What Will It Take To Get Kelly Pavlik Back on Track?

Much has been written about Kelly Pavlik’s nightmarish 2009. Between medical issues, a lack of high profile fights and continuous bashing from what seemed like an ever-growing number of critics, The Ghost is no doubt looking forward to New Year’s Day more than anyone involved with boxing.

Pavlik will get to channel some of his frustration into aggression in front of his hometown fans on Saturday at the expense of Miguel Espino. The unheralded 29-year-old from California is probably thrilled to get a shot at the WBC and WBO middleweight titles, but barring a minor miracle, he’s not going to be feeling quite as good about the opportunity come Sunday morning.

Getting back to work will help. But there’s a big difference between simply returning to the ring and recapturing the heady success he was enjoying back in mid-2008, when Pavlik was poised to burst into the mainstream consciousness the way Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are doing now.

Since then, Pavlik has lost his undefeated record, a bit of his too-good-to-be-true image and all of his momentum. At 27, he’s certainly young enough to get back to the very top of the sport, but it won’t be an easy climb.

The first part of that ascent involves some PR repair work, which is pretty amazing considering how often fans have been subjected to the story about Pavlik sleeping on the couch at his parents’ house before fights. While he was on the shelf, the rumor mill churned non-stop with everything from allegations of alcohol rehab to marital strife.

Team Pavlik worked hard to dispel all of the speculation, even calling a press conference at one point specifically to address the alcohol rumors. Trainer Jack Loew and Pavlik’s family will have to stay on message, as politicians say, to emphasize the positive aspects of Kelly’s character and what he means to Youngstown. That shouldn’t be too difficult, considering they’ve proven to have a knack for doing just that.

What may prove trickier is getting fans outside Ohio excited to see Pavlik fight again. There’s a reason HBO passed on his February bout with Marco Antonio Rubio and this weekend’s scrap, forcing them to Top Rank pay-per-view: no one cares about his opponents.

Pavlik desperately needs credible foes, but it’s not clear exactly where he’ll find them. The top rated challengers for his belts at 160 pounds are either foreigners known only to hardcore fans (Felix Sturm and Anthony Mundine) or veterans whose best days are behind them (Winky Wright).

Paul Williams wanted a shot at Pavlik but isn’t likely to be chomping at the bit in 2010 after having potential dates scrapped twice this year. Kelly could go up in weight to look for challenges, though last time he did that, things didn’t go so well .

In any case, most of the world’s best super middleweights are tied up until 2011 with a little something called the Super Six World Boxing Classic. IBF titleholder Lucian Bute is the exception, so perhaps Pavlik’s handlers will look in his direction if they feel bold enough to have their man venture above middleweight again.

The qualities that originally made Pavlik so compelling haven’t changed. His style guarantees crowd-pleasing action, and he carries himself well in interviews. He’s proven his ability to sell tickets in Atlantic City, as the Youngstown faithful don’t mind making the trip to the coast.

Pavlik can hold up his end of the deal by knocking out anyone ends up in front of him and keeping his personal life on the straight and narrow. His manager and promoter can lend a big hand by giving him someone worthwhile to fight and reminding people why they used to love him.

If those things happen and his luck takes a turn for the better, Pavlik will be able to look back on 2009 as just a speed bump on his road to boxing superstardom. If they don’t, a bunch of people will be writing articles just like this one again next December.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com . Follow his Twitter feed at @Nick_Tylwalk .