The once booming steel town of Youngstown, Ohio was once again revitalized as hometown hero Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik defended his WBC/WBO Middleweight World Championship with a dominating TKO victory over the WBC’s #1 ranked contender Marco Antonio Rubio. Pavlik moves to 35-1, 31 knockouts while Rubio falls to 43-5-1, 38 knockouts. Pavlik controlled the majority of the fight establishing his jab and quickly fighting off Rubio’s counter punching. The only time Rubio showed any sign of life was during the 6th round. Other than that this fight was executed perfectly by Pavlik. Pavlik’s trainer Jack Loew stated that “We punched him back with the jab and we kept him going backwards. That was our plan and Pavlik executed it perfectly.” An emotional Pavlik said “There is no place like home..It was electric…I put the loss behind me..Rubio was tougher than expected. “ When asked about his future plans Pavlik said “I will fight anyone out there. I hope to be back near my hometown of Youngstown, Ohio in the summer.”
Final Compu Box Numbers
Pavlik Rubio
695 Total Punches Thrown 351
146 Total Punches Conn. 82
21% PCT. 23%
339 Jabs Thrown 197
76 Jabs Connected 50
22% PCT. 25%
356 Power Punches Thrown 154
70 Power Punches Connected 32
20% PCT. 21%
Round 1: Pavlik controlled the ring and established his jab. The crowd erupted as Pavlik stunned Rubio late in the round. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 2: A continuation of the first as Pavlik controlled Rubio in the ring and landed clean shots backing the Mexican challenger into the corner. Rubio countered with punches that did not seem to faze the champion. 15 Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 3: Pavlik still on the attack and is poetry in motion with his fight plan. Rubio is more receptive to Pavlik’s offense as he stuck the champion with some hard counter punches. Pavlik is certainty the more offensive fighter of the round. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 4: Pavlik continued his assault on Rubio and has the challenger stunned twice in the round early at 2:15 and later in the round at: 53 both times backing the challenger against the ropes and causing Rubio to fight his was out of trouble. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 5: No let-up be Pavlik as he is orchestrating his fight plan perfectly slowly wearing down his opponent. 1:48 looked like the beginning of the end for Rubio but he displayed the heart of a lion and the chin of a champion and fought his way out of trouble. Rubio appeared to be well on his way to being knocked out late in the round but the Mexican champion fought back hard which caused Pavlik to temporarily cease his assault. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 6: Rubio showed some signs of life in the 6th round landing some punches. Although Pavlik quickly diffused the assault by Rubio this was Rubio’s best round of the fight. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Rubio.
Round 7: Rubio continues to stay steady early in the round. One minute into the round the crowd is looking for Pavlik to finish Rubio. Pavlik continues to assault Rubio with rights and Rubio quickly counters with rights and jabs remaining upright. Pavlik backs Rubio against the ropes at the end of the round and lands a big left but still is having difficulty landing the big hit. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik
Round 8: Pavlik backs Rubio up against the ropes to start the round. Rubio continues to display his mental and physical toughness as he counters each of Pavlik’s assaults. Rubio is on the defensive for the majority of the round. With :49 remaining, Pavlik lands a haymaker that takes out Rubio’s legs and backs him into the ropes. Pavlik swings away as Rubio fights off the ropes to survive the round. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik.
Round 9: Pavlik continues to throw jabs and Rubio is appearing unsteady on his feet. Pavlik backs him into the corner to land a right hook off the body. Pavlik is in control of the Round and backs up Rubio scoring with a left-right combination. Rubio tries to counter but Pavlik moves in. Pavlik glides back to his corner. 15Rounds.com: 10-9 Pavlik
RUBIO IS UNABLE TO ANSWER THE BELL FOR THE 10TH ROUND & HIS CORNER THROWS IN THE TOWEL. THE WINNER AND STILL MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD KELLY “THE GHOST “ PAVLIK.
The action packed undercard treated the fans to 8 undercard bouts.
The night began with two local fighters squaring off in a non-tactical slugfest as Heavyweight Brandon Winner scored a 4 round unanimous decision over Billy Greenwalt. Winner improves to 2-5 while Greenwalt falls to 1-6. The judges saw the contest 40-36, 39-37; 39-37.
Welterweight Willie Nelson remained undefeated with a 1st round knockout over Damon Antoine. Nelson floored Antoine who was unable to lift himself off the canvas a referee George Nichols reached his 10 count. Nelson improves to 11-0-1, 7KO’s while Antoine falls to 9-27-2, 4KO’s. The time was 1:01.
Local prospect Jake Giuriceo 1-0, 1KO was victorious in 53 seconds of his professional debut as he scored a 2nd round KO over Michael Suarez 0-1 who was also making his professional debut.
Lightweight Mark Salser improved to 9-0, 9KO’s with a 2nd round TKO over Leroy Newton who falls to 6-14, 3KO’s. Newton showed heart as he kissed the canvas three times in the opening round. Newton tasted the canvas early in round 2 and referee George Nichols called a halt to the contest at 1:08 of round 2.
# 83 world ranked and reigning WBF Americas Champion Andres “Taylor Made” Taylor 6-0-1, 3KO’s stayed perfect with a 3rd round TKO over Jim Emerick 7-3-1, 2KO’s. Taylor floored Emerick with an overhand right late in the second round. An off balance Emerick fell against the ropes early in the third. Taylor, stalking his prey, cut off the ring and landed a devastating uppercut that caused referee Randy Jarvis to stop the contest at 2:19 of the third round. “I felt strong tonight, and it was nice to showcase my skills on the national stage. Jim was not a push-over opponent. He took a lot of hard shots and I have the utmost respect for him. This is another notch in my belt and I want to thank my team for keeping me active.” Taylor’s next fight will be March 7, 2009 in York, Pennsylvania.
Welterweights Angel Hernandez and Brian Camechis treated the fans to a 6 round slug fest. Both fighters landed blows that would floor any journeyman fighter. Fate entered the mix in round 5 as Camechis staggered and floored a bloodied Hernandez. Hernandez survived the round and controlled the pace in the 6th and final round. The three judges at ringside, Tom Miller, Phil Rodgers, and John Kikta scored the contest 58-55, 59-54; 59-54 all for the winner by unanimous decision Brian Camechis. Camechis improves to 18-2, 8KO’s and Hernandez falls to 10-3, 8KO’s.
Light Heavyweight Dallas Vargas improved to 22-4, 16KO’s with a 3rd round TKO over Kevin Engel who falls to 15-2, 12KO’s.
*The attendance tonight was 7,228 the largest single crowd in the history of the Chevrolet Center.*
Celebrities in attendance: Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini (Former World Lightweight Champion and Youngstown Native), Jim Tressel (Ohio State University Head Football Coach), Bob Stoops (University of Oklahoma Football Coach), Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns), Ryan Tucker (Cleveland Browns), AJ Hawk (Green Bay Packers); Kirk Herbstreet (ESPN College Football Analyst)