Former middleweight champion boxer Kelly Pavlik announced his retirement on Saturday, telling ESPN.com "I don't think the drive is there anymore."
"When you stay in the sport too long you have health problems. That's a big, big thing for me," Pavlik said. "I'm not talking about now. I'm talking about in the future. I'm talking about when I'm 55 or 60. What's gonna happen to me then? Why take any more chances, especially in that sport. It's a brutal sport and you never know what can happen.
"I won the world title, I defended my title, I was champ for three years and I made good money. Why take the chance of medical problems? That's a big part of it. I'm moving on to a new chapter in my life."
Pavlik, who grew up on Youngstown's South Side and now lives in Canfield, knocked out Jermain Taylor to win the middleweight title in 2007. He won all three of his fights in 2012 but when a scheduled super middleweight bout with Andre Ward was canceled in January, he opted to retire.
For more details, read Sunday's Vindicator or visit Vindy.com.
Comments
Smart move Kelly, too many stay in the sport and have nothing to show for it but a broken life. We will always support you.
Best of luck.
c-ya.
Best of luck Kelly.
It's the right move. Good luck in the future.
Smart move. Hopefully he's not one of those that come out of retirement for the big $$$$$.
Pavlik retired a few years ago, when he turned his back on his roots. Who cares what he's doing now?
God Bless Kelly in his retirement!
The area bars should see an increase in revenue now!
Good Luck Kelly,you made the right call.If your heart is no longer in boxing,it is time to retire,before you get hurt.
So much hate on here, I'm not a pavlik apologist but let the man live his life. I am not sure he did anything personally to you, if nothing else he put Youngstown back on the map for a few years.
All we really want for Kelly is to be a good dad. Isn't that what it's all about anyway?