Pavlik retains world title in 3 rounds
By JOE SCALZO
Vindicator sports staff
ATLANTIC, N.J. — Let the record show, Kelly Pavlik did break a sweat Saturday night.
Granted, much of it was due to warming up, but still. When you last as long as Gary “The Rocket Man” Lockett did, you take all the moral victories you can get. He sure didn’t come close to a real one.
At the 1:40 mark of the third round, after Pavlik’s third knockdown of Lockett, referee Eddie Cotton stopped the first middleweight title defense of Pavlik’s career, putting an end to the “fight” in front of 7,168 fans at Boardwalk Hall.
Gallery: Pavlik Pounds Lockett
« prev | next »
June 7, 2008. Kelly Pavlik, the humble hero of Youngstown, defended his middleweight title against Welshman Gary Lockett in Atlantic City, N.J. Pavlik stunned Lockett in the opening round Saturday night, dropped him to a knee twice in the second and by the third round Lockett's corner had thrown in the towel. Enlarge photos Thumbnails
Video: After the fight
Kelly Pavlik remarks on the fight and his opponent, Gary Lockett. Watch »
To paraphrase the immortal philosopher Thomas Hobbes, the bout was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
You won’t see this many athletes taking a knee outside the fourth quarter of a blowout NFL game.
“He was smart to take a knee when I hurt him,” Pavlik said afterward. “I knew each time he took a knee I had buzzed him.”
It was a triumphant return to Atlantic City for Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs), who won the WBC and WBO title (in slightly more dramatic fashion) at this site in September with a seventh-round knockout of Jermain Taylor.
That bout won “Fight of the Year.” This one might win “cup of coffee of the year.”
After a patient start to the bout — Pavlik is a notoriously slow starter — he started connecting midway through the first round, backing Lockett up in the corner at one point.
By the second round, Pavlik was in control. Every time Lockett landed a decent punch, Pavlik had an answer, twice dropping the Welshman for eight counts before hitting him with some nice shots in the third to score the third and final knockdown.
By then, Lockett’s trainer, Enzo Calzaghe, had seen enough.
“I just couldn’t see the shots coming,” said Lockett, who confidently and repeatedly predicted in the weeks leading up to the fight he’d knock out Pavlik. “He punches harder and faster than I thought.
“It wasn’t just one punch. It was the accumulation that got me. He’s a fabulous fighter.”
When asked about the shots he did land, Lockett said, “It obviously wasn’t good enough.”
In the post-fight interview inside the ring, Pavlik’s fans — and there were thousands of them — started shouting, “Go get Calzaghe,” referring to Welsh super middleweight Joe Calzaghe, whose father trains Lockett.
“Calzaghe would be a great fight,” Pavlik said. “So would [IBF champion Arthur] Abraham. I’ll see what my managers and promoter propose.
“If they want me to fight Godzilla, I’ll fight Godzilla.”
Pavlik hadn’t entered a fight as this big a favorite since he fought Lenord Pierre at the Chevrolet Centre two years ago. He also hasn’t had this easy of a fight since Pierre, although at least that fight lasted four rounds.
“Gary was a legitimate fighter,” Pavlik said. “He had good power. My jab was working and helped me to set up a lot of things. It stopped him in his tracks.
“I was cashing in with good shots.”
He’ll cash in more when he cashes his check Monday. Pavlik earned $2.5 million for the bout, while Lockett earned $250,000.
Pavlik, who wore light blue trunks with an American flag and the insignias of the five branches of the military, vowed in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s bout that he wouldn’t overlook Lockett.
He spent six weeks in brutal training. Running hills. Sparring. Tossing tires. Swinging sledgehammers. Eating each meal with one eye on his fork and another on his plate, always aware of the 160-pound limit.
His fitness and skill showed as he used his left jab to keep the shorter Lockett outside.
“It was a lopsided fight for a reason,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pavlik’s promoter. “He’s got a piston-like jab. Nobody in the middleweight division has a jab like that.”
And, the way it seems right now, nobody in the middleweight division has a chance against Pavlik.
Certainly not Lockett.
Most people figured Lockett to be a dark horse. Turns out, he was a dead horse, done in by a ghost.
To put it simply, this rocket was a dud.
scalzo@vindy.com
