This whole Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams postponement/cancellation is a mess. I just hope the fight comes off this fall, even if it looks a little shaky.
After a long, tough negotiation, one of the year's great fights was supposed to be announced at a formal news conference Tuesday afternoon in New York. Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, and much of Top Rank's staff were already there awaiting the arrival of Pavlik and the Williams camp.
Then, on Monday afternoon came word that the bout was postponed, according to Top Rank. Promoter Bob Arum and Dunkin said Pavlik had a staph infection on a knuckle on his left hand (something he supposedly has been dealing with for months) and that the bout would be delayed. At first, Top Rank announced it would be pushed back to Nov. 21 (a date it had cleared with HBO and the venue, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.). Then it was amended to Nov. 21 or a date in early December.
On the other side, Dan Goossen, Williams' promoter, who was not too pleased. The first he heard about the Nov. 21 date was from a reporter. It sounded fishy because anyone who glances at the boxing schedule -- I keep a very detailed one for ESPN.com -- would know that Goossen is promoting the Mikkel Kessler-Andre Ward super middleweight title bout on Showtime on Nov. 21.
It's a major fight that is part of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic. Obviously, Goossen isn't going to promote another major fight against himself. That would be bad business and damaging to Showtime, which is paying a lot of money to Goossen for Ward's next four fights -- one tuneup and a minimum of three tournament fights.
When I called Goossen to ask about his take on moving Pavlik-Williams to Nov. 21 or into December, he was noncommittal and kept referring to the fight being "canceled."
When I asked him about being amenable to Williams facing Pavlik in December, he was measured in his response.
"Paul last fought in April, and we all want him back in the ring in October because he can't just sit around. He needs to fight," Goossen said. "We have no problem fighting Kelly Pavlik. We never have. That's who we all wanted to fight, but it might have to wait until next year. Does it makes sense for us to say we'll do the fight in December when we don't know if Pavlik will show up and we don't know the extent of his problems?"
Arum, on the other hand, assured me it would all be worked out this week, though it's pretty clear Arum himself isn't pleased with Pavlik.
He and Dunkin both said Pavlik missed at least three doctor's appointments and that the fighter didn't finally see a physician until just hours before he was supposed to leave for New York. Why would a world champion with a multimillion-dollar fight in front of him miss three appointments to have his hand checked? Remember, Pavlik makes his multimillion-dollar living with his hands.
It seems like very odd behavior and, quite frankly, highly unprofessional.
It took a lot to get the sides to agree on the fight. It would be a shame to see it go down the drain.
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