Pavlik vs. Williams off for now!

World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has withdrawn from his October 3 title defense against former WBO welterweight champion Paul Williams, due to a knuckle injury he suffered on his left hand in training. Dates that both parties are currently considering to reschedule the event are November 21 and December 5. The bout was scheduled to take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, Williams' promoter Dan Goossen was completely unaware of the Pavlik's decision to withdraw from the fight. Goossen informed ESPN, ""As you are aware, we've just learned of Pavlik's decision to cancel the press conference and thus the fight and we will evaluate where we go from here." HBO and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who represents Pavlik, have already approved the rescheduled date of November 21, but Goossen has not yet confirmed his fighter's next step amidst yesterday's sudden postponement. On that same evening, Goossen will be representing super middleweight Andre Ward in his title challenge of WBA super middleweight champion Mikkell Kessler on HBO rival Showtime's Super Six Classic Tournament.

Goossen is well aware of the fact that Kessler vs. Ward and Pavlik vs. Williams could very well interfere and compete with one another as the respective boxing telecasts will likely coincide. Taking that into consideration, this reporter believes there is a better than average chance that Pavlik vs. Williams will be rescheduled for December 5. Stay tuned for further details.