Paul Williams? trainer and manager George Peterson doesn?t have to try to ?sell? tonight?s fight to anyone. This is a battle that needs no hype machine or marketing gurus to build it up. Tonight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Williams and Sergio Martinez enter the squared circle again to resume their war that began last December with an epic 12-round battle.
While the boxing world was concentrating on the circus that was Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito, Williams was quietly finishing his final sparring session with the only man to defeat him as a pro, Carlos Quintana. As he watched, Peterson said, ?This is going to be the best fight in that weight class in the last ten years.?
With Team Pacquiao seemingly content to participate in grand ?events,? rather than making great fights and Floyd Mayweather?s legal issues, it?s not hard to make the case for this being the fight for the best pound-for-pound boxer today. Williams currently stands ranked #3 pound-for-pound on the Yahoo! Sports panel, with Martinez at #5, while they sit at #5 and #6 respectively in The Ring magazine rankings.
When asked if he thought this should be considered the fight for best fighters today, Peterson quickly responded, ?Absolutely.? For Martinez, a win will almost surely earn him ?Fighter of the Year? honors.
Both Williams and Peterson expressed confidence as they finished camp just outside of Baltimore. ?Paul?s going to knock him out this time.? Peterson predicted but also commented that his fighter was less concerned with earning a stoppage, ?[Paul] says, ?I?m just gonna beat him for 12 rounds.??
Despite earning the win, Williams feels he did not give his best performance last December. ?I didn?t take control like I normally do; this time I?m going to take control. Paul Williams will be on point Saturday night.? He will have to be, since his defeat last December, Martinez established himself as one of the top fighters in the world with a decisive 12-round victory over Kelly Pavlik.
As Peterson watched his fighter work the pads, he told Maxboxing.com that this time, he expects Williams to win by knockout. ?They?re talking about knocking [out] my guy in seven rounds. What are they going to do when Paul?s still there in the eighth round and in the ninth round? If they plan for a short night, it could be a real long night for them.?
It will likely be a long night for both combatants as Williams is a fighter who rarely fails to throw 100 punches in a round. As in their first contest, sheer will and heart could decide the victor. ?It?s not how you start but how you finish,? Peterson added.
Following his workout, Williams was relaxed and displayed a quiet confidence when he spoke of tonight?s showdown. Will this be the fight where he gets the credit many feel he deserves? ?Of course I?m due some credit but they never want to give me any, so I take it by force. If they don?t give me credit, so what? They still have deal with me,? he said.
There is no doubt that in the wake of tonight?s battle, the victor will have to be dealt with, whether it?s Williams or Martinez. And perhaps that is the beauty of this fight, two of the world?s best, willing to prove it between the ropes.
Bob Arum and Jerry Jones can put on all the ?extravaganzas? they like but at the end of the day, true fight fans must admit that Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez represent the best the sport has to offer. Both willing to put it all on the line to be the best.
In this age of PPV rip-offs and promoters who care nothing of the sport except for the purpose of lining their pockets with gold, this fight is breath of fresh air. Tonight in Atlantic City will be just a good old-fashioned fist fight.
