Boxing: Did Kelly Pavlik KO His Career When He Withdrew from Cunningham Fight?

Kelly Pavlik pulling out of his fight, which was scheduled to air this weekend on Showtime, may do more harm to his career than any knockout punch could do.

Pavlik (37-2, 32 KO) apparently backed out of the bout against Darryl Cunningham because he was not being paid enough to take on the fight.

Cunningham (23-2, 10 KO) is a southpaw fighter whom Pavlik was supposed to use as a tune-up before taking on Lucian Bute in November.

Pavlik is said to have been upset with the $50,000 he was going to be paid to fight Cunningham, even though the fight is supposed to be a part of a two-fight deal that included the Bute fight (where Pavlik stood to make over a million).

This controversy comes on the heels of a dark moment in Pavlik's career and life in general.

After Pavlik lost his middle weight title to Sergio Martinez back in April of 2010, he entered the Betty Ford Clinic for alcohol rehabilitation at the end of 2010.

He then had a return bout on the under card of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosely bout in May of this year.

During that fight, he looked like a different fighter and appeared to have a tough time shaking off the ring rust from his 13-month hiatus. He looked a shade of his former self in the ring.

With all of the negativity that has plagued Pavlik's career as of late, one would think that he would jump at any opportunity to get a fight and show the boxing community that he still has what it takes to be a world champion fighter.

Sure, he was going to be paid a minuscule amount to take on a lefty who could give him problems, but if it meant taking on a fight like that to gain an opportunity to fight one of the best in his weight class in Bute—and have a million dollar pay day in the process—then that would be a minor step in Pavlik regaining control of his career.

This is career suicide for Pavlik.

Sure, has has a name that can create a big draw. But with the recent revelations in his life, turning down a million dollar pay day is just unthinkable.

With doubt already surrounding Pavlik due to his rehab stint and his less-than-stellar showing in his most recent fight, pulling out of the fight could very well be the knockout blow that ends the hope of carrying on a boxing career that is worth anything meaningful.