Youngstown, Ohio, a Northeast Ohio city in the heart of the rust belt, is full of hard-working people who have learned how to fight to survive on a daily basis.  Kelly “the Ghost” Pavlik is one of those fighters and it started at the now-famous Southside Boxing Club, in one of the roughest parts of the city.

Pavlik, a scrawny, pale, ghostly-looking kid as an amateur, quickly earned respect from other amateurs during his younger years. And now, he’s the middleweight champ of the world. The new book by David Lee Morgan Jr. and Greg Gulas, follows Pavlik’s amazing and inspiring rise to the top of the sport, at a time when the sport needs a hero … someone who represents the basic values that seem to have been lost in today’s society.

In Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik: The Pride of Youngstown, Morgan and Gulas were given exclusive permission to tell the story of Pavlik’s rise from an amateur to World Champion. Together, the two authors capture the heart of not only what Pavlik means to Youngstown, but what the city has meant to him.

“As a native of Mahoning Valley, I know what sports heroes, especially boxing heroes, like Kelly and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini mean to the people of Youngstown, whether they are young or old, black or white, rich or poor” Morgan said.  At the same time, Kelly popularity reaches outside of Youngstown, throughout Northeast Ohio, in Atlantic City and other areas of the country where people respect Kelly’s humble work ethic.

``Kelly has never turned his back on where he grew up and lives and that's what makes him so unique in the sports world, So many professional athletes change who they are when they acquire fame and fortune but Kelly's appeal, outside of his outstanding boxing prowess, is the fact that he is still one of them."

    ~ David Lee Morgan Jr.