Pavlik-Williams bout likely

By Joe Scalzo

The champ would make his second defense on Sept. 27 in Atlantic City.

YOUNGSTOWN — Get ready for Pavlik vs. The Punisher.

Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik seems poised to make his second title defense against WBO welterweight champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams Sept. 27 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

The bout would be televised by HBO.

“We’re very close to a deal,” said Pavlik’s promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Friday. “There are a lot of loose ends we have to deal with, but you could say it looks very likely. We’re very optimistic that it will happen.”

Williams (34-1, 25 KOs) regained his WBO title with a first-round knockout of Carlos Quintana in a Showtime bout June 7. Quintana defeated Williams by unanimous decision in February in Williams’ first title defense since winning the belt with a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Margarito on July 14, 2007.

At 6-foot-1, Williams has the frame to fight at a higher division, although the 13-pound jump figures to be a big adjustment, particularly against a large middleweight like Pavlik. Like Pavlik, Williams throws a lot of punches — more than 100 per round — and has knockout power.

He would be Pavlik’s first southpaw opponent since Bronco McKart on July 27, 2007. Pavlik won that fight with a sixth-round knockout.

A Williams-Pavlik bout has been rumored for several days, but negotiations stalled over the prize money. Pavlik’s handlers do not want their fighter to take a pay cut from the $2.5 million he earned with his third-round TKO of Gary Lockett last month.

No numbers were released, but Williams is expected to make about $1 million for the bout. Williams originally asked for $2.5 million to fight Pavlik.

Arum said he should know today whether the fight will happen.

Williams, 26, was born in Aiken, S.C. and now lives in Augusta, Ga. He has never fought in Atlantic City.

Pavlik has fought twice at Boardwalk Hall, beating Lockett on June 7 and defeating Jermain Taylor last September to win the WBC and WBO titles.

An agreement would end weeks of negotiations over Pavlik’s next opponent. Following the Lockett bout, Arum tried to arrange a fight with former super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe and thought he was close to an agreement with Calzaghe’s longtime promoter, Frank Warren. But Calzaghe instead fired Warren and opted to fight Roy Jones Jr. at light heavyweight.

Arum then explored bouts with fighters like Ronald “Winky” Wright (who wanted too much money), Sergio Mora (ditto), Marco Antonio Rubio (who didn’t interest HBO) and John Duddy (who may instead fight at 154 pounds).

Pavlik is expected to fight once more in 2008 before a middleweight unification bout in 2009 with IBF champion Arthur Abraham of Germany. Due to prior obligations, Abraham is not available to fight Pavlik this year.

Abraham, who knocked out Edison Miranda in a non-title bout last month, is widely considered the second-best middleweight in the world.

The WBA title is held by Germany’s Felix Sturm, who seems unlikely to fight Pavlik anytime soon.

One of the best middleweight fights in history pitted middleweight champion Marvin Hagler against former welterweight champ Thomas Hearns in April 1985. Hagler won that fight, later dubbed “The War,” by third-round TKO. Hearns, however, had fought at light middleweight for several years before that bout.

scalzo@vindy.com