Argentina’s Sergio Martinez knocked out American Paul Williams with one explosive second-round punch on Saturday to retain his World Boxing Council middleweight world title.
The left hook caught Williams on the jaw and sent the American toppling face-first to the canvas 1:10 of the second round.
As Martinez began to celebrate, doctors entered the ring to tend to Williams, who was able to get to his feet after several minutes.
PHOTO: AFP
Martinez, who improved to 46-2-2 with 25 knockouts, avenged a defeat to Williams in December last year, when the American won their action-packed encounter by a 12-round majority decision. Both fighters went down in the first round of that fight.
Martinez rebounded from that defeat to capture his title in April with a unanimous 12-round decision over another American, Kelly Pavlik.
Williams, who had said he felt like Martinez “stole” a crown that should be his, fell to 39-2 with 27 knockouts.
Martinez, stung by the decision in his first fight with Williams, had said coming in that he didn’t intend to let the judges decide the rematch.
“I didn’t want the judges to rob me this time,” he said.
Added Martinez promoter Lou DiBella: “He said, ‘I’m going to knock him out. The fight is not -going to go seven rounds, I’m going to knock him out.’ I was worried like a maniac and he said, ‘No, I’m knocking him out. Relax.’”
Martinez delivered a series of crisp blows in the opening round and Williams never saw the knockout punch coming in the second.
“I started to attack, and when I did, we knew he was going to make a mistake, because he always makes mistakes,” Martinez said. “He left me a lot of room to come in and hit him.”
Said Williams: “I just got caught with a punch. He got me with a clean shot.”
Martinez, who earned slightly more than US$1 million for his evening’s work, said he wants to fight two or three more times before hanging up his gloves.
He mentioned as possible candidates Filipino hero Manny Pacquiao and American Floyd Mayweather — the man Pacquiao displaced as pound-for-pound king.
However, most fight fans still hope those two will eventually meet, and DiBella didn’t seem to think a Pacquiao or Mayweather bout was likely for Martinez.
“If you’re Pacquiao, would you go near him? You think Mayweather will fight him?” DiBella said. “We’re going to have a problem making the next fight because that’s how good he is.”
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance. The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance. In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win. Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season. The
‘DONE IT ALL’: LeBron James is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season as a free agent with uncertainty swirling around his future LeBron James on Monday said he would take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could turn out to be the final game of his career. James, 41, delivered a typically defiant performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent the Lakers from falling 115-110 as the Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference semi-finals series. The four-time NBA champion is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
RSS