JarryPark.com – How’s Taste My Website?

JarryPark’s 15 Moments Of ’07 – #14: The Ghost Of Youngstown

December 21, 2007

For the next couple of weeks, JarryPark.com will countdown the 15 most memorable combat sports moments of 2007. Some will be positive while others will be negative. Some will have happened in a ring or cage while others on the outside. Every day, we’ll feature a single moment as we bid adieu to ’07. As we present each moment, feel free to agree or disagree with any of our selections in the comments section below.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why we chose fifteen the answer is quite simple: You take the “7” from ’07 and the “8” from ’08, add them together and you get 15. Duh.

#14: The Ghost Of Youngstown
What: Kelly Pavlik defeats Jermain Taylor to capture the WBC and WBO Welterweight title
When: September 29, 2007
Where: Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ

You know it was a busy twelve months in combat sports when arguably the best boxing fight of the year comes in at number fourteen. What a fight! Few fans had Kelly Pavlik on their radar going into 2007 but he is now one of the brightest young stars in the sport. The 25-year-old dismantled Taylor in this particular bout but will have to do it again in just a couple of months as both men will face each other in Las Vegas. Strangely enough, their rematch won’t be for the 160-lbs Middleweight titles Pavlik snatched away from Taylor in September but at a catch-weight of 166-lbs (this is Taylor’s doing, by the way). How the mighty boxing title has fallen. That said, if their February 16th, 2008 bout can offer half the excitement their first showdown did we have an early candidate for fight of the year.

Further Enlightenment:
With Upset Of Taylor, Pavlik Sheds Years Of Obscurity [USA Today]
Pavlik’s Win Kicks Off Exciting Fights This Fall [ESPN]
The Unfriendly Ghost [No Mas]