According to HBO's Larry Merchant, former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has decided to forego his rematch with newly-crowned champion Sergio Martinez. Due to his inability to make the middleweight limit of 160 pounds, Pavlik will instead move up in weight. The decision now frees up Martinez, who has expressed interest in fighting undefeated multi-division champion Floyd Mayweather.
Shortly after his dominant victory over Shane Mosley, Mayweather himself hinted that he might be interested in a showdown with the jr. middleweight and middleweight champion, assuming, of course, that a bout with Manny Pacquiao can't be made first. Should Mayweather indeed go a different direction, Martinez could also consider a rematch with Paul Williams, who just scored a bizarre split decision over Kermit Cintron.
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