By Mark Vester

A deal has been finalized for WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik to meet Bernard Hopkins at the catch-weight of 170-pounds on October 18 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The Press of Atlantic City reports that Harrah's Entertainment boxing consultant Ken Condon finalized the deal with Bob Arum of Top Rank and HBO, who will carry the fight on their pay-per-view arm.

After the retirement of Arturo Gatti, Pavlik became the heir to the Boardwalk Hall throne. Thousands of fans from Youngstown have traveled to the venue to support his fights against Jermain Taylor and Gary Lockett. Condon tells the paper that he expects another huge crowd.

"We're very excited about it," Condon said. "We've been developing Kelly as a big draw for Boardwalk Hall, and this should be very popular with his fans. I'm expecting more to show up for this one than last time. You never know what's gonna happen when Bernard gets in the ring. Besides being a tough Philly fighter, he's also very cagey. A lot of people thought he'd beat Calzaghe, so this fight with Kelly should be very interesting."

Hopkins has not fought at the Boardwalk Hall since his dominating 2006 "retirement" bout against Antonio Tarver. He quickly came out of retirement the following year to win a decision over Winky Wright, also fought at the catch-weight of 170.

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