Billy “Pride” Lyell fought 36 times with 25 wins and 5 knockouts while Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik contended 42 times with 40 wins and 34 knockouts. Both middleweight fighters demolished their opponents in the ring, fueled by the passion to win.
When asked how they got into prizefighting, Kelly mentioned in a recent interview that he wanted to do martial arts while in school, but that was too expensive, so the next best thing was boxing.
Billy played baseball and basketball, but his completive nature would often times get in the way of his sportsmanship. He’d get upset when his team lost a game, so his dad suggested that he play something a little more individualized, like tennis. He competed in tennis, but that was expensive. He needed to find another sport that would allow him to compete while dominating his rival, so he started boxing and felt impassioned about it after he won his first bought.
Although Billy is a native of Niles, Ohio, he resides in Naples, Florida, along with his wife, Jessica Lyell. They are both owners and trainers at the Sweet Science Boxing and Fitness Gym in that area. Kelly is owner and trainer at Mi Gym in Columbiana, Ohio.
Both Ohio natives, in addition to certified nutritionist, Jessica Lyell, partnered to foster The Sweet Science + app for IOS smart devices. Kelly and Billy inter-mixed their experiences as skilled fighters to create a leading application for fitness so that people could train while using the device from all over the world. They offer meal plans and recipes as well, to cover the nutritional essentials that users may need.
KP: We were in different locations so we couldn’t really do a gym. I’m sure that if we lived in the same area, instead of doing the app, we would’ve had it in our gym for the entire county or area. The app sorta came up when Billy was down in Florida while I was here in Ohio. We really wanted to get it out because it’s not many apps out there where you have boxing from a former world champion and a former world champion challenger. We got together, made some videos on it, and sent it out to people where it’s mobile. Some of them have work schedules and everything else so they can learn how to box and get the same conditioning training in their free time.
BL: There is only two of us, and with Kelly being a three-time world champion, and his expertise as well as my knowledge, we wanted people to get that boxing knowledge and experience from anywhere in the whole world. I have a gym in Florida, and the way we do it is that there are a lot of people who want the app, because they just want to learn to box. They will never make it to the gym because they have families, jobs, and they are always busy. We also have people that are in college, who just want to get into shape. The way that we hit the market is that the app has ten different rounds of fitness. One round is boxing, three minutes of exercise and one minute of rest. The rounds are split with five in boxing and five in fitness. We have over one-hundred and twenty different exercises, so we just randomly generate five different fitness exercises each day. That’s for anyone who want to get into tremendous shape by doing the exercises. Each week, Kelly gives instructional videos and techniques, with different boxing combinations to go with it. The great thing about the app is that it’s a lifetime of work. It’s a game changer. This is what we’ve been doing our whole lives, training to be the best athletes.
In 2012, there were only 12 boxing apps listed for Android and IOS phones, which is a diminutive number in comparison to the standard fitness apps. Even with such a large quantity of fitness apps on the market, that didn't mean they worked.
Experts say that when deciding on a fitness app, you should ponder if the exercises are personal since everyone’s body is different. You should think about your fitness level. By doing 30-minute workouts, you build more grit. If you feel yourself getting stronger while exercising, then you should add additional minutes to your workouts. Billy and Kelly considered those things when developing the Sweet Science + app. They both recommend switching up the workouts so that you don’t get bored with the regimen. The adjustment will help with strength and conditioning. Lastly, Kelly says that you should rest between sets to build up more strength so that you can get to the next round.
BL: Each week Kelly explains a skill, where people learn the basics of how they stand, how they hold their hands, and learning to throw basic jabs while moving their feet. He gives video instructions that people can reenact repeatedly. For each exercise, there is a gift. We have five-hundred different gifts within the apps. There’s a gift after each exercise when people learn the proper way of doing the workouts.
Recently, Billy and Kelly did a beta testing and a soft launch of The Sweet Science + app. It attained rave reviews from its users.
BL: With the Sweet Science boxing app, many people want to box, and a lot of people just want to get into the best shape. Boxing is the best workout for anybody. People want to do it [get fit] just for them. The question you should ask yourself is, ‘Do you need to workout?’ For the people that want to do cardio, but they don’t have the muscle tone— When you use the boxing app, you are doing cardio and complete strength and conditioning training all in one. With the meal plan, it breaks down your grocery list, and how you prepare everything. If you follow the app, you’ll get great results and great nutrition because you’re using it the right way.
KP: On top of that, you’re really learning to fight. You aren’t getting these techniques from regular fitness guys that’s showing you how to box. You have two former full title challengers and full champions showing you how to really throw a punch and the right techniques and everything else on top of the unbelievable cardio workout that you’re getting.
● Video Tutorial Training Sessions. Sweet Science+ utilizes custom training videos created by champion boxers to help users understand proper fundamentals, improve techniques and tone with “championship tips.”
● Multiple Round Workouts. Each day consists of a ten round workout to keep users in shape with five targeted exercises and five combination training sessions. Workout rounds begin and end with a ‘ringside fight bell sound’ providing users with a signal to start and stop the timed sessions.
●One-on-One ‘Ghost Training’: At the beginning of each training exercise, users will be given a one-on-one ‘Ghost Training’ session routine run through with former World Champion Boxer Kelly ‘The Ghost’ Pavlik to get them prepared for the rigorous workout.
● Nutrition Plans: The Sweet Science+ app creates your ideal meal planning guide to provide users with a lean physique and balanced meals including breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
Each meal plan includes ingredients, cooking instructions and a weekly suggested shopping list for simplicity.
● Progress Tracking: Users will be able to easily track their progress through the app’s weight tracking system allowing them to set goals and see results over time.
● Push Notifications. Sweet Science+'s push notifications help users stay on track with their fitness goals and remind them when it’s time to workout.
"Co-Founders Billy "Pride of Ohio" Lyell and Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik training session"