Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor II

Steve Marcus

WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, left, of Ohio, and Jermain Taylor, of Arkansas, pose face-to-face during a news conference at the MGM Grand on Wednesday.

By Jeff Haney (contact)

Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

1. No waiting game

After losing his world middleweight title to Kelly Pavlik in September, Jermain Taylor exercised his contractual option for an immediate rematch to take place at 166 pounds, six pounds above the middleweight limit. Taylor said he never seriously considered taking some tuneup fights to work his way back to another bout with Pavlik. “If somebody beats you up, you get right back up and try to beat him up,” said Taylor, 29, of Little Rock, Ark. “You don’t go around beating up his friends.”

2. Career fight

Taylor, who won the world middleweight title by beating Bernard Hopkins in July 2005 and defended against Hopkins five months later, insists Pavlik is not the toughest opponent he has fought. Instead, Taylor blames himself for becoming too comfortable before his first meeting with Pavlik, a fight he was expected to win. “I’m back to what got me to be middleweight champion, and that’s hard work and dedication,” Taylor said. “This is a make-or-break fight. I have to win this fight. It’s all about the comeback now.”

3. Sweet payoff

Pavlik plans to return to 160 pounds after fighting Taylor, vowing to make a series of title defenses in an effort to establish himself as the best middleweight of his generation. Only then would he entertain a move to 168, Pavlik said. “I just won the title,” said Pavlik, 25, of Youngstown, Ohio. “It took me seven years to get there, and I’m not ready to give up my titles yet ... I got a big target on me. It’s really going to be harder now, once you get the belt, and everybody’s going to be hungry like I am.”

4. The pick

The historic trilogies boxing fans cherish, marked by fighters trading victories, are exceptions to the rule. Typically, rematches are won by the winner of the first fight. Pavlik gives credit to Taylor for landing “one big punch,” a right that knocked him down in the second round of their first fight, but also points out he was able to get up and finish off Taylor five rounds later. Pavlik figures to set a fast pace in the rematch and use his formidable punching power to score a 10th-round stoppage.

5. Undercard

The two super flyweight (115 pounds) title fights before the main event could lead to a clash between the winners. Cristian Mijares, looking to make a fourth consecutive defense of his world title, is expected to get past fellow southpaw Jose Navarro, a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. Martin Castillo, a former world champ who has won three in a row since losing his WBA title to Nobuo Nashiro in 2006, should give Fernando Montiel all he can handle.