Sports Updates

But it won't only be fun for people who like watching non-stop punching. Williams and Pavlik are consensus top-10 boxers in the world (I have Williams #5 and Pavlik #9), not just the middleweight division, so this is a fall fight that joins other fall elite versus elite match-ups like Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto at 145 pounds in November (Pacquiao #1, Cotto #6) and Floyd Mayweather's unretirement fight at 144 pounds in September against Juan Manuel Marquez (Mayweather #1 pre-retirement, Marquez #2).

All praise due to Pavlik promoter Top Rank, Williams promoter Goossen Tutor and HBO for getting this together. It hasn't been easy. Top Rank boss Bob Arum and Williams manager Al Haymon have a history of bad blood; Pavlik has been seeking more money from HBO than he probably warranted against opponents who didn't excite; and Williams had been asking for money he didn't deserve from Pavlik, who is the real draw, given his Ohio and New Jersey fan bases. Some egos had to be set aside, and money may have been the lubricant. HBO put some serious millions on the line for this fight, and while you can question whether that had to do with their curious allegiance to Haymon, ultimately, the network footing the bill for this fight is the right thing to do.