Background and career
Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three successful defenses before losing them to Sergio Martínez in 2010.
Known as "The Ghost", Pavlik grew up on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, in the traditional ethnic Slovak neighborhood of Lansingville. He graduated from Lowellville High School and Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 2000. Pavlik has been trained by Jack Loew of Youngstown's South Side Boxing Gym for his entire career.
1998 National Jr. PAL Amateur Champion, 147 pounds 1998 National Jr. Golden Gloves Amateur Champion, 147 pounds 1999 U.S. National Under-19 Amateur Champion, 147 pounds
Pavlik turned professional in 2000 and won his first 26 fights before stepping up in competition on October 7, 2005, to face Fulgencio Zúñiga for the vacant NABF Middleweight title. Zúñiga scored a knockdown with a left hook in the first round, but Pavlik recovered quickly and dominated the rest of the fight. Zúñiga was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads, and his corner stopped the fight after the ninth round. On July 7, 2006, Pavlik defeated the former WBO Light Middleweight Champion Bronco McKart with sixth round technical knock out in his first defense of his NABF Middleweight title. McKart scored a knockdown when both of Pavlik's gloves touched the canvas in the fourth round. Pavlik knocked McKart down twice in the sixth round before the referee stopped the fight. Pavlik headlined in his hometown at the Covelli Centre on November 2, 2006, and put on a dominant performance against Lenord Pierre. Pavlik scored a knockdown with a right hand late in the first round, and rocked Pierre repeatedly in the second and third rounds. Pavlik knocked down Pierre again with a left hook in the fourth round and the referee stopped the fight. On January 27, 2007, in Anaheim, California, Pavlik defeated Jose Luis Zertuche with an eighth-round knockout in his second and final defense of his NABF Middleweight title. It was a fast-paced, exciting fight that concluded when Pavlik landed a right fist that froze Zertuche in his tracks and then landed an uppercut that dropped him face-first to the canvas.
Pavlik defeated Edison Miranda on May 19, 2007, with a technical knock out in the seventh round. The fight was a WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator bout. This fight established him as the #1 middleweight contender. During the sixth round, Pavlik knocked Miranda down to the canvas twice. After the first knock down, Miranda spat out his mouthpiece, causing the referee, Steve Smoger, to deduct a point. As the sixth round ended, Miranda seemed unable to continue, but came out nonetheless. In the seventh round, Pavlik trapped Miranda in a corner with a barrage of vicious shots, forcing Smoger to stop the fight. Pavlik thus earned a chance for the middleweight title against Jermain Taylor, who had defeated Pavlik during their amateur careers in a bout that was part of the 2000 Olympic Team-USA Box-offs.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a pro-Pavlik crowd (approximately 6,231 Youngstown natives made the trip), Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007. In the pre-fight build-up, Taylor's trainer, Emmanuel Steward, called Pavlik "overrated" and promised a knockout win for his boxer. It nearly happened, as Pavlik was knocked down in the second round and tossed about the ring for much of that round. However, using his ability to trap opponents in the corner, Pavlik slowly turned the tide on Taylor. By the sixth round, many at the ringside, such as the HBO commentator Larry Merchant, saw the fight as even. HBO's unofficial scorer, Harold Lederman, even had Pavlik leading the fight at the halfway point. Despite this, he was trailing on all three official scorecards. In the seventh round, Pavlik stunned his opponent with a clean left hook to the chin and backed him against the ropes knocking Taylor out with a barrage of punches. With the victory, Pavlik became the new WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion. After the fight with Taylor, Pavlik and his father, Mike Pavlik Sr., accidentally left their paychecks in their hotel room. He was named The Boxing Times Fighter of the Year in 2007. This fight was named Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. After the defeat, Taylor activated his clause for a non-title rematch, which was held on February 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, with both fighters weighing-in at super middleweight. Pavlik won the fight with a unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112 and 115–113), handing Taylor his second defeat.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
