By Frank Gonzalez Jr. June 7th 2008 – Photo by Sumio Yamada – Saturday night in Atlantic City, Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik improved his record to 34-0, with 30 KO’s after making easy work of Gary Lockett (30-2, 21 KO’s). Lockett landed a few good shots and put on his best menacing face but he took a knee twice in the second round after being tagged a few good times by Pavlik, then again in the third, after a series of unanswered punches in the third found Lockett on his knee yet again, his corner (Enzo Calzaghe) threw in the towel. Lockett couldn’t handle the power and quality of Pavlik.
With all the politics that stir the pot in boxing, it’s interesting to note that the trainer of Gary Locket is Joe Calzaghe’s father/trainer and outside of being in Lockett’s corner, Enzo got a good, up close assessment of what Pavlik brings, which should be valuable information, should Pavlik fight his son anytime in the near future..
Kelly looked great but that wasn’t much of a fight. Surely the match makers can do a better job next time they give us a “mandatory” match up. Who did Gary Lockett ever beat that justifies his getting a shot at Pavlik’s titles anyway? But, if you like brevity, this fight was short and to the point.
On June 21, IBF Middleweight champ, Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO’s) has a scheduled rematch against Edison Miranda (30-2-0, 26 KO’s) who Abraham beat by lopsided decision the first time they met back in September of 2006. Abraham is good and will be the most logical match-up for Kelly Pavlik; should he get past the latest incarnation of Miranda, who is a big puncher but not the best boxer in the division. Miranda is explosive and while he has some flaws on defense, he is capable of an upset. Pavlik vs. Miranda II would also be entertaining.
Pavlik’s style is simplicity and basic boxing fundamentals. His timing is good and he has good power in both hands. He is susceptible to fast handed fighters and he does get hit, but his defense is pretty good. Unless he plans on moving up to 168 to fight Calzaghe, he really needs to fight Abraham or Miranda to keep things exciting. There’s no great depth of talent right now at Middleweight, so my guess is that Pavlik moves up soon.
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The first fight on the card featured Mexican WBO Super Bantamweight Champ, Daniel Ponce de Leon (34-2, 30 KO’s) against rising Puerto Rican prospect, Juan Manual Lopez (22-0, 20 KO’s). This was a big upset that saw the favorite, Ponce de Leon, come on aggressively, throw a lot of shots and pressure Lopez early, until during an exchange, Lopez landed a right hook, clean into Ponce de Leon’s jaw that floored him.
Ponce de Leon got up, but was shaky. De Leon is as tough as they come but here was this young kid from Puerto Rico, getting his first shot at a title and delivering big time as he went for the kill and chased Ponce de Leon with punches from all angles. Lopez landed eight unanswered shots until Ponce de Leon was down a second time and the ref stepped in and did his job.
The 24 years old, Juan Manuel Lopez of Caguas P.R., showed some explosive punching power and an energetic ring presence. One round isn’t enough to show how good his chin is or how he might deal with long term pressure or how he deals with adversity in general but I have a good idea we’re going to find out soon, as we should see a lot more of this kid who’s promoted by Top Rank.
Super Bantam is a tough division and home to two of the best fighters in all of boxing in Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez. There’s also Celestino Caballero, the only other guy to beat Ponce de Leon. There’s Jhonny Gonzalez, Steve Molitor, Ricardo Cordoba and the very long named, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym to name just a few.
Congratulations to Juan Manual Lopez, and welcome to prime time.
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