Pavlik To Defend Middleweight Crown Against Williams

Kelly Pavlik will defend his unified middleweight championship against Paul Williams on October 3rd in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Despite some fits and starts in the negotiations between the two sides, they finally came to terms on Tuesday night. An official announcement of the fight will be forthcoming.

Talks had gone back and forth between Top Rank president Todd DuBoef, who promotes Pavlik, and Williams promoter Dan Goossen with the primary bone of contention being the split of the $3.75 million rights fee from HBO and the live gate at Boardwalk Hall which could approach $2 million. Also under dispute was a rematch clause requested by Pavliks side.

DuBoef confirmed to the media that a deal had been made:

"Goossen and I have agreed to all terms and we are going to contract for the fight. We look forward to a formal announcement."

Goossen also said the fight was a done deal:

"I'm just happy that we've finally come to terms and gotten this resolved. Now we can move forward."

Pavlik will be defending the middleweight title for the third time. Williams, a rangy southpaw, could be his most dangerous challenge to date. A difficult matchup for any fighter, Williams has fought at three different weight classes in an effort to advance his career and Goossen talked about the stern challenge his fighter will present Pavlik:

"Paul Williams, as we have said over and over, will fight anyone at virtually any weight. This is another example of him willing to take on the best. He wants to take over the 160-pound division."

Pavlik promoter DuBoef also shared his thoughts on the matchup:

"I think it's an interesting matchup. It's a fight that Kelly wants and he's highly motivated for this fight. People have said there is no real opposition in the 160-pound division, but this fight can bring a lot of interest to a division with a rich history."

Pavliks co-manager Cameron Duncan added:

"Paul Williams is a terrific fighter and so is my guy. It's a terrific match and it's good for boxing. It's a fight people are going to want to watch. Williams comes to fight and Kelly definitely comes to fight. It's going to be a really fun fight to watch with lots of lots of punches and lots of action."

The fight got made despite almost no hands on input from Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. Early negotiations for the fight broke down on several occasions due to the strained relationship between Arum and Williams' manager Al Haymon.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.