Pavlik stops Espino in fifth to retain titles

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, (Reuters) – Kelly Pavlik stopped  challenger Miguel Espino in the fifth round to retain his WBC  and WBO middleweight titles in front of a hometown crowd in  Youngstown, Ohio late on Saturday.

Pavlik, who has a 36-1 record, twice knocked down Espino  with uppercuts in the fourth round, and put him down for a  third time in the fifth. Espino fought back after the final  knockdown but his trainer waved a towel to signal his fighter  had had enough.
Despite being a heavy underdog, Espino (20-3-1) took the  fight to Pavlik from the opening seconds and continued to throw  punches even after the bell rang to end the first round.

That earned Espino a rebuke and point deduction from  referee Steve Smoger, who also warned him about low blows in  the second and third rounds but did not deduct another point.

“I tip my hat to the kid,” said Pavlik in the ring. “He  came here to fight. It came down to guts and glory.”
The fight was fought at close range throughout, with Pavlik  willingly engaging his challenger at close quarters.
While Espino landed frequently with flurries, Pavlik’s  blows always appeared the more damaging, and he ripped his  opponent repeatedly with body shots before landing the  conclusive blows.

“He hit me flush with uppercuts,” said Espino. “I was never  seriously hurt. But it is what it is. Kelly’s a great  champion.”
It was Pavlik’s first fight since a victory over Marco  Antonio Rubio in February. He was twice scheduled to fight  former welterweight champion Paul Williams, but was forced to  withdraw after contracting a staph infection in his hand.

Pavlik’s promoter, Bob Arum, said afterwards that if  Williams and his team agreed the fight could happen early next  year.