The former middleweight world champion, Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, is thinking of coming back to boxing at the age of 36.
On Wednesday’s Joe Rogan Podcast, the Youngstown, Ohio native who retired at 30, said since he has the itch to fight again after several years away from the sport.
The once slender 6 foot 2 Pavlik has now bulked up to well over 200 pounds. He took up power-lifting and added muscle to his body so he would most likely comeback in the cruiserweight (200 lbs) division instead of the 160-168 pound middleweight divisions he used to fight at.
If he does ultimately decide to box again, he would like to test the waters first and against a credible opponent to shake off the rust.
The main man in the division is undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Before his retirement, Pavlik was scheduled to fight lineal super-middleweight world champion Andre Ward in 2013 on HBO but Ward suffered a shoulder injury during training and it eventually got canceled.
Pavlik was once regarded as one of the best boxers in the world. After he defeated Jermain Taylor to capture the WBC, WBO, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles his fame rose and he was an instant hero in Youngstown.
Pavlik was one of the most exciting finishers in the sport, if he had you hurt he would keep pressuring you until you gave up or got knocked out.
His career took a turn after he lost to Bernard Hopkins and Sergio Martinez, he seemed to lose the love for the sport he once had and later developed a drinking problem from negative energy around him.
He took up power-lifting as a way to be active and help as a form of therapy for his drinking issues.
