Kelly Pavlik, Miguel Cotto return to the ring on Feb. 21
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World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik will bring a title fight to his economically depressed hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, and Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto will respond to his summer knockout welterweight title loss to Antonio Margarito in his familiar stamping grounds at Madison Square Garden in New York.
All the action will be available on the same night during a $44.95 pay-per-view broadcast.
Top Rank has set Feb. 21 for Pavlik’s second middleweight title defense against top World Boxing Council contender Marco Antonio Rubio (43-4-1, 38 knockouts), as well as Cotto’s return to the ring against Michael Jennings (34-1, 16 KOs).
Cotto (32-1, 26 KOs) will cap a three-fight card at MSG, where he previously defeated Zab Judah and ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley. Cotto is favored to beat Jennings during what is seen as a warm-up fight for a summer rematch against Margarito, who faces the stiffer challenge of defeating Mosley on Jan. 24 at Staples Center.
The New York audience will be treated to a large-screen feed of Pavlik (34-1, 30 KOs) defending his belt at the Chevrolet Centre. Pavlik in October lost a one-sided fight at 170 pounds to 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins.
‘This whole town lives for him,’ Pavlik publicist Fred Sternburg said of Youngstown.
-- Lance Pugmire
