Kelly Pavlik 'gets back to basics' by holing up in Pennsylvania: Boxing Insider

The Youngstown boxer is aware he needs a dominating performance against Brian Vera on Nov. 13 to regain some of his luster.

You would not want to refer to Kelly Pavlik as a groundhog. But like the famous underground animal from Pennsylvania, the former middleweight champion from Youngstown has been holed up for a month in California, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh.

He emerged Tuesday in New York for a news conference to hype his Nov. 13 bout against Brian Vera at Dallas Cowboys Stadium as part of the pay-per-view undercard for the super welterweight title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.

It has been a little more than three years since Pavlik's title-winning effort against Jermain Taylor. And it has been a rough two years while losing to Bernard Hopkins, suffering serious elbow and hand injuries, dealing with weight issues and finally losing his 160-pound titles to Sergio Martinez in April.

Harping on the past was not what Pavlik or his trainer, Jack Loew, wanted to talk about during a conference call.

"I had bad luck with some things," said Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), looking to become a factor in the ring once again. "I lost two fights against top guys. I was not getting away, didn't get away from things."

But both Pavlik and Loew said getting away from their usual training ground in Youngstown was about "getting back to basics." They said moving the camp two hours away from home was not like relocating to Florida or Las Vegas, which they did for a time for other bouts.

"We had to get back to basics," said Loew, the only trainer Pavlik has ever had. "We were training more for the weight, working this kid out four and five times a day, rather than training for Martinez."

Pavlik said he had to lose nearly 10 pounds three days before the Martinez bout and was sapped of energy. After drawing even through eight rounds, he lost the final four rounds on all three scorecards to drop the unanimous decision.

It's why the bout against Vera (17-5, 11 KOs) was set at the catch weight of 164 pounds.

"That four pounds make a difference," Pavlik said. "It came to a point there was nothing left to sweat."

Pavlik, 28, is aware he needs a dominating performance to regain some of his luster. He left his options open as to whether to continue as a middleweight or move up to the 168-pound super middleweight division.

"I'd definitely like to regain my middleweight titles," he said. "There are a lot of guys at 168, so anything can open up."

2011 Golden Gloves: The dates have been set for next year's annual Cleveland Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament, with a new site for the preliminaries. The first three nights of the tournament will be held at the Brook Park Recreation Center, 17400 Holland Road, on April 1, 2 and 9. The finals will once again be staged at Cleveland Browns Stadium on April 16.

In recent years, the opening rounds of the tournament were held either at the West Side Masonic Temple or the Euclid Sportsplex.

Date in history: Rocky Marciano knocked out Joe Louis in the eighth round on Oct. 26, 1951. It was Louis' last bout.

Big chance: Promoter Don King has lined up a WBC heavyweight elimination match between Cleveland's Ray Austin (28-4-4, 18 KOs) and Cuba's Odlanier Solis (16-0, 12 KOs), the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.

The bout will be held at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Dec. 17. The winner becomes the mandatory challenger for Vitali Klitschko (41-2, 38 KOs).

Austin, who turns 40 on Sunday, did not did not put up much of a challenge against IBF/WBO champ Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) in March 2007. He was stopped in the second round.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168