Vegas owns another boxing blockbuster. Kelly Pavlik opposes Jermain Taylor in a February 16 middleweight championship rematch few forecast for the desert. Atlantic City hosted Pavlik-Taylor I last September amid an East Coast backdrop. It featured Pavlik, a Youngstown, Ohio, stalwart, facing Taylor, of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Pavlik brought a swarming crowd of 5,000 fans to Atlantic City. They drove several hours, witnessed Pavlik’s come-from-behind victory in boxing’s fight of the year, and then produced strong gaming revenues for the city.

Victory projected Pavlik as Atlantic City’s next Arturo Gatti, a punching cash register who would bring millions of dollars to the city’s resorts.

But MGM had other ideas for the rematch.

“Atlantic City did want the fight real badly,” says Lee Samuels, an executive for Las Vegas-based Top Rank Inc., which promotes this bout. “Madison Square Garden wanted it. The Cleveland Browns want to do a Pavlik fight, right in their stadium, at the 50-yard line. That’s a summer possibility.

“Yet for this one, MGM said they not only wanted the fight— they told us we must have the fight.”

Money indeed talks. Top Rank and Pavlik benefited from MGM’s deep pockets. The casino giant, meanwhile, realized Pavlik’s gaming implications and unique story.

“We knew something was special before the last fight,” Samuels adds. “We were getting all these interview requests from West Coast newspapers. We knew that if he won the fight, Kelly would be a powerful force in boxing. There are countless stories about him, how he threw out the first pitch at a baseball game, how he spoke at the Ohio State football banquet. The night he left for the Taylor fight, he had a sendoff at his house, which was broadcast on local radio. Hundreds of people came to his house to say goodbye and good luck. Where else do you see that?”

You don’t.

Their first encounter was a barnburner. The fighters entered unbeaten, in their physical prime. Taylor floored Pavlik in the second round and appeared poised for a quick knockout. Pavlik slowly rebounded, however. He shook off Taylor’s advance and caught him with a right hand late in the seventh round. Then he unloaded a barrage of straight rights and uppercuts to finish Taylor.

At least 12,000 seats are expected to be sold for Pavlik-Taylor II, with many Ohio residents coming for a mid-winter holiday in Las Vegas.

“Kelly has created a lot of excitement for Top Rank,” Samuels indicates. “We turned him pro and he’s the first major middleweight champion for us since we had Marvin Hagler (in the 1980s). This is Bob Arum’s favorite division,” Samuels adds about the Top Rank president.

Besides Pavlik-Taylor, a pair of super-flyweight title bouts completes a strong card.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.

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