Former world champion Winky Wright will return from an eight-month layoff when he enters the ring against Grady Brewer on Dec. 11 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
A southpaw who will turn 38 on Nov. 26, Wright is coming off of consecutive losses by decision to Bernard Hopkins and Paul Williams in July 2007 and this past April, respectively.
Wright (51-5-1, 25 knockouts) owns victories over former world champs Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad, and fought to a disputed draw with former undisputed middleweight (160 pounds) champion Jermain Taylor.
Paul Williams, a two-time welterweight and one-time junior middlweight champion, will likely face WBC champion Sergio Martinez on Dec. 5 in Atlantic City, his promoter, Dan Goossen, said Friday.
Goossen is pursuing Martinez (44-1, 24 KOs) for the 154-pound clash instead of WBO champion Sergiy Dzinziruk (36-0, 22 KOs), whom he was also considering.
"I would say that we're working toward trying to finalize Martinez. The site, I don't have yet," said Goossen of a man who battled former world welterweight champion Kermit Cintron to a 12-round draw in their clash for the WBC's interim title in February.
Paul Williams is pursuing a fight with either WBO junior middleweight champion Sergiy Dzinziruk or Sergio Martinez on Dec. 5 in Atlantic City now that his scheduled bout for the same night, against Kelly Pavlik, has been canceled, his promoter, Dan Goossen, and his trainer and manager, George Peterson, told FanHouse.
Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) has a staph infection in his left finger that has plagued him for months, having led to the second postponement of his WBO and WBC middleweight title defenses against Williams (37-1, 27 KOs), a two-time welterweight and one-time junior middleweight champion.
Mark Taffet, Senior Vice President of HBO Sports Pay Per View, said Floyd Mayweather "clearly has proven his star status by generating the kinds of pay per view numbers that very few men in the history of the sport have ever generated."
FanHouse spoke to Taffet, the man in charge of HBO's Pay Per View, as he addressed Mayweather, the Nov. 14 megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, the cable giant's "hunger to go younger" initiative geared toward drawing America's youth to the sport of boxing, and how the organization determines which fights are deserving of pay television status during this exclusive interview.
Kelly Pavlik hopes to draw another huge crowd from his hometown Dec. 5, when he defends his WBC and WBO middleweight belts against Paul Williams at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
In this final installment of a three-part series, Pavlik told FanHouse about his supportive fans, and how he looks forward to the first day of an eight-week "boot camp" for Williams.
For the third defense of his WBC and WBO middleweight titles, Kelly Pavlik will return to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall to face former two-time welterweight and one-time junior middleweight champion Paul Williams on Dec. 5.
In this second installment of a three-part series, Pavlik spoke to FanHouse about Bernard Hopkins, who beat him last fall in Atlantic City, his relationship with trainer Jack Loew, his unusual training regimen and the origin of his nickname, "The Ghost."
It was Sept. 29, 2007, and there were many within the boisterous crowd of 10,127 who packed into Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall who wondered if their hometown hero, Kelly Pavlik, would go down in the first defeat of his career.
Pavlik estimated that close to 8,000 of his faithful had traveled from his native Youngstown, Ohio, to support him. Pavlik could hear them as they screamed encouragement, even as he woozily sank to his stool, having been blasted to the canvas by nearly 20 unanswered punches from Jermain Taylor.
"Are you OK? Can you continue?" asked cornerman Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer since he first laced up the gloves at age 9.
Mark "TNT" Tucker of Eldersburg, MD., remained unbeaten by earning a unanimous, 10-round decision over Jim Strohl of Las Vegas for the United States Boxing Organization belt on Friday night before a screaming, partisan crowd at the Carroll County Agricultural Center's Shipley Arena in Westminster, MD.
In victory, Tucker, 21, rose to 12-0 with seven knockouts, while Strohl (27-8, 21 KOs) lost for the fifth straight time. The fighters were competing as light heavyweights (175 pounds).
FanHouse caught up to rising middleweight, Paul Williams, in Westminster, MD., on Friday night where the man generally considered to be among boxing's pound-for-pound best watched a stablemate on a local fight card.
A 28-year-old, southpaw with two-fisted power and, usually, an incredible energy level and punch output, "The Punisher" Williams (37-1, 27 knockouts) has twice won WBO titles at welterweight (147 pounds) and one at junior middleweight (154). Williams will appear with 27-year-old, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight (160) champion, Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) at Tuesday's press conference announcing their Dec. 5 clash at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
On Saturday afternoon, I told someone that I thought Floyd Mayweather Jr. would beat Manny Pacquiao, if the fight between the world's two best boxers finally materializes. After watching Pacquiao destroy Ricky Hatton on Saturday night, I no longer think that.
In fact, I now think this: Pacquiao, the little man who started his professional boxing career in the Philippines fighting at 106 pounds, would beat any boxer at any weight class under 160. Yes, you read that right: Pacquiao would have to move all the way up to middleweight before I'd bet against him.
Former world champion Winky Wright will return from an eight-month layoff when he enters the ring against Grady Brewer on Dec. 11 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
Paul Williams
Mark Taffet
Kelly Pavlik
For the third defense of his WBC and WBO middleweight titles, 
It was Sept. 29, 2007, and there were many within the boisterous crowd of 10,127 who packed into Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall who wondered if their hometown hero, 
FanHouse caught up to rising middleweight, 
On Saturday afternoon, I told someone that I thought 
