**** PLEASE PUT YOUR MOUSE OVER THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE OPPONENT ****

Free from injuries Middleweight king Kelly Pavlik will return to the ring in what can only be described as a mouth watering bout on Saturday 17th April 2010. The Youngstown fighter will make his ring return against the WBC Super Welterweight champion Sergio Gabriel Martinez.

Four months have gone by since either man has stepped through the ropes with Pavlik defending his titles with a stoppage win over Miguel Angel Espino in December while Martinez in the same month was on the wrong end of a razor thin majority decision over one of boxing most avoided fighters Paul Williams.

This is surely not one to be missed; both fighters are BIG attractions in New Jersey with the Boardwalk Hall sure to be filled to attendance.

The current Middleweight ruler has been given a lot of bad press of late with many of boxing’s insiders questioning his heart and courage. This was down to Pavlik’s two withdrawals when negotiating a Super fight with Paul “The Punisher” Williams, both times pulling out which left Williams to search for a viable opponent and he found this in the shape of Sergio Gabriel Martinez.

Pavlik has always maintained his stance on pulling out of the fights telling reporters that he DID want the fight and that unlike many of the rumours at the time WAS injured. In a recent Media day Pavlik continued his defence by going on to say “I think one way to show I am not a fighter who turns down big opportunities and big fights are to take this fight. To me this is a huge, huge fight.”

Although many may still have a few outstanding questions regarding Pavlik’s heart, I am not one of them. His match up’s with former world champion Jermain Taylor showed me enough to not question that aspect of his game.

Apart from this, Kelly is one of the best attacking fighters in the sport. He has awesome power, decent speed and a tight defence but the most impressive part for me is the way he finishes opponents, When the Youngstown native has a fighter hurt usually the bell to signal the end comes shortly after.

When asked about the upcoming fight with Martinez, Kelly stated “You know how I fight and what I bring to the ring. It’s all or nothing, and I’m going to go out there and let the fireworks go. It’s going to be a good one.”

KELLY'S BACKGROUND

Sergio has had the good fortune and timing of late that because of a breakdown between Pavlik and Williams has seen the Argentine step in and face both men.

In December 2009, Martinez stepped in for the injured Pavlik to face a fighter who many have claimed to be the most avoided fighter in the sport, Paul “The Punisher” Williams. In that fight many thought that this may have the making of a good matchup but nothing could have prepared us for the awesome spectacle we actually witnessed that night.

In a fight which gave us everything and exceeded our expectations saw both men hit the canvas throughout twelve pulsating rounds of boxing. At the end of the bout both men were convinced they had done enough with many at ringside left to wonder the result. When the scores from the judges came in it was Williams’ hand that was raised with the judges awarding him a majority decision but this was a fight where there were no losers and the biggest winners were the fight fans in attendance.

Before this fight took place many already knew that the WBC Super Welterweight champion (Martinez) was a very skilful fighter but not many envisaged just how skilful. Sergio is known in the sport to be a very slick counter puncher with impressive hand speed and perhaps even quicker feet. He possesses good power and a brilliant defence and to be honest there aren’t a lot of weak areas to his game. When asked what the fight fans can expect from his matchup with Pavlik, Martinez explained “This time I’m much better, and I am sure that I will win and I will win by KO. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I plan to take advantage of that. I really want to take this belt to Argentina and I always will be behind my idol, Carlos Monzon.”

SERGIO'S BACKGROUND

PAVLIK – USE THE JAB - USE PRESSURE - CUT OFF THE RING - SET TRAPS
MARTINEZ – JAB JAB JAB- BOX FROM THE OUTSIDE - DONT GO BACK IN A STRAIGHT LINE

This bout is being labelled by many as “The Puncher Vs The Boxer” but in my opinion this is not a true reflection of this specific fight.

Pavlik will obviously enter the bout as the better puncher of the two but Martinez’ power will also need to be respected. Paul Williams can confirm this as he was dropped hard to the canvas in their last encounter, then on the other hand Sergio will enter the bout as the better boxer but again, Pavlik has shown many times most notably in his second fight with Jermain Taylor that he wasn’t just a one dimensional hitter and actually was able to out box Taylor throughout twelve rounds.

The difference I believe lies in what Kelly Pavlik turns up on fight night, will we see the one who tore through the middleweight division beating the likes of Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda or will we get the plodding Kelly Pavlik that got totally outpointed by the 45 year old Bernard Hopkins. It’s anyone’s guess.

If Kelly turns up with his A Game and is able to set traps and corner the Argentine (easier said than done) then I possibly can see Pavlik getting the stoppage late in the bout as Martinez starts to tire and make mistakes if he doesn’t turn up with the right attitude and determination then Sergio I believe makes this fight look easier than it should be. I can then see him running wild on the judges’ scorecards on route to a unanimous decision.

Now to the hard part of picking a winner, with all things considered I am listening to what I have heard in the run up to the fight from the fighter himself who claims he now feels 100% and is ready to prove to the world he is still a force in the division. I believe Sergio will start the better of the two fighters but as the rounds progress Pavlik will be able to get a foothold and therefore will start to find a target for his MASSIVE right hand and uppercut. I see the fight going into the tenth round where Pavlik is able to catch the Argentine against the ropes and we all know how good Pavlik is of finishing his opponents which leaves the referee to intervene.