No Ko But Pavlik Goes the Distance to See Off Taylor Again

Kelly Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor for the second time in less than five months on Saturday night, winning a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout at the MGM Grand.

"I put some pressure on at the end of the fight and was able to back him up," Pavlik bragged. "It was the first time I went the distance, and doing so against Jermain Taylor says a lot."

Pavlik, who won with a knockout in the seventh round of the first meeting, struggled in the middle rounds before recovering to finish strongly despite venturing past the ninth round for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old was contractually obligated to give Taylor a rematch after flooring the former undisputed champion in September to capture the WBC and WBO middleweight titles, but his title was not on the line in Las Vegas.

Pavlik was out to prove the first victory was not a fluke. He was knocked down in the second round of that bout, and some believed his championship-clinching knockout was nothing more than a lucky punch. "There was so much at stake - my integrity, my pride," Pavlik said. "He thought it was an accident."

Pavlik received decisive scores of 117-111 from Dave Moretti and 116-112 from Glenn Trowbridge. Judge Patricia Morse Jarman had the fight closer but gave Pavlik a 115-113 decision, keeping him unbeaten at 33-0. "Nothing will be as satisfying as the first (victory)," Pavlik said. "That was for the world title."

Though Taylor was defeated he at least restored pride. "I thought I had done enough in the earlier rounds," Taylor said. "But he hit me with some good body shots late. He is strong fighter. I give him all of the credit."

Lou DiBella, Taylor's trainer, said: "These guys could fight 10 times and you wouldn't see a bad fight. You saw Jermain's stock go up tonight. Even though he didn't win the fight, questions everyone had after the first fight were answered. He validated himself."