Ring girls unveiled
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About three weeks ago, Valley24.com found itself working with Team Pavlik.
Not for training, not to comment on a story, but for help finding the area's hottest girls to be ring girls for WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's title defense against Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio on Saturday.
While The Vindicator was accepting submissions from area hopefuls to sing the national anthem, Valley24.com was taking in photos and bios from 24 attractive girls.
Some of these girls had been ring girls before, some had modeling experience. Others had neither. They were all types of girls, from different backgrounds and Mahoning Valley cities.
From the 24 submissions, nine girls were selected to video and photoshoots in our studio. One girl who made the first cut was out of town the week of shooting, but went forward with her contributed photos.
On Wednesday night at the Chevrolet Centre, it was announced: Dawn, Jocelyn, Syreena and Laylah would get the honor of being seen worldwide during Saturday's fights at the Chevrolet Centre.
Of the four, Dawn is the only one with experience as a ring girl. Laylah, Jocelyn and Syreena have varied levels of modeling experience but all four of the girls have Mahoning Valley ties in common.
They also all share a streak of confidence, admitting they all thought they'd make it to the fight. Are they nervous to be seen in bikinis on Pay Per View? Not one bit. They all described their feeling about the fight as "excited."
And they said their friends and family are excited for them. Laylah's mom even submitted her application form for her.
The four girls posed for photographs Wednesday in front of a crowd as comfortably as they did in the studio. I was proud the Mahoning Valley produced girls as attractive and capable of being ring girls for a fight this big as anywhere else in the country.
And according to Team Pavlik's John D'Altorio, that was the point.
He said when the fight was announced, he, Pavlik, his father, Mike Pavlik Sr., started looking for ways to incorporate the fans into the fight.
"We started looking for ways to get the fans involved in the fight without them being in the ring," D'Altorio said. "We figured the national anthem would give them worldwide exposure. The ring girls will get worldwide exposure, too."
D'Altorio said the ring girls are usually selected by a fighter's camp, a venue or a promoter. He said Team Pavlik thought the exposure would be a great opportunity to others in the area.
"This fight could kick off someone's career," he said.
And that someone could also be one of the three winners selected for the national anthem contest.
On Wednesday, seven local singers vied for an opportunity to sing the national anthem at Saturday's contest. They were Matt Wolfe, 20, of Lowellville; Lisa Burley, 42, of New Castle; Melania Williams, 23, of Greenford; Alyssa DiBernardi, 18, of Boardman; Shafica Kaleel, 21; Elissa Grundy, 23 and Max Ryan Hanni, 20.
Each of the singers had an opportunity to sing the entire first verse of the "Star Spangled Banner" in front of a panel of seven judges, including:
- The Vindicator's Promotions Manager Nena Perkins
- Mike Pavlik Sr., Pavlik's father and co-manager
- Pavlik's trainer Jack Loew
- Team Pavlik member and Pavlik's co-manager Cameron Dunkin
- State Sen. Joe Schiavoni (D-33rd)
- Team Pavlik member and Pavlik's brother, Rick Pavlik
The judges didn't comment between singers and instead huddled after all seven performed. The plan had been for one singer to be selected, but judges ended up picking three singers to sing three separate songs.
Hanni was given third place and asked to sing at the official weigh-in Friday. DiBernardi was named runner-up and asked to sing "God Bless America" Saturday at the fight. Wolfe was the first place winner and asked to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" Saturday at the fight.
Wolfe said when he submitted his video to Vindy.com, he didn't think he'd win and described himself as "surprised" after the fight.
His family was a mix of hugs and tears after the announcement, while he said he was "pretty pumped" for the opportunity through a wide smile.
See the rest of the girls in the contest by visiting this link.
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