Betting on Boxing: Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor, Sept. 29

31-0 Kelly Pavlik (jumping) will take on 27-0-1 Jermain Taylor in New Jersey on Sept. 29. (AP Images)

Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik have closed a deal to put their undefeated records on the line in a fight for Taylor's middleweight championship.

Lou DiBella, Taylor's promoter, said the fight will happen Sept. 29 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

If Pavlik (31-0) wins, a rematch would take place at the super middleweight level. Taylor's team has become increasingly concerned lately about the champion's ability to slim down to the 160-pound middleweight limit.

Taylor, of Little Rock, Arkansas beat Bernard Hopkins in 2005 to win the middleweight title. He then beat Hopkins in a rematch and escaped with a draw against Winky Wright. He then outpointed Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks, two fighters up from the junior middleweight ranks.

Taylor (27-0-1) drew criticism for fighting the two smaller opponents, but there should be fewer complaints about his next foe. Pavlik, of Youngstown, Ohio, fought on the Taylor-Spinks undercard in May in Memphis, Tenn. He stopped Edison Miranda in an action-packed seven-round bout that in many ways upstaged Taylor's split decision over Spinks.

Pavlik and Miranda combined to throw 191 punches in the first round. Pavlik's promoter, Bob Arum, compared the fight to great middleweight bouts of the 1980s.

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