Kelly Pavlik Set to Face Undefeated Alfonso Lopez on May 7

Prior to the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley main event on Showtime PPV, Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik (36-2) will make his return to the ring to face the undefeated Alfonso Lopez (21-0) in a super-middleweight bout.

After pulling out of a fight with Brian Vera in November, Pavlik entered the Betty Ford Center in Mirage, California to mend an ongoing alcohol problem that had been a problem previously in his professional boxing career. He left rehab in January.

Pavlik's lone fight in 2010 was a middleweight championship fight against Sergio Martinez. Pavlik lost a close but unanimous decision after 12 rounds.

This fight will be Pavlik's first non 12-round fight since 2005, when he faced Vincent Harris. He would go on to defeat notable opponents Bronco McKart, Luis Zertuche and Edison Miranda before winning the middleweight championship in his first fight with Jermain Taylor in 2008.

His scheduled opponent, Lopez, has 16 knockouts in his professional career and went 11-0 over the last two years. Still untested, Lopez will be coming into the May 7 bout looking to take out one of the bigger names in the sport, even if Pavlik's recent performances haven't necessarily supported that claim.

If Pavlik is victorious, future bouts with super-middleweight stars will be offered to him, including potential opponents Carl Froch, Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham.

In a recent interview with The Nottingham Post, Froch stated Pavlik would be "easy to beat."

“Pavlik was big and strong at his weight but he would be out of his depth at super middleweight," said Froch, the current WBC super-middleweight champion. "He got handed a massive whupping when he took on Bernard Hopkins.”

Pavlik only ventured into the super-middleweight division once, losing a dominant unanimous decision to Hopkins.

If Pavlik is truly ready to return to the ring, especially after taking control over his personal problems, he will quickly reclaim his position as one of the best in the sport.