OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN: TAYLOR VS. PAVLIK

by HBO.com | Photos by Will Hart

Nearly 500 hundred chanting fans turned out tonight at Caesars Palace to witness the official weigh-in and final stamp on the pre-fight lead up to the Jermain Taylor/Kelly Pavlik title fight tomorrow night.

To get a view of the fighters as they took the scale, you had to either have the privledge of being up front early, or like many of the fans who seemingly slept in the ballroom overnight, stand on chairs to see over the crowed pushing thier way forward.

Maybe because Ohio is slightly closer to Atlantic City than Little Rock, Arkansas, the volume of Pavlik's fans chanting "PA-VLIK! PAA-VLIK!" echoed off the walls and drowned out the announcers voice as he introduced the reigning champion, Jermain Taylor.

Taylor, for his part, hardly looked phased by the pro-Pavlik turn out. Supposedly under the 160lb limit since Wednesday, Taylor looked in shape and determined, making weight at exactly 159lbs.

Pavlik answered back with 159.5lbs, setting the crowd off, creating a commotion in the wings that knocked down one of the plastic Roman columns down. This is what weigh-ins should be like!