Pavlik-Sigmon heads eight-bout card one day before Pacquiao-Bradley

Former undisputed middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik will headline an eight-bout card on June 8 against Scott Sigmon at the Hard Rock and Casino in Las Vegas the day before Manny Pacquiao defends his WBO welterweight belt against WBO junior welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley at the MGM Grand.

The card was announced by Top Rank Inc. on Tuesday.

Pavlik (38-2, 33 knockouts), who turned 30 on April 4, will face Sigmon (22-3, 12 KOs) in only his second fight with trainer Robert Garcia, under whom Pavlik debuted with last month's second-round knockout of Aaron Jaco.

Pavlik is after his third straight victory since being dethroned as WBC/WBO beltholder by RING middleweight champion Sergio Martinez via unanimous decision in April of 2010.

Since then, Pavlik has fought twice at 169 pounds or above, including at 170 pounds for the 10-round majority decision over Alfonso Lopez in May of last year.

"I have the power to get right back where I want to get," said Pavlik. "To a title fight."

Also on the card is unbeaten lightheavyweight prospect Mike Lee (8-0, 5 KOs), a Notre Dame graduate, who is training with Ronnie Shields in Houston, Texas, and who has become very popular in Subway commercials.

The Pavlik-Sigmon undercard also includes Jesse Magdaleno (8-0, 5 KOs), a 20-year-old resident of Las Vegas, in a junior featherweight bout.

Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com