LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Kelly Pavlik proved his superiority and fattened his bank account with a second victory over Jermain Taylor. Now this frugal people's champion is finally ready to go shopping — for two ugly belts.

Moments after winning a unanimous decision in his rematch with Taylor on Saturday night, Pavlik reiterated his plan to add the WBA and IBF middleweight titles to the WBC and WBO championships he took from Taylor last year. He'll get started on that quest after a June tuneup fight that shouldn't be nearly as tough as the stops on his difficult road to Taylor.

"My No. 1 goal since I won the middleweight title has been to unify the belts," Pavlik said. "That's been a dream of mine since I started fighting, and that's what I'd love to do now. It's something special to be the champion that everybody recognizes, and that's a life goal of mine."

Pavlik showed both mettle and resourcefulness against Taylor, showcasing improved defensive skills and taking control of the fight late to win the decision. In particular, Pavlik got Taylor moving backward in the final three rounds after Taylor's inspired game plan staked him to an early lead.

Taylor also performed well in the rematch, showing more discipline and tenacity on his way to a $3 million payday. He faced trouble only in the 11th round, when Pavlik staggered him and came close to a knockout.

"That 11th round, if there was 5 or 10 more seconds, he was out," said Pavlik, who made $2.5 million plus a percentage of pay-per-view sales. "I hit him with some big punches. He was hurt, and you could see it. I just ran out of time."

The bout was Pavlik's least dramatic fight in three years, but likely his most disciplined, according to his trainer, Jack Loew. That discipline will be necessary if Pavlik is to achieve his new dream.

"Kelly can do whatever he sets his mind to do, and we've always wanted to take (charge) of the middleweight division," Loew said.

Pavlik hopes to follow in the big footsteps of Bernard Hopkins, who held all four major middleweight belts until Taylor beat him by split decision in July 2005. Hopkins held at least three belts for nearly four years while making 20 total title defenses — a remarkable achievement in the fractious boxing world.

Pavlik would be a huge favorite against the other two champions. If promoter Bob Arum can make the matches, Pavlik might be just a couple of years away from realizing his dream.

Arthur Abraham, the IBF middleweight titlist from Germany, is 25-0 in a career spent entirely in Europe.

Felix Sturm, another German fighter, is the WBA middleweight champion, but has been largely unimpressive in his last few fights.

A popular scenario has Pavlik fighting popular Irishman John Duddy on June 7 in New York for a matchup sure to draw a raucous sellout crowd.

And after that tuneup fight, Pavlik wants to pursue Abraham for a fight in the fall.

"I'll fight whoever they throw out there, whatever's the best for the sport," Pavlik said.




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