Pavlik-Taylor weigh-ins
By Kevin Iole
Yahoo.com
Friday, Sep 28, 2007 6:48 pm EDT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - There can now be little doubt who the crowd will favor on Saturday in the WBC middleweight championship between Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17 KOs) and unbeaten challenger Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KOs).

The crowd at the weigh-in in a ballroom at Caesars Palace was overwhelmingly in favor of Pavlik, who came in a half-pound under the 160-pound limit.

Taylor weighed in first to a chorus of boos from the crowd as he weighed in at 159.

Anna Nieczski, 25, wore a Pavlik t-shirt and had Pavlik's initials painted on her cheeks. She said she and her boyfriend drove overnight to make it to support Pavlik.

"Kelly has never forgotten where he's from," Nieczski said. "He's gotten a big name in boxing and he's going to win the middleweight title, but he's still the same guy he was when he started. People in a town like this remember that."

Yahoo! Sports will have complete coverage of the fight on Saturday, which will be televised live on HBO beginning at 10:15 p.m. Eastern/7:15 p.m. Pacific.













I hope Pavlik takes advantage of his long arms.