Pavlik not weighted down in comeback

Kelly Pavlik made his name in boxing as a middleweight champion. But the 29-year-old says his future is at super middleweight.

Pavlik is attempting a comeback and likes his chances better at 168 pounds. Trying to make the 160-pound limit has become too stressful.

On Saturday, in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, Pavlik will fight at super middleweight -- a weight at which he has fought before -- against 36-year-old Darryl Cunningham. The 10-round bout is the main event on a Showtime card.

"I'm never going to be able to see 160 again," Pavlik said last week on a conference call. "In this new class, we're not killing ourselves to make weight. Now, as we're getting ready, we can prepare more on boxing and more on the opponent and worry about that stuff rather than how we're going to lose weight."

The bout is Pavlik's second since he left an alcohol rehabilitation facility in California late last year. He won a 10-round majority decision over Alfonso Lopez on May 7.

That fight, in which Pavlik weighed 169 pounds, was his first since he lost the WBC and WBO middleweight titles to Sergio Martinez in April 2010. He had held the crowns since September 2007, when he knocked out Jermain Taylor.

"That wasn't a factor in the fight. Timing was," Pavlik said of his weight in what was a less-than-scintillating performance against Lopez. "I knew when he was going to punch before he did, and I just had a hard time with the timing of that. That's why we wanted to come back right after that fight, just to make sure the timing was sharp."

If Pavlik (37-2, 32 knockouts) beats Cunningham (23-2, 10 KOs), he wants a shot at a big-money fight against Lucien Bute, Carl Froch or Andre Ward -- the super middleweight division's top boxers.

"That's the big name, and we want to fight big names," Pavlik said. "Whether it's Bute, Froch, whatever the big name is. Big fights are key for me. I don't want to finish my career off fighting meaningless fights. I want to go in there and get a chance to get the title back and defend it a couple of times."

■ DECISION COMING SOON -- Top Rank president Todd duBoef denied reports that the Nov. 12 Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight at the MGM Grand Garden will be televised on HBO Pay Per View. HBO and Showtime are vying for rights to the fight.

"We're still in the process, and we're still talking to both sides," duBoef said. "But I can tell you that no final decision has been reached.

"I was hoping it was going to be this past week, but we hope to close the deal sometime this coming week."

HBO wants to reunite with Pacquiao after a one-fight hiatus when Showtime televised his 12-round unanimous decision over Shane Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden.

The fight generated 1.4 million pay-per-view buys. A major reason for its success was the willingness of CBS, Showtime's parent company, to promote the fight on its network and its other media platforms, including radio and the Internet.

HBO is owned by Time Warner, which owns cable stations TNT and TBS and reportedly is willing to promote Pacquiao-Marquez III in a similar manner.

As of Friday, fewer than 800 tickets remained at the 16,200-seat Grand Garden for the fight.

■ NEGATIVE POP TEST -- The Nevada Athletic Commission recently administered its first random prefight drug tests to bantamweights Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares, who will meet Aug. 13 at the Hard Rock Hotel.

The new policy, which went into effect July 1, allows the commission to randomly test fighters who will compete in Nevada. The tests are similar to the postfight urinalysis the commission has administered for years, checking for steroids, stimulants and diuretics.

Agbeko and Mares tested negative. They will be fighting for Agbeko's IBF title in the final of Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament.

■ AGBEKO-MARES OFFICIALS -- Russell Mora of Las Vegas will referee the Agbeko-Mares bout. The judges will be Adalaide Byrd and C.J. Ross of Las Vegas and Oren Schellenberger of Texas.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.