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by David P. Greisman - ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – This is how a man falls – suddenly surrendering himself to gravity, quickly crashing to canvas, his bearings briefly settling him somewhere between pained and paralyzed.
This is how a man rises – by making other men fall.
This is how it ended, with Paul Williams falling, rag dolled face-first in the center of the ring, his arms lying limply at his sides, his head turned to the left.
His eyes wide open.
This is how it begins, with Sergio Martinez rising to the top of a crowd within the ring, perched atop someone’s shoulders, a crown placed atop his head, blowing kisses to the fans with his still-gloved hands to his lips.
This was as much a crowning achievement as it was an ascension. Martinez is the middleweight champion. He is one of the best boxers in the sport.
He was once an unknown to the boxing world. That was as recently as two-and-a-half years ago.
On an evening in a Connecticut casino, before the arena filled and the cameras rolled, Martinez had battled with Archak TerMeliksetian, seven rounds of men exchanging bravado, machismo and punches.
Coincidentally, the broadcast that night featured Paul Williams’ first-round stoppage of Carlos Quintana.
By that point, Williams had been featured on televised cards or pay-per-view shows for two years. He had received a title shot, won a belt, lost it and, with the victory over Quintana, regained it.
By that point, Martinez had toiled in obscurity for more than a decade.
Prior to 2007, Martinez had fought just once in the United States, losing in 2000 to what was then a welterweight prospect named Antonio Margarito. Martinez had, at the time, been a pro fighter for less than three years, and he’d taken up the sweet science later in life. [Click Here To Read More]
This is how a man rises – by making other men fall.
This is how it ended, with Paul Williams falling, rag dolled face-first in the center of the ring, his arms lying limply at his sides, his head turned to the left.
His eyes wide open.
This is how it begins, with Sergio Martinez rising to the top of a crowd within the ring, perched atop someone’s shoulders, a crown placed atop his head, blowing kisses to the fans with his still-gloved hands to his lips.
This was as much a crowning achievement as it was an ascension. Martinez is the middleweight champion. He is one of the best boxers in the sport.
He was once an unknown to the boxing world. That was as recently as two-and-a-half years ago.
On an evening in a Connecticut casino, before the arena filled and the cameras rolled, Martinez had battled with Archak TerMeliksetian, seven rounds of men exchanging bravado, machismo and punches.
Coincidentally, the broadcast that night featured Paul Williams’ first-round stoppage of Carlos Quintana.
By that point, Williams had been featured on televised cards or pay-per-view shows for two years. He had received a title shot, won a belt, lost it and, with the victory over Quintana, regained it.
By that point, Martinez had toiled in obscurity for more than a decade.
Prior to 2007, Martinez had fought just once in the United States, losing in 2000 to what was then a welterweight prospect named Antonio Margarito. Martinez had, at the time, been a pro fighter for less than three years, and he’d taken up the sweet science later in life. [Click Here To Read More]
. It does not end there. He took also the disrespect that should not have been awarded to the MW champ and shove it down the boxing world's throat.
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