stitches now removed, Pavlik must undergo an intravenous drip regimen of antibiotics and physical therapy on the infected hand before he can return to combat. Once he receives final clearance from his physician, he and trainer Jack Loew will commence a nearly eight week long training camp in Youngstown, Ohio.
While the final details of the match against Paul Williams have not been signed-off on by all he interested parties, Pavlik and his team are confident it will eventually be all systems go for Dec. 5 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Since Pavlik underwent surgery a couple weeks ago, he has been under strict orders to keep his physical activity to an absolute minimum.
“I can't do anything,” said a somewhat frustrated Pavlik. “I can't pick up anything with the right arm because of the I.V. I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than eight pounds and I can't getting anything sweaty on my left hand.”
However, none of the medical setbacks seem to have affected Pavlik's confidence.
“It took us two months of negotiations, back and forth, to get Paul Williams to sign a contract,” Pavlik explained. “He's gone out there on all the boxing websites, USA Today, and everywhere else and bragged about how people are so fearful of him. Well, now he's basically backed himself into a corner and now he has no choice but to fight me.
Paul Williams is an aggressive fighter who throws non-stop punches. He is ranked as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
“This is going to be a big test for him,” Pavlik says. “He fought Winky Wright, but we all know that Winky Wright can't punch. Fighting me is going to be a real nice test for him and a nice introduction into the middleweight division. He throws a lot of punches against welterweights and junior middleweights, but I'm a middleweight and I throw a lot of punches. I'm a big, strong middleweight.”
Pavlik is of the opinion that his strength and punching power will likely be the deciding factor once the action gets underway. He believes the perpetual motion of “The Punisher” will leave him open and present opportunities for Pavlik to land his own heavy, straight shots.
Pavlik alluded to the fact that most of Williams' biggest wins have come against much smaller men – but Kelly claims that he is by no means a small, weak or light-punching fighter. While Williams has fought many of his bouts as a middleweight, Pavlik will be the biggest and best natural 160-pounder that Williams will have faced.
“It took us a lot to get this fight done,” said Pavlik. “We were supposed to fight back before I fought Hopkins. Yes, I had the situation with my hand and that was unfortunate. But he complained about everything from the money to where the fight was going to be held. It just seemed like anything and everything to get out of the fight. Well, he can't weasel his way out this time.”
September 2009
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