New York – The man they call ?Maravilla? is on a roll. And ?The Punisher? is along his way. Hopefully, this becomes sweeter the second time around. On Saturday November 20, a week after the anticipated return of pound-for-pound # 1 Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao versus Mexican Antonio Margarito, Sergio ?Maravilla (Marvelous)? Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KO) of Argentina defends his WBC middleweight title against Paul ?The Punisher? Williams (39-1, 27 KO) at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. As agreed upon by both camps, the box-off will be on a catch weight of 157 lbs. Martinez reportedly gave in to Williams? request on this aspect despite being the champion. During the initial presscon on Thursday at The Palm restaurant along West 50th Street, the outspoken Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment and its partner Goosen Tutor Promotions introduced the two great fighters before members of the media and hyped about the upcoming fight ? actually a rematch from their 5 December 2009 bout ? which turned out to be a ?Fight of the Year? caliber.
Of the two exciting boxers, Williams took the opportunity to speak first. ?I would like to thank Sergio Martinez, because I know that Sergio will come to fight and not make me wait and pull out at the last minute. He is coming to fight and it?s going to be a great fight for all the fans out there.? ?This is the biggest fight out there, except for Mayweather and Pacquiao and they are not fighting. So the next biggest one is me and Martinez. I am going to be in the best shape of my life like I always am. And I am going to win.?
When ?Maravilla? took his turn to speak, his statements made a lot of sense in this Pacquiao/Mayweather boxing era. He spoke in Spanish and translated in English by renowned matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz. ?There is too much to say in too little time. One more time there will be two great professionals fighting each other.? ?No one wants to fight Paul Williams and no one wants to fight Sergio Martinez, we have no choice but fight each other. And everyone that doesn?t want to fight us has a good reason not to want to. There is a good reason for us to fight again. It is a fight that everyone wants to see. We will try to do again what we did before,? expounded Martinez. ?Don?t forget that we have violence outside of the ring. I will never stop to continue working to stop this kind of violence. I love my mother and I want to respect women and I want everyone to respect women….Every time I have a camera or a microphone in front of me, I will tell people to stop the violence,? the Argentine continued.
Before the presser, Martinez was very polite when this author approached to greet him and since he was Spanish-speaking, I blurted out ?Buena suerte Maravilla contra Williams. Espere que encuentre Pacquiao en el futuro? (Good luck Maravilla versus Williams. Hope you meet Pacquiao in the future?? The Argentine dynamo who considers Oxnard, California as his second home responded with a hearty laugh and a firm handshake before proceeding to his seat beside his promoter Lou DiBella. Martinez?s story fascinates people he meets especially to those who believe in life?s second — or even nth chances if you may. In February 2000 and for his very first trip to the US to fight as an undefeated pro boxer, he lost to Antonio Margarito (yes, he?s the ?lottery? winner for PacMan this November) to a seventh-round TKO. It was his first pro loss and this left him heartbroken as he returned to his native Argentina. There, he vowed to improve on his skills and hoped to land more big fights. He wanted to redeem himself for that painful loss. He won numerous fights thereafter, beat the best boxers in his division and he felt there was no more to prove in his home country. He sought ?greener? pastures, so to speak. He left Argentina and fought extensively in Spain after hooking up with Pablo Sarmiento, a fellow Argentine who was then an IBO champion. He was excited to train and fight in another country again after his first loss in the US, and for that alone he was glad enough. Thereafter, he challenged for the IBO light middleweight crown against the durable Richard Williams, on which he would fight again for a rematch. He won both. He would defend his title once in the United Kingdom versus Adrian Stone before facing a formidable opponent in Spaniard Albert Airapetian in Castilla y Leon, Spain. Martinez won by KO and before he could leave as the rightful winner, his opponent?s brother suddenly entered the ring and attacked him, leaving him injured at the back of his head which required 10 stitches. He would then fight five more times after such incident, winning them all. In April 2007, his fervent prayers to fight again in the US were answered when he was afforded the opportunity by WBC to a 154-lb title ?eliminator? bout versus Mexican Saul Roman in Houston, Texas. This was the redemption he was waiting for after the Margarito debacle. He did what he was supposed to do, destroying Roman in the 4th round, ending the carnage with a tremendous body shot. Fans soon took notice and with his movie star looks, lady fans and admirers came in droves. Soon, he would meet matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz who recommended that he forge alliance with well-known NY boxing promoter Lou DiBella to enable Team Martinez to seal the best possible bouts. On 4 October 2008, he won the interim WBC light middleweight title over a game Alex Bunema. He would defend it with a draw in 2009 over former champion Kermit Cintron of Puerto Rico despite a controversial move by referee Frank Santore. Then the biggest opportunity knocked on his door in December 2009 when he moved up in weight to challenge the fighter most boxers avoided, even up to this day ? Paul ?The Punisher? Williams. In that fight, Martinez was decked by Williams right in the early goings of the first round, only to come back and hit Williams with a right hook which sent him wobbling and crashing to the ropes for a knockdown. Momentum would swing in the succeeding rounds with each fighter giving all they?ve got but in the end, Williams won on a highly-debatable majority decision.
While Martinez lost, he gained a new following among the media and the fans. To them, it was a loss indeed but an impressive showing nonetheless. Then on 17 April 2010 in which was deemed as a dangerous fight for him, he challenged the then-WBC/WBO champion Kelly Pavlik, a Top Rank fighter who was regarded as one of the best boxers around and in his prime. Like the Williams bout, he survived a knockdown early in the fight. With courage and determination eventually seeping in, he subsequently dominated the so-called ?championship? rounds to garner a unanimous decision. Pavlik seemed to lose focus with cuts above his eyes and his cutman unable to control the bleeding during the late rounds. The bout contract gave Pavlik the chance to exercise a rematch but he rejected it and manifested his desire to move up in weight. As the WBO stripped him recently of his 160 lb title belt, Martinez is still the current WBC and The Ring World Middleweight Champion. His Ring belt was actually awarded to him during the presser.
If ?Maravilla? wins this important fight against the tall American, the possibility to land bigger fights shall be endless. With the recent legal tussle between Golden Boy and Top Rank and Floyd Mayweather Jr. dealing with his own legal stuff as well, Bob Arum might just deal with Lou DiBella or any other promoter instead. Martinez versus Pacquiao in the horizon? A methodical Argentine against a charismatic Filipino icon, you know? Note: The Nov. 20 card shall be on regular HBO?s World Championship Boxing (WCB) program and not on Pay-Per-View. As it will be a week after the Pacquiao-Margarito tiff in Texas, a replay of the bout is a probability just before the live coverage of the Martinez-Williams telecast.
