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By Rick Reeno, BoxingScene.com
It's not exactly a secret. Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, is pushing to make a rematch between Paul "The Punisher" Williams and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. The target date is October 2.
Last December, Martinez and Williams traded knockdowns in the first round, and then fought at a furious pace until the final bell. After the smoke cleared, Williams won the "fight-of-the-year" candidate with a close twelve round majority decision. One judge scored it a 114-114 draw, while the other two saw it for Williams with scores of 115-113 and an unrealistic 119-110.
Martinez has since bounced back from the Williams loss in a major way. He captured the WBC and WBO middleweight titles with an impressive unanimous decision win over Kelly Pavlik in April.
Sampson Lewkowicz, the agent for Martinez, told BoxingScene.com that his fighter is ready to accept the Williams rematch for October. But, Lewkowicz says the rematch is in limbo because Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, is positioning his fighter for a run in the welterweight division, where Williams was a champion two years ago. Since his last appearance as a welterweight, Williams fought three times at middleweight and twice at junior middleweight.
Lewkowicz, currently in Guadalajara to watch Saturday's fight between Saul Alvarez and Luciano Cuello, believes the rematch is a logical fight for both boxers. A welterweight run for Williams is a waste of time, says Lewkowicz.
It's not exactly a secret. Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, is pushing to make a rematch between Paul "The Punisher" Williams and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. The target date is October 2.
Last December, Martinez and Williams traded knockdowns in the first round, and then fought at a furious pace until the final bell. After the smoke cleared, Williams won the "fight-of-the-year" candidate with a close twelve round majority decision. One judge scored it a 114-114 draw, while the other two saw it for Williams with scores of 115-113 and an unrealistic 119-110.
Martinez has since bounced back from the Williams loss in a major way. He captured the WBC and WBO middleweight titles with an impressive unanimous decision win over Kelly Pavlik in April.
Sampson Lewkowicz, the agent for Martinez, told BoxingScene.com that his fighter is ready to accept the Williams rematch for October. But, Lewkowicz says the rematch is in limbo because Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, is positioning his fighter for a run in the welterweight division, where Williams was a champion two years ago. Since his last appearance as a welterweight, Williams fought three times at middleweight and twice at junior middleweight.
Lewkowicz, currently in Guadalajara to watch Saturday's fight between Saul Alvarez and Luciano Cuello, believes the rematch is a logical fight for both boxers. A welterweight run for Williams is a waste of time, says Lewkowicz.
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