Reigning middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik seems to badly want a fight with Paul Williams, but is willing to "settle" for a bout with WBA middleweight titlist Felix Sturm if he can't get Williams in the ring. Joe Scalzo at the Pavlik-lovin' Vindicator has the quotes:
"If we can't get Williams, I definitely want Sturm, but right now I think Williams is definitely the better fight," Pavlik said. "I think that's the fight that the fans want to see. That's the fight that I want."
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"I’m definitely back," he said. "We’re not going to have another layoff like that.
"We got the job done and now it’s a kick-start to 2010. We’re going to take care of all the big names again and make that statement again and get back on top."
Whether or not Pavlik is "back" isn't really the point right now, but after watching the fight, I'd have to agree with everyone else -- Pavlik, Jack Loew, Miguel Espino, Espino's trainer -- that Kelly was not particularly good on Saturday. The layoff, the injury, all that played a part. Espino wasn't really ever in the fight, but he was really courageous and he went out there to shock the world. In the end (and at the beginning, and in the middle), Pavlik was just too strong for him.
Pavlik-Williams is a really interesting fight and is absolutely what everyone wants. That's the fight the fans want to see, because even if you had strong feelings about who would win and why, it's now become an issue more than just a good fight. They've got a score to settle.
Pavlik-Sturm, on the other hand, barely interests me much at all. HBO lowballed an offer for that fight earlier this year because the network wasn't particularly thrilled about the idea. Sturm has next to no name in the States, only known for a controversial fight against Oscar de la Hoya that happened over five years ago. Even if Pavlik isn't quite what he was cracked up to be when he dethroned Jermain Taylor, I'm 100% confident he beats up on Sturm. The idea of unification is fine and dandy, but Pavlik's already the legit champion and one of the sanctioning bodies would just strip him anyway.