By Dan Ambrose: Kelly Pavlik (37-2, 32 KO’s) plans on resuming his career in April or May this year and will be fighting at super middleweight instead of at middleweight.

Pavlik will be training with Robert Garcia in California and looking to escape from all the problems that Pavlik left behind in his old life in Ohio.

Pavlik has dealt with a lot in the past couple of years, but he’s ready to move and try and recapture a world title. Garcia is a great trainer and should help Pavlik in the same way Garcia has worked wonders with fighters like Brandon Rios, Victor Ortiz, and Nonito Donaire.

Garcia needs to make Pavlik less stiff and upright and help him develop his left hook more so he’s not so reliant on his 1-2 combinations that he seemed to use far too much under his old trainer Jack Loew.

I’d like to see Pavlik face a decent super middleweight in his first fight back. If Pavlik is looking good in the gym with Garcia, I don’t see any reason why they can’t match Pacquiao up against a fringe contender at least at super middleweight. Pavlik is still in the prime of his career and he can’t afford to waste all of 2012 putting him in with B or C level fighters. I think if he’s doing some good sparring and Garcia has fixed some of his major flaws, then I think Pavlik should be matched against one of the following fighters for his next fight in April or May:

• Gusmyr Perdomo
• Glen Johnson
• Renan St Juste
• Peter Quillin
• Brian Magee
• Dimitri Sartison
• Nader Hamdan
• Dyah Davis

These guys would be great for Pavlik and it would give him some immediate self confidence in beating one of them. Pavlik won’t get anything from beating a lower level type of opponent. He’s need someone that will give him a slight test like these guys would.