Pavlik Too Strong for Taylor Again

The world middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik scored a second victory over his American rival Jermain Taylor, earning a unanimous points decision in Las Vegas to set up a possible autumn world super-middleweight title fight against Joe Calzaghe, who first fights Bernard Hopkins in a light heavyweight contest on April 19.

In September, Pavlik, 25, had stopped Taylor in seven rounds to win the WBO and WBC middleweight titles. This time, he won with scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. Neither of Pavlik's belts was at stake with the fight made at a catch weight of 11st 12lbs, 6lbs above the middleweight limit, but the victory confirms his status as the world's leading middleweight.

The key to the outcome was the pressure Pavlik was able to apply to the 29-year-old Taylor, who had become middleweight champion in 2005 by ending Hopkins' decade-long undefeated run. "Rounds three through six, he was countering my jabs," said Pavlik. "Those were Taylor's best rounds. I tried to hit him to the body but he kept moving. I finally started to land my shots in the last three rounds when he was tiring."

Before a possible showdown with Calzaghe, who will still be the WBC, WBA and IBF super-middleweight champion whatever the result against Hopkins, Pavlik has been penciled in for a world title defence at New York's Madison Square Garden on June 7, when a possible opponent could be one of Calzaghe's training partners, fellow Weshman Gary Lockett.

The 7ft former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev put himself in line for a rematch against his conqueror, Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan, when he scored a unanimous points decision over 12 rounds against the former WBO champion Sergei Liakhovich in Nuremburg. Valuev scaled nearly 23st and outweighed his opponent by more than 70lbs.

Amir Khan's opponent for his next fight will be announced today, with the contest now set to take place at the Bolton Arena on April 5.