Hard man to keep down

LAS VEGAS -- Now that he has emerged from the scare of his boxing life, Kelly Pavlik calls the second-round knockdown he suffered at the hands of Jermain Taylor last year “a little mishap.”

So what if he appeared rubber-legged in recovery, holding on to Taylor as he remembered referee Steve Smoger’s pre-fight briefing that the official wouldn’t call a technical knockout as long as the wounded fighter could “hold on.”

Pavlik survived the round, had the blood wiped from his nose, and proceeded to show he had the conditioning advantage over Taylor by unleashing a seventh-round barrage that allowed him to wrest Taylor’s World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight belts by a dramatic knockout.

The bout was a boost for boxing, producing a classic fight and a new, throwback champion from an unlikely location, the economically slumping town of Youngstown, Ohio.

“He underestimated me,” said Pavlik (32-0, 29 knockouts). “It’s going to be worse for him now. I see a continuation of the first fight, without me being hurt.

“He can’t keep up with my work rate, my power, my speed.”

Pavlik will find out for certain tonight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas when he gets his rematch with Taylor (27-1-1, 17 KOs), albeit at a nontitle catch weight limit of 166 pounds.

Pavlik’s veteran promoter, Bob Arum, had publicly pursued the first Taylor fight since the beginning of 2007, then made the concession, if Pavlik won, to allow a rematch to be fought at a higher weight than the middleweight limit, 160 pounds. Taylor has said he’d like to move up to super-middleweight, or beyond.

“The Taylor camp required the contract to have the rematch at 166,” Arum said. “I don’t feel good being over 160 pounds, but that’s the deal I made.”

The importance of fighting at 166 took a hit at Friday’s weigh-in when both fighters weighed 164.

Still, Pavlik and his trainer, Jack Loew, say the higher weight is to their advantage, as is the psychological edge of winning by knockout less than five months ago.

“It’s a stronger, more confident Kelly Pavlik,” Loew said.

Loew has also chided Taylor for replacing Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner with his amateur trainer and longtime professional assistant trainer, Ozell Nelson. Taylor, however, claims that since the loss he has regained an appreciation for the commitment it takes to be a champion boxer.

“I know from the first fight that I can hit him,” Taylor said. “He doesn’t have a lot of head movement. I didn’t have the energy last time, but this time I’ll get him out of there. He’s a basic fighter.”

Arum, who promoted the three-round middleweight classic between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in 1985, projects a similar “all-action fight, one bomb after the other.”

The card also includes two super-flyweight world title fights: a WBO bout pitting champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico against Martin Castillo of Los Angeles, and WBC champ Cristian Mijares of Mexico vs. Jose Navarro of South Central Los Angeles.

Navarro (26-3, 12 KOs), a 2000 U.S. Olympian, has fought -- and lost -- for a world title three times since 2005. He was the first fighter ever managed by Oscar De La Hoya, before De La Hoya turned to the more profitable business of Golden Boy Promotions.

Trying to follow De La Hoya’s path, but without the critical gold-medal boost of publicity, Navarro found the post-Olympic path more difficult. His largest purse has been $100,000, and he now lives in his in-laws’ home with his wife and two children.

Navarro lost his first title shot by a suspect decision. He won every round on one judge’s scorecard against Japan’s Katsushige Kawashima in Tokyo, but two other judges gave Kawashima the edge. Navarro’s other lost title decisions came again in Japan, and last year when he was knocked down in the third round by Dimitri Kirilov in Russia.

“I’ve learned something in every fight I’ve lost,” Navarro said. “This might be a do-or-die fight for me, but I believe in myself.”

Navarro says he dreams of soon moving his family into a new home in Torrance.

“I win this fight, I buy my house,” he said.

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lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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KELLY PAVLIK VS.

JERMAIN TAYLOR

* What: 12-round middleweight bout (166 pounds).

* When: Tonight, 6 p.m.

* Where: MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO pay-per-view).