By James Slater – Wow! That’s probably as good a word as any to begin an article on what happened last night in Atlantic City, N.J. As surely all fight fans know now (even those in the U.K, who were shamelessly provided no live TV coverage of the big and important rematch), the amazing Argentine exacted brutal revenge over Williams for the “robbery” he suffered after the two first met, back in December of 2009.
Last night, in a fight that contested the world middleweight crown, the 35-year-old southpaw took out the 29-year-old southpaw in shockingly quick style; icing “The Punisher” with a left hand that left Williams face-first on the canvas in the 2nd-round. The referee never even completed the ten-count, so badly and clearly was the previously unstopped Williams hurt.
The first fight was a classic; the rematch produced a classic one-punch KO. Did Martinez, who his promoter Lou DiBella claims is THE best fighter in the world today, score 2010’s KO of the year? Almost definitely he did. Did the Argentine, who just keeps getting better and better with age, earn himself the Fighter of The Year distinction with last night’s ultra-impressive victory? When we consider how the middleweight king’s other performance of the year was one that saw him out-point Kelly Pavlik in another big and important fight, then, yes, Martinez is in with a tremendous shot at picking up the award (even if the year isn’t over yet)..
But who will Martinez fight next, and what does Williams’ future hold?
According to Fightnews, there has already been some talk of a third fight, a rubber-match between the two talented southpaws. And Dan Rafael of ESPN.com writes how Martinez’s promoter says his man is so f*****g good, he will struggle to get the big fights he wants from now on. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, for example, will choose to not go near Martinez – at least according to DiBella.
“If you’re Pacquiao would you go near him?” DiBella asked with regards to his fighter. “Martinez will have a problem making fights because that’s how good he is. We’ll fight anyone. Let’s face it – it’s about the money.”
And Martinez, through a translator, spoke of his ideal plan:
“My plan is to have two or three more fights before I retire and would like to have one of them against Pacquiao or Mayweather. I want to listen to all offers and see what comes my way.”
So, will Pacquiao or Mayweather, currently the Pound-for-Pound Nos. one and two respectively, come forward and accept a fight with the middleweight king? Put it this way (and though a fight with either would take some seriously tough negotiations; over what weight the fight would be fought at being the biggest sticking point) Pac-Man and or Mayweather would really prove their greatness with a win over the speedy boxer-puncher from Argentina (who looked more like an out and out banger last night)
Will Pac-Man, who has just said he will not fight above welterweight again, change his mind and go after a fight with Martinez at either 154, or, heaven forbid, 160-pounds!? Will Mayweather agree to go back up to 154 (where he fought and beat Oscar De La Hoya), or agree to take a real gamble up at 160?
DiBella sure doesn’t think so. You know what? Neither do I!
As for Williams, it will be a tough road for him from now on. Some fans felt the Dec. 2009 war with Martinez took a whole lot out of him, and that as a result, Williams looked less than his usual self in his next fight, the TD win over Kermit Cintron. It’s perhaps way to early to even suggest it as a possibility, but is Williams a shot fighter? He has, after all been involved in some hard fights – and, if you believe and listen to some people – Williams fought (and defeated) an Antonio Margarito who had loaded gloves back in 2008. Has William’s chin taken all it can at age 29?
Will the fans buy a Martinez-Williams III so they can find out for sure?