Two hours before fight time.

By Joe Scalzo (Contact)

Published October 18, 2008

A couple things to pass along.

- Pavlik left his hotel room at Caesars Atlantic City just after 8:30 p.m. and made the short walk to Boardwalk Hall outside with his team. He looked focused and confident. The happy-go-lucky Pavlik tends to disappear early on fight night and he always looks mean before the bout. Hopkins and Pavlik are both in their locker rooms now. The fight is expected to start between 11 p.m. and 11:15.

Boardwalk Hall is about half-full right now. It looks like it's going to be a really good crowd, but you could get cheap tickets outside the building. One scalper I talked to said a $700 ticket would go for between $200 and $300 and I know a couple guys got $500 seats for $125 each. The reason is, the casinos give the big gamblers comp seats. They, in turn, sell them to scalpers, who try to unload them on the street. Right now, there are too many scalpers.

Roy Jones held a short press conference about an hour ago. He's predicting a win for Hopkins. (Jones handed Hopkins his second of five defeats.)

"I'm rather interested in the fight," said Jones. "I like the Ghost. I like how he looks. I wouldn't be surprised if the Ghost sits him [Hopkins] down once or twice.

"I think Bernard will out-box the Ghost. He [Pavlik] is going to have to catch him with something."

Jones, who is going to fight Joe Calzaghe next month, was once the undisputed best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. But at 39, he's lost a little, although he thinks he's as talented -- and good-looking -- as ever.

I'll have more updates  over the next two hours, as well as a few blogs during the fight. Stay tuned, Youngstown fans.