By Jake Donovan (photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank)

Justice was finally served on the scorecards on Saturday evening for Sergio Martinez, who overcame a knockdown and mid-rounds funk to close strong en route to annexing the World middleweight crown from Kelly Pavlik in front of packed house at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Scores were 115-111, 116-111 and 115-112 for Martinez, who follows in the footsteps of past Argentinean middleweights Hugo Corro and the legendary Carlos Monzon to lay claim to the lineal middleweight championship.

Pavlik, 159.5, Youngstown, OH, looked to impose his massive size and natural weight advantage from the opening bell. The defending champion threw a heavy jab, but was unable to punch in combination early on.

Martinez, 159.5, formerly of Buenos Aires, Argentina, offered constant lateral movements, stopping every so often to drop right hooks and left hands. One right hook in particular opened a cut outside of Pavlik’s left eye, which he continued to target with his jab.

Movement continued to be key in the second round for Martinez, who was the much busier fighter as Pavlik struggled with the speed and athleticism of his southpaw challenger. A few right hands scored for Pavlik, causing Martinez to move backwards on occasion rather than side to side.

Outspoken trainer Jack Loew demanded more of Pavlik in between rounds, asking for more combinations and to believe in his ability. Pavlik responded to a degree, closing the gap and landing an occasional right upstairs. Martinez continued to punch in combination, but was nowhere nearly as effective as was the case in previous rounds.

The boo birds came out in the fourth, as the pro-Pavlik crowd – many of whom made the eight-hour trek from Youngstown - wasn’t very appreciate of Martinez using every inch of the ring to avoid the incoming. Unfortunately for the fans, it was the right strategy. The constant movement left Pavlik frustrated over his inability to score clean, expending considerable energy in the process.

Right hands began to land with greater regularity in the fifth round for Pavlik, who did a much better job of cutting off the ring. Martinez continued to jab and circle, but his style of fighting with his hands low hurt him on the scorecards as he was unable to defend against Pavlik’s long shots from his desired distance.

Fatigue appeared to set in at the midway point for Martinez, who continued to move but fought with his mouth agape. Conversely, Pavlik appeared to be just warming up, using center ring as his starting point in taking the fight to Martinez and dialing in with his jab.

A solid right hand landed towards the end of the sixth round, with Pavlik threatening to take complete control of the fight. An even greater case was made in his favor in the seventh, scoring the bout’s first knockdown with a chopping right hand on top of Martinez’ head midway through the round.

Martinez protested the call, claiming he was held behind the head to aid his trip to the canvas, but referee David Fields rightfully ignored the claim and continued with his mandatory eight count. He once again fell to the canvas late in the round, though it was ruled a slip.

Defense was key for Pavlik in the eighth, avoiding Martinez’ shots and countering with his jab. His ability to avoid the incoming somehow eluded him in the ninth, as Martinez turned up the aggression. Enough left hands scored to open up a cut over Pavlik’s right eye, providing enough motivation for Martinez to let his hands go for the first time since early in the fight.

While the cut over Pavlik’s left eye was manageable, the one over the right eye was a gusher, and his corner did a poor job of trying to stop it. Martinez used it as a bullseye, jabbing and shooting straight lefts in rapid fire succession.

The ringside physician paid a visit to Pavlik’s corner prior to the championship rounds to examine the cuts. Assurances were made by his corner that their fighter was fit to continue, but it was Martinez who continued to control the action in the 11th round. Pavlik stood center ring, but it was virtual target practice for Martinez, who landed flush lefts at will while dancing around and playing to a crowd that was anything but amused with the theatrics.

It was all business in the 12th and final round for both fighters, but it was Martinez who continued to control the tempo.

A left hand sent Pavlik to the ropes early on and the round never got any better for the soon to be ex-champion. Martinez slowed things down but was still ruling the real estate. More left hands busted open the cut over Pavlik’s right eye, who ended the fight with blood pouring down his face and having lost the last four rounds in a monumental collapse.

Still, if Martinez learned anything from past fights, it’s to never take the final outcome for granted. Having been screwed by the judges in each of his last two fights, the transplanted Argentinean finally caught a break on the cards, with all three judges scoring heavily in his favor to mark a new era in the middleweight division.

“It was a 12-round plan. I knew I had to press to win, and that it would be hard,” stated Martinez, now 45-2-2 (24KO). “It’s a tremendous pride and emotion and I can’t explain (my feelings) at this moment.”

A different kind of emotion existed in the other corner, with Pavlik left to explain what went wrong in his home away from home.

“I was fighting an uphill battle with the cuts and his movement,” stated Pavlik, who falls to 36-2 (32KO). “After the eighth or ninth round, he caught me with a nice left hand that cut me. From there, it was just a battle back and hard to see the punches.”

The loss is Pavlik’s second in just his past four fights. It also puts an end to a world middleweight title run that lasted 30 months, but proved to be one of the more disappointing reigns in recent boxing history.

So much promise surrounded Pavlik’s career as he began to advance through the middleweight division and draw closer towards a title shot. He finally earned it in September 2007, climbing off of the canvas in this very same arena to knockout Jermain Taylor to win the championship.

A slew of knockouts followed, albeit against hapless title challengers. What left the greatest impression was not the wins, however, but the lopsided loss to Bernard Hopkins – also in this arena – 18 months ago.

The loss was his first as a professional but came at a catchweight while remaining middleweight king. Not the case with Saturday’s result, where he’s forced to lament life as an ex-champion.

If he has his way, he’ll get at least one more chance to redeem himself. A rematch clause was included in the contracts for this fight, one which Pavlik plans to enforce.

“I hate losing. It was hard making 160, but it’s always hard. We’re going back to the drawing board, and… the rematch clause is definitely intact.”

Also looming is the possibility of a move to 168, which would give Martinez the opportunity to rematch Paul Williams and a chance to avenge his controversial loss last December.

Either fighter will suffice for Martinez.

“For me it’s a great pride and honor to fight them both.”

Until that is decided, the plan is to go all the way home. Currently living and training out of the United States, Martinez actually looks forward to presenting the middleweight championship to his old countryman.

“They will accept me with open arms in Argentina.”

Meanwhile, the boxing world accepts with open arms the dawn of a new era in the middleweight division.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com