Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams agreed to terms Tuesday night for an Oct. 3 fight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., Top Rank president Todd duBoef told ESPN.com.

DuBoef, Pavlik's promoter, and Dan Goossen, Williams' promoter, had been in heavy negotiations for the past few weeks, and at times it looked like the fight would not happen.

However, with time running out, HBO (which will televise the bout) growing impatient and Top Rank beginning to more seriously explore other alternatives -- Winky Wright and Peter Manfredo the most prominent -- duBoef and Goossen made a deal.

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

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

A news conference is being planned for next Tuesday in New York.

Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) will be making the third defense of his unified titles, which he won via dramatic seventh-round knockout against Jermain Taylor in September 2007. He also beat Taylor in a rematch and lost a decision to Bernard Hopkins in nontitle bouts since becoming champion.

Williams (37-1, 27 KOs), a former two-time welterweight titlist, holds an interim junior middleweight belt. But he has been willing to fight at middleweight, junior middleweight and welterweight in an effort to land major fights. He made a big statement at middleweight in April when he outclassed Wright in a lopsided decision.