View Full Version : Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams Oct 3
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.
Great fight to be made,should be a good matchup .
Mr. IWS
08-20-2009, 08:41 AM
Shit got cancelled. I was gonna bet Williams on this one.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's title defense against Paul Williams has been postponed because of a persistent infection in his left hand.
Pavlik was scheduled to fight Williams at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Oct. 3. Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said the company now expects the fight to be held Nov. 21 or Dec. 5 in the same arena on HBO, but Williams promoter Dan Goossen says he hasn't agreed to anything yet.
Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs), who holds the WBC and WBO 160-pound belts, has an infection in a knuckle on the middle finger of his hand.
"He can't spar with it," Samuels said. "It's been bothering him for some time, and he just went to see a doctor again."
He informed the fight's promoters about the problem Monday, while many were traveling to New York for a news conference scheduled for Tuesday to promote the bout. Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, expected the injury to be healed by now after several months of trouble with the knuckle, which required several stitches at one point.
Williams (37-1, 27 KOs), likely the most avoided fighter in the sport, is coming off a dominant victory over former junior middleweight champion Winky Wright in April. He reached a deal to fight Pavlik last week after several weeks of difficult negotiations, and Goossen had no intention of signing off on a new fight date just yet.
"I would be very interested in finding out who he's fighting (on Nov. 21)," Goossen said. "We've just learned of Pavlik's decision to cancel the press conference and thus the fight, and we'll evaluate where we go from here."
Goossen also promotes Andre Ward, who's expected to fight Mikkel Kessler of Denmark on Nov. 21 in Oakland, Calif., as part of the six-man super middleweight tournament backed by Showtime.
A hand infection first bothered Pavlik in the spring, and Top Rank blamed it for the postponement and cancellation of a fight against Sergio Mora for June 27. Pavlik publicly claimed he was healthy enough to fight, but didn't give an alternate reason for the bout's cancellation, spurring speculation Pavlik was unhappy with Top Rank.
A call to Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, wasn't immediately returned Monday night.
Pavlik, who lost to Bernard Hopkins last year, hasn't fought since defending his titles in a lopsided victory over Marco Antonio Rubio in February.
NC Geoff
09-01-2009, 11:09 AM
I love Williams in this fight... Pavlik just isn't that good, and the word is he has a drinking problem.
Mr. IWS
10-01-2009, 11:38 AM
Fight is now scheduled for December 5th.
As long as the odds arent too crazy, ill be on Paul williams for this one.
Fight is now scheduled for December 5th.
As long as the odds arent too crazy, ill be on Paul williams for this one.
Fights off
The staph infection in a finger on the left hand of middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik still has not healed, so his Dec. 5 title defense against Paul Williams was called off again on Wednesday.
"It's the same finger giving him problems. They told me he can't make a fist," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. "It's getting better and better but it's going a little slow. So, we'll see."
It's the second time the bout -- the centerpiece of HBO's boxing schedule for the end of the year -- has been called off because of the infection.
"This morning we were advised that Kelly Pavlik's recovery of his left hand has not progressed as projected by Dr. Peter Evans at the Cleveland Clinic," Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. "As a result of this Kelly is unable to close his left hand, which prohibits from him from being prepared for a Dec. 5 middleweight championship defense against Paul Williams.
"We at Top Rank are disappointed by this unexpected development in his recovery. Once Pavlik is cleared medically by Dr. Evans we will pursue all avenues with regards to a future bout. We appreciate the understanding of Paul Williams, [his promoter] Goossen Tutor, HBO and Caesars Atlantic City with regards to this unforeseen occurrence."
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said the network will go forward with an alternate card on Dec. 5 at a site to be determined.
"Dan Goossen [Williams' promoter] is looking for the best available opponent for Paul Williams and we will do a doubleheader on Dec. 5," Greenburg told ESPN.com. "The undercard fight will also be announced soon. We will have another solid night of boxing on HBO."
The original undercard bout was to feature former welterweight titleholders Joshua Clottey and Carlos Quintana squaring off in a 10-rounder, but Clottey is promoted by Top Rank, which will no longer be involved in the card. On the eve of an August news conference to formally announce that Pavlik and Williams would meet Oct. 3 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., the bout was called off.
Pavlik underwent surgery twice on his hand over the summer. Because rehabilitation was going well, Top Rank and Goossen put the fight back together in September. They had a formal news conference at Giants Stadium to make the announcement and rescheduled the fight for Dec. 5 at Boardwalk Hall.
However, Pavlik, who has been in training camp for the past couple of weeks, still was having problems with the hand.
"He's trying. He's been running, he's been trying to train in the gym," Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, was quoted as saying on the Web site of the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator, Pavlik's hometown newspaper. "He's trying to shadow box with one hand, hit the speed bag with one hand. I've been trying to keep it a secret but it's not going great and I'm not going to fool anybody any longer.
"I'm sure we're going to get a very bad reaction from their people and I don't blame them. But we've got to do what we've got to do."
Pavlik's infection has given him problems for some time. Co-manager Cameron Dunkin said when the fight was postponed in August that it had been a problem for the previous five or six months.
Arum said he believed it may have been an issue all the way back to last October when Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) was soundly outpointed by Bernard Hopkins in a non-title match at 170 pounds. Pavlik returned to stop Marco Antonio Rubio in February in a title defense.
Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) hasn't fought since a lopsided decision win against Winky Wright in an April middleweight fight. Williams is a former two-time welterweight titleholder and owns an interim junior middleweight belt, but moved up to middleweight in an effort to find a top opponent.
Mr. IWS
10-22-2009, 02:54 PM
This is fuckin crazy.
picture of the infected hand
worst part about this begin cancelled is Joshua Clottey - Carlos Quintana figtht has also been cancelled that was suppose to be on the under card and I was going to pound Clottey
Mr. IWS
10-23-2009, 08:20 AM
He needs to stop stickin his fist up dirty girls coochie.
He needs to stop stickin his fist up dirty girls coochie.
::lmao:: LMAO
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