By Mark Vester

WBC/WBO Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has, according to various reports, recovered from his staph infection and plans to defend his titles against Miguel Espino of "The Contender" fame on December 19 in the headline bout of a show that takes place in his backyard of Youngstown, Ohio. Pavlik had been scheduled to face Paul Williams on December 5 but withdrew, for the second time, with the lingering staph infectionon his left hand. Williams will now face Sergio Martinez on the same date.

Undeafetd junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan was advised by Top Rank that he might land in the co-feature spot on the card. The event will be shown by Top Rank pay-per-view. The event will take place at the Beeghly Center on the campus of Youngstown State University. Pavlik's trainer Jack Loew told local media that deal was signed on Monday afternoon.

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