Donaire vs Mathebula Undercard: Kelly Pavlik vs Will Rosinsky Slated to Be New HBO Co-Feature

Former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik has three fights under his belt in his new campaign at super middleweight, two of those coming this year with new trainer Robert Garcia, and now it looks like the Ohio native will be taking a solid step back up in competition with a potential fight against Will Rosinsky on July 7.

Last night, Brandon Rios pulled out of his bout with Mauricio Herrera, which was lined up as the HBO co-feature that night from Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., with Nonito Donaire and Jeffrey Mathebula headlining the show in a 122-pound title unification.

With Rios out, the show needed a new second TV fight, and Vanes Martirosyan vs Ryan Davis just wasn't going to cut it. So Pavlik and Rosinsky, who have both fought in the last week, are now targeted for the slot, with the fight "close" to being signed.

Pavlik (39-2, 34 KO) dominated club fighter Scott Sigmon on the June 8 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights at the Hard Rock in Vegas, busting up the game but extremely limited foe. This followed an easy, two-round win over Aaron Jaco on March 31. Pavlik, 30, is trying to stay active and get himself into a major fight by the end of 2012.

Rosinsky (16-1, 9 KO) fought on Thursday night, beating Aaron Pryor Jr in New York by eight-round unanimous decision on Lou DiBella's Broadway Boxing show. Last year, he gave Edwin Rodriguez a very tough test on ShoBox, only to have the judges come back with unanimous 100-90 scores for Rodriguez, which was puzzling.

The 27-year-old Rosinsky is a solid fighter, in his prime, and probably as ready as he'll get for a major opportunity like this. But Pavlik should win this fight, particularly if he wants to get himself back into contention. I suspect that it won't be easy for him, as Rosinsky isn't a pushover, but if it is, then the comeback is in full swing for Kelly.