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Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) will return against unbeaten, "El Tigre" Alfonso Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs), from Cut and Shoot, Texas on the undercard of the May 7 Pacquiao-Mosley PPV clash in Las Vegas. Pavlik’s trainer Jack Lowe confirmed to the Youngstown Vindicator that Kelly’s handlers have approved Lopez to be his first foe since losing his title to Sergio Martinez 11 months ago. Just recently, Pavlik spent some time in rehab to deal with a drinking problem. Prior to rehab, Pavlik was out of the ring due to staph infection. By the time of Pavlik vs Lopez fight, Pavlik will have been out of the ring for over a year.

Pavlik represents the toughest test of Lopez's career. However, Lopez is a true Super Middleweight, and this fight will be the first time Pavlik has fought in this division since defeating Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor in 2008. This fight is very intriguing because Lopez is a boxer/puncher that boxes well on the move. He's tall, rangy, well-conditioned, and he has a very good jab. Lopez's style could potentially cause problems for the former Undisputed Middleweight Champion, but we will have to wait and see. Lopez vs Pavlik is a solid undercard fight, and is just the type of fight Pavlik needs to have to rebound from a one-sided loss to Sergio Martinez.