By Mark Vester
Former champion Paul Williams is very interested in a trilogy fight with WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Williams won their first meeting, in December 2008, by way of a close twelve round majority decision. Martinez got his revenge in November when he knocked Williams out in two rounds. Martinez is scheduled to return on March 12 at the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden.
"We would definitely entertain that. We would be excited bout that. We're one-and-one against Sergio Martinez. You know what I'm saying? But these guys who fight Paul Williams, they know that they've got to fight three minutes every round. How many guys out there can fight three minutes of every round? There's very few, and I can not call the name of anyone who can fight for three minutes of every round," said Williams' trainer/manager George Peterson to BoxingScene.com's Lem Satterfield.
Martinez's promoter Lou DiBella says Williams will have to wait in line. Williams could have had a direct rematch, it was possible. DiBella says they blew their chance for an immediate trilogy bout and advised them to face someone else in the interim who doesn't hit as hard.
"If Paul Williams wanted a direct and immediate rematch, then we would have done it. His people had the opportunity to do it. But I think that that is the last thing that Paul Williams needs right now. Okay? So if they wanted a direct rematch, we would have done it. But that would have been the worst thing for Paul Williams in his career," DiBella said.
"Because you don't recover over night from going face-first to the canvas and not being able to get up for 35 or 40 seconds. Again, I have no disrespect for Paul or George. They are two of my favorite people in the business. But, if they didn't want to rematch Sergio again right now, then they made the exact right decision not to go right back at Sergio. That's the kind of knockout where you have to take a little time and recover from and to probably not fight a puncher right away in your next fight."
