Pavlik shocks Taylor to win WBC middleweight title

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2007

ATLANTIC CITY, United States (AFP) — Kelly Pavlik rallied from a second-round knockdown to stop fellow American Jermain Taylor in the seventh round Saturday and claim Taylor's World Boxing Council middleweight title.

Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) remained unbeaten and handed Taylor the first defeat of his career when he stopped the champion at two minutes 14 seconds of a brutal seventh round in front of a crowd of 10,127.

"He caught me flush but I showed heart," Pavlik said of the earlier knockdown. "Once I got up and shook off the cobwebs, I knew it would be a good night."

Both fighters came out with plenty of spark in the opening round going toe-to-toe. Taylor (27-1-1, 17 KOs) landed a flurry of punches in round two, flooring Pavlik who somehow managed to survive...