BY GREG GULAS
      Boardman News Sports
      bnews@zoominternet.net
      The 55th Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame banquet, sponsored by Briarfield Health Care Centers and Ed and Diane Reese, is set for Sunday, May 5 with 12 new members set for enshrinement during ceremonies at Mr. Anthony’s/
      The 2024 class includes the late Sean Durkin (basketball, baseball coach), Jill Harmon (softball), Ken Kimerer (bowling), Bob LaRicca (basketball, coach), Ken Linden (all-sports award), Bill Metzinger (baseball), Terry O’Halloran (swimming & diving, coach), Kelly Pavlik (boxing), Brett Powell (wrestling, coach), Ron Strollo (contribution to sports), Cheryl Weaver (softball, coach) and Dan Yeagley (football, coach).
      Pavlik, who now calls Boardman, Oh. home, is this year’s lone boxing inductee. He was born April 5, 1982, and is a 2000 graduate of Lowellville High School.
      The 1998 National Jr. PAL amateur champion (147 pounds), he was the National Jr. Golden Gloves amateur champion that same year and in 1999, also at 147 pounds, became the U.S. National Under-19 amateur champion.
      After a stellar amateur ring career, he turned pro in 2000 where he competed until 2012 winning the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor (2007), making three successful title defenses.
      ‘The Ghost,’ as he was affectionately known, won his first 26 fights before stepping up in competition, that coming on October 7, 2005, when he faced Fulgencio Zúñiga for the vacant NABF middleweight title.
      Zúñiga scored a knockdown with a left hook in the first round but this year’s honoree recovered quickly and dominated the rest of the fight. Zúñiga was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads and his corner stopped the fight after the ninth round.
      On July 7, 2006, Pavlik defeated former WBO light middleweight champion Bronco McKart with a sixth-round TKO in the first defense of his NABF middleweight title. McKart scored a knockdown when both of Pavlik’s gloves touched the canvas in the fourth-round, but Pavlik knocked McKart down twice in the sixth-round before the referee stopped the fight.
      He headlined in his hometown at the Covelli Centre on November 2, 2006, and put on a dominant performance against Lenord Pierre, scoring a knockdown with a right hand late in the first round, then rocked his opponent repeatedly in the second and third rounds. Another knock down in the fourth round forced the referee stop the fight.
      On January 27, 2007, in Anaheim, California, he defeated Jose Luis Zertuche with an eighth-round knockout in the second and final defense of his NABF middleweight title. It was a fast-paced, exciting fight that concluded when Pavlik landed a right fist that froze Zertuche in his tracks, then landed an uppercut that dropped him face-first to the canvas.
      On May 19, 2007, he defeated Edison Miranda with a technical knock-out in the seventh round, the fight a WBC middleweight title eliminator bout that established Pavlik as the No. 1 middleweight contender.
      In Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a pro-Pavlik crowd, he defeated Jermain Taylor on September 29, 2007 to become the new WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion.
      In the pre-fight build-up, Taylor’s trainer Emmanuel Steward called Pavlik “overrated” and promised a knockout win for his boxer. It nearly happened as Pavlik was knocked down in the second round. Pavlik then used his reach advantage and ability to trap opponents in the corner to slowly turn the fight in his favor and by the sixth round, many at ringside saw the fight as even.
      In the seventh round, he stunned Taylor with a clean left hook to the chin and backed him against the ropes, knocking him out with a barrage of punches.to become the new WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion.
      The fight was so popular that it was named ‘Fight of the Year’ by the Boxing Writers Association of America, Pavlik earning Boxing Times ‘Fighter of the Year’ laurels that same year.
      In all, Pavlik posted a 40-2 mark as a professional, winning 34 bouts by KO and his other six by decision. His two losses were by decision, also.
      On January 19, 2013, he announced his retirement from boxing.
      Considered one of the most media and fan-friendly athletes in any sport, he currently owns and operates several area gyms and work-out centers, has delved into the media with his own podcast and remains available when approached by promoters desiring his services ringside.
      He and his wife, Samantha, are the proud parents of two children, son Kelly, Jr. and daughter Sydney. They reside in Boardman.
      Doors open at 4 p.m., dinner is set to be served at 5 p.m. with the program scheduled to commence at 6 p.m. Individual tickets are $60 each while tables of eight are currently available for $480. Further information can be obtained by calling 330-506-6774 or by visiting the organization’s website at www.thecurbstonecoaches.org.