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Martinez makes quick work of Williams and name for himself
By Bob Velin, USA TODAY
ATLANTIC CITY — All it took was one powerful left hand to the jaw of Paul Williams on Saturday night, and Sergio Martinez was suddenly the toast of the boxing world, talking about fighting pound-for-pound kingpins Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and any other comers who would take on the 35-year-old Argentine southpaw.
The rematch of last year's classic 12-round slugfest lasted 4 minutes, 10 seconds. Martinez threw what he called a perfect punch, snapping Williams' head and knocking him out cold 1:10 into the second round. Williams dropped face down to the canvas so hard that referee Earl Morton didn't even count. No need. Williams didn't move.
Martinez did, though, donning a crown and running around the ring screaming to the stunned crowd of 5,502 at Boardwalk Hall, which had barely settled into its seats, that he was still the middleweight champion and now one of the sport's best. And he owned the knockout of the year, too.
Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) and his trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, seemed to know what was coming even before the opening bell.
Sarmiento said he awoke in the middle of the night two days before the fight and realized a key mistake Williams was making, writing it down on hotel note paper. The 6-2, former three-time world champion leaned forward while throwing the jab, Sarmiento said, and Martinez would counter when Williams was off-balance and leaning in. Sure enough, that's what happened.
Martinez's promoter, Lou DiBella, shouting to anyone who would listen after the fight, said Martinez assured him the fight wouldn't go seven rounds. "He must've said it to me a thousand times," DiBella said. "He said, 'Don't worry, I'm knocking him out.' "
Williams (39-2, 27 KOs), when he finally was able to speak, said in an understatement, "I got caught by a punch. I knew it was going to be a tough fight."
Martinez, who earned $1.05 million for defending his middleweight title —Antonio Margarito earned three to five times that much last weekend in his first fight in the USA since being suspended for a year for illegal hand wraps — considered himself blessed to be in a position to call his shots.
"You cannot dream to be in my place today," Martinez, who now trains out of Oxnard, Calif., said through an interpreter. "This is a very happy day."
Martinez, a former soccer player who didn't start fighting until he was 20, said in his postfight news conference that, despite what he said earlier in the excitement of the moment, he would probably not want to fight Pacquiao, whom he called too small.
DiBella said his fighter would not fight undefeated super middleweight Lucian Bute, as one sports reporter suggested. Bute just signed a three-fight deal with Showtime, and DiBella wanted to stay loyal to HBO, which televised Saturday's fight.
So who does Martinez want? "I believe the best challenge for my career would be Mayweather," Martinez said.
By Bob Velin, USA TODAY
ATLANTIC CITY — All it took was one powerful left hand to the jaw of Paul Williams on Saturday night, and Sergio Martinez was suddenly the toast of the boxing world, talking about fighting pound-for-pound kingpins Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and any other comers who would take on the 35-year-old Argentine southpaw.
The rematch of last year's classic 12-round slugfest lasted 4 minutes, 10 seconds. Martinez threw what he called a perfect punch, snapping Williams' head and knocking him out cold 1:10 into the second round. Williams dropped face down to the canvas so hard that referee Earl Morton didn't even count. No need. Williams didn't move.
Martinez did, though, donning a crown and running around the ring screaming to the stunned crowd of 5,502 at Boardwalk Hall, which had barely settled into its seats, that he was still the middleweight champion and now one of the sport's best. And he owned the knockout of the year, too.
Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) and his trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, seemed to know what was coming even before the opening bell.
Sarmiento said he awoke in the middle of the night two days before the fight and realized a key mistake Williams was making, writing it down on hotel note paper. The 6-2, former three-time world champion leaned forward while throwing the jab, Sarmiento said, and Martinez would counter when Williams was off-balance and leaning in. Sure enough, that's what happened.
Martinez's promoter, Lou DiBella, shouting to anyone who would listen after the fight, said Martinez assured him the fight wouldn't go seven rounds. "He must've said it to me a thousand times," DiBella said. "He said, 'Don't worry, I'm knocking him out.' "
Williams (39-2, 27 KOs), when he finally was able to speak, said in an understatement, "I got caught by a punch. I knew it was going to be a tough fight."
Martinez, who earned $1.05 million for defending his middleweight title —Antonio Margarito earned three to five times that much last weekend in his first fight in the USA since being suspended for a year for illegal hand wraps — considered himself blessed to be in a position to call his shots.
"You cannot dream to be in my place today," Martinez, who now trains out of Oxnard, Calif., said through an interpreter. "This is a very happy day."
Martinez, a former soccer player who didn't start fighting until he was 20, said in his postfight news conference that, despite what he said earlier in the excitement of the moment, he would probably not want to fight Pacquiao, whom he called too small.
DiBella said his fighter would not fight undefeated super middleweight Lucian Bute, as one sports reporter suggested. Bute just signed a three-fight deal with Showtime, and DiBella wanted to stay loyal to HBO, which televised Saturday's fight.
So who does Martinez want? "I believe the best challenge for my career would be Mayweather," Martinez said.
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