Paul Williams 157 vs Sergio Martinez 159 l Chris Arreola 263 vs Brian Minto 218 l Chazz Witherspoon 234 vs Tony Thompson 250 – Carlos Quintana 153.5 vs Jesse Feliciano 152.5 l Jorge Diaz 123.5 vs Luiz Paneto 121.5
HBO Sports presents a night of world-class fighters when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: PAUL WILLIAMS VS. SERGIO MARTINEZ AND CRISTOBAL ARREOLA VS. BRIAN MINTO is seen live SATURDAY, DEC. 5 (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT) from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, exclusively on HBO. The WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, and Emanuel Steward will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino..
The opening bout is a ten-round heavyweight tilt featuring Cristobal Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs) of Riverside, Cal. and Brian Minto (34-2, 21 KOs) from Butler, Pa. Arreola boasts knockout power and has the resilience and heart to withstand his opponent’s offerings. Suffering his first loss last September to Vitali Klitschko, one of the premier heavyweights, the popular slugger looks to prove himself a serious threat in the division once again. The strong, hard-nosed Minto is a precise power puncher who is looking for his breakout fight in the HBO spotlight.
Scheduled for 12 rounds, the main event spotlights two elite middleweights in their prime who are arguably the best in the 154-pound division. Facing his most formidable challenge yet, Madrid-based Argentine Sergio Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs) is a tricky, 34-year-old southpaw with both speed and power, as he showed last February when he fought Kermit Cintron to a majority draw.
Avoided and feared by many, Paul Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) is ready for his second 2009 fight as a middleweight. Hailing from Augusta, Ga., this versatile fighter has scored convincing wins in three separate weight classes and enjoyed two stints as welterweight champion. Last April, Williams convincingly defeated Winky Wright, one of boxing’s most dangerous fighters.
All WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events are broadcast in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Marc Payton.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.