Round by Round Coverage; Paul Williams-Verno Phillips

By Rick Reeno (photo by Emily Harney/FightWireImages)

Later tonight, two of boxing’s rising stars are going to be showcased on a televised doubleheader on HBO. In the main event, Paul Williams (35-1, 26 KOs) goes for his second divisional title when he takes on veteran Verno Phillips (42-10-1, 21 KOs) for the vacant WBO interim-junior middleweight title.

Williams, unable to land a significant fight at 147-pounds, vacated his WBO welterweight title to take the fight. Phillips threw his title aside as well, vacating the IBF 154-pound trinket that he won from Cory Spinks in March.

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The co-feature is a duel of two hard-hitting American heavyweight prospects. Chris Arreola (25-0, 22 KOs), in possibly his most dangerous assignment, takes on the much larger Travis Walker (28-1, 22 KOs). An impressive win for either fighter could lead to a title shot in 2009.

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