Pavlik weigh-in at 3 p.m.

Today's Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez weigh-in is at 3 p.m. at the Palladium Ballroom A inside Caesar's. The doors open to the public at 2.

This is the same room that held Pavlik's weigh-in with Jermain Taylor in September of 2007. His last two weigh-in sessions have been in a theatre inside Caesar's, so please note the difference if you're in town.

As always, the weigh-in is free and open to the public.

Pavlik has had a particularly difficult time making weight for this fight, mainly because he entered camp with more muscle than usual. WFMJ reporter Dana Balash was telling me about a conversation he had with Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew, on Thursday.

"When is panic time, Jack?" Balash asked.

"2:50," he said. "He'll be up there with a towel in front of him, if that's what it takes."

Loew told me last night Pavlik was at 163 1/2 on Thursday and should be around 161 1/2 this morning. From there, you just try to sweat off the last few pounds. I'm sure Pavlik will make it but the difficulty only underscores just few fights Pavlik has left at middleweight.

In case you're wondering, if a fighter doesn't make weight, he's usually given about an hour to go back and sweat off the final pounds. If that doesn't work, the fight will stay on as long as both fighters agree to fight above weight. It would not be a title fight, though, and the opponent usually gets a couple extra bucks to go ahead with the bout.

Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels told me last night they're expecting about 7,000 fans for the fight, which isn't as good as Pavlik's previous three Atlantic City bouts but would still be considered a success. Frankly, I'm skeptical they can draw that many, but we'll see.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Boardwalk Hall for the fight card, with the first bout at 7. Campbell's Chris Hazimihalis is the fourth fight on the card and will not be part of the HBO telecast. Pavlik's bout is expected to start between 11 and 11:30.

-- Joe Scalzo