Pavlik prepared for title defense against Martinez

NEW YORK -- Kelly Pavlik won the middleweight championship in Atlantic City, then made a triumphant return to the Jersey shore when it came time to defend it. Now he's headed back to Boardwalk Hall to face junior middleweight king Sergio Martinez on Saturday night, and much has changed for the unassuming fighter from Youngstown, Ohio. He lost for the first time, to Bernard Hopkins in a non-title fight. He contracted a staph infection that threatened his career, then his life. He watched many of his fans turn their backs on him, spreading rumors of alcohol abuse and worse. And inside the ring, all he could do was make a pair of title defenses against overmatched opponents. In many ways, the 28-year-old Pavlik has grown up in the nearly two years since he last stepped foot on the boardwalk, and the growing pains have been there for all to see. "You have some fighters that are fan favorites and some that aren't, you know?" Pavlik said earlier this week. "Some fighters get away with losses and some can't. It is what it is. But my main thing is to go out there and keep fighting and do what I do. I'm still middleweight champ, I've accomplished all the goals I've wanted, so I mean, that's not affecting me at all." Yet those around Pavlik, including his father and co-manager Mike, acknowledge it's been a difficult road since two rousing victories over Jermain Taylor put him in the spotlight. Pavlik had been heralded as the next great American middleweight, the heir to one of the sport's most coveted baubles. He was the next Ray Robinson, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, with the intriguing backstory -- the pride of the rust belt fighting for the blue-collar workers of a dying factory town -- that was ideally suited for the front page. The way he defeated Taylor only added to the aura, rising from the mat to claim victory and then validating his stunning knockout with another win in their rematch. Things began crashing down in short order, though. After an easy win over Gary Lockett that again packed Boardwalk Hall, Pavlik lost to Hopkins at 170 pounds, outdone by the slick veteran and an illness that hampered him in the weeks leading up to the fight. After defeating mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio, the staph infection hit on the knuckle of his hand. There were surgeries to clean it out, failed attempts at antibiotics and a severe allergic reaction that put Pavlik in the hospital for several days. Once he got out and started running, a deal was made to fight Paul Williams. But he still couldn't make a fist with his injured hand, the fight was called off and the rumors began to circulate: Pavlik was sick, lazy, an alcoholic, broke. When he defended his title against Miguel Espino in December, only a few thousand people bothered to show up. "I was a little bit," Pavlik confided, when asked whether he was surprised by the way the public had turned against him. "All I can do is go in there and keep performing, and do it for the true fans that I have." Pavlik isn't sure how many of those true fans to expect Saturday night, when he faces Martinez in the main event of an HBO-televised doubleheader that includes Lucian Bute's super middleweight title defense against against Edison Miranda from Montreal. All he knows is that his troubles are finally in the past. "I can tell right now, this is a different Kelly Pavlik," said Lou DiBella, who promotes Martinez. "I've been involved with other fights with him, he's in better shape right now." That had better be the case, because Martinez is much closer to Carlos Monzon -- the great Argentine middleweight champion -- than Rubio or Espino. The 35-year-old junior middleweight titleholder is smaller than Pavlik, but he's also much quicker and a far better ring tactician. Martinez took Williams to the brink during a narrow loss in December, a "Fight of the Year" candidate that many people believe he won. Pavlik among them. "We're taking this fight very serious," said his trainer, Jack Loew. "I respect Sergio Martinez, we've trained extremely hard for him, but I just can't see him beating us." Pavlik understands that simply defeating Martinez may not be enough to win back the fans. He needs to win emphatically, admitting "the plan is to go in there and just be dominant the whole fight. If a stoppage or knockout comes, we'll definitely take it." He also understands that after experiencing such a quick rise to fame, climbing back to the top might be a slow and arduous process. "The 17th, I'm still going to have a fight, and if the fans are there, they're loyal," Pavlik said. "And if they're not? Oh well."