Kelly Pavlik probably thought the loss to Sergio Martinez was one of the was worst nights of his life, then came the rest of 2010. Pavlik hit rock bottom with an alleged addition problem and his boxing career went dormant.
The former middleweight champ is looking to make his comeback on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight in Las Vegas on May 7. The opponent in the super middleweight showdown is expected to be Alfonso Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs).
“It’s gonna be somebody who’s a rugged fighter with a good record,” Pavlik told the Youngstown Vindicator. “Somebody who can make it interesting. If they put me in there against a tomato can, that’s gonna be bad. That’s something everyone [critics] can feed off of.”
Last week, Pavlik spoke with the local media in Ohio and told his story of going to rehab. Check out the 35-minute video.
Pavlik spent 60 days at the Ranch Recovery Center in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., and then did another 20-day stint at the Betty Ford Clinic.
"I was having too much fun, put it that way,” he said of his drinking. “I’ve been pro for 10 years now and I have a lot of things going on in my life and boxing’s not going to be there for the rest of my life."
"It kind of got to the point where I said, 'I’ve got to get organized now and start settling down and paying attention to what I have going on.'"
It'll be interesting to track Pavlik. You have to root for the guy, but it sounds like there's still a little denial. The Vindicator said Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) stopped short of calling himself an alcoholic. He said his family was alarmed by stories from other people saying he had a bigger problem than he really had. Hopefully boxing can be Pavlik's sanctuary and he can get himself straight.
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