Pavlik Beats Lockett
Pavlik Retains Title
On a day when the Belmont Stakes favorite finished dead last and other champions surrendered their titles, Pavlik (34-0) wore down Lockett with a flurry of combinations and knocked him down on three different occasions, the last resulting in a third round TKO when Lockett's corner threw in the towel. It was the thirtieth knockout for Pavlik, who has clearly established himself as the top middleweight in the world over the past 18 months after wrestling the title away from Jermain Taylor in September of 2007 and then defeating him in a rematch in February.
Lockett (30-2) was nearly a 20-1 underdog and did land some crisp punches, but the Welshman was overwhelmed by the accuracy of Pavlik's constant barrage.
Yet other underdogs followed the lead of Da'Tara, the 38-1 long shot that won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday in what was supposed to be the Triple Crown inaguration of heavy favorite, Big Brown.
NOTABLE UPSETS
Sergio Mora, nearly a 5-1 underdog, derailed the career resurgence of Vernon Forrest after a 12-round majority decision that won Mora the WBC super welterweight championship in Uncansville, Connecticut on Saturday night. Mora (21-0-1) was the winner of the Contender reality television show's original season, and is the first alum from the show to win a title.
Forrest (40-3) won notoriety for his two stunning wins over "Sugar" Shane Mosley to become the WBC welterweight champion in 2001. Two years later, he was upset by Ricardo Mayorga and has struggled to become a top draw again despite a recent winning streak.
On the undercard of the Pavlik fight, Juan Manual Lopez captured the WBO Super bantamweight title after crunching Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round after dropping him twice. Lopez (22-0) entered the fight a +145 underdog on most betting lines in what was expected to be a marquee matchup between the two former Olympians.
PAVLIK EYES CALZAGHE
Pavlik may be just the next "big thing" that boxing needs as fan interest has declined over the past decade and the recently announced retirement of the most dominant fighter in the sport, welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The boxing community fell in love with Pavlik during his first matchup with Taylor in Atlantic City last year. He was floored in the second round but rallied to win one of the most action packed battles of the year with a TKO victory in the seventh round. Five months later, he won a unanimous decision victory over Taylor.
After telling the crowd last night that he doesn't pick any opponents, it took some ignition from HBO analyst Kellerman to give the crowd what they wanted to hear.
"(Joe) Calzaghe?" asked Pavlik to the crowd after Kellerman mentioned the undefeated WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion as a potential opponent. "Is that what you wanted to see?"
And that might be the fight that could be in the works in six months time, after many of boxing's big draws have begun to fade out. De La Hoya, 34, has lost most three of his last six fights. Bernard Hopkins is 43 years old and was just defeated by Calzaghe. Roy Jones Jr. suffered three losses in a row before a comeback allowed him to beat Felix Trinidad in January, but he is 39. The heavyweight division has no stars. Pavlik should, or better put could, be boxing's next franchise player.
Although Calzaghe-Pavlik makes the most sense to boxing fans, promoters may feel that Calzaghe-Jones Jr. may reap in the most profits. That could force Pavlik to fight undefeated Arthur Abraham, the IBF middleweight champion.
Pavlik, regardless, told Kellerman after the fight that he is open to all challengers.
"If I got to fight Godzilla, I'll (expletive) about it, but I'll fight him."
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