Title(s) on the line WBC Middleweight Title 45–2-2 (24 KO) 39–1–0 (27 KO) Date 20 November 2010 | Maravilla The Punisher 5 feet, 10 inches 6 feet, 1 inches | |
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Result Martinez defeats Williams via KO Location Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | ||
The long awaited rematch between Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams took place on November 20, 2010. They last fought in December 2009 with Williams winning a controversial 12 round majority decision at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Williams landed more shots in the fight, but Martinez landed the cleaner punches throughout.
Contents
Build up
Martinez was making his first title defense after defeating Kelly Pavlik for the WBO world middleweight title on April 17, 2010. Williams had also fought once since their initial meeting, winning a four-round technical decision against Kermit Cintron in a May junior middleweight bout, after Cintron fell out of the ring and injured his head.
One of the reasons it took so long to finalize Martinez-Williams II was because the Williams camp was not eager for the fight. Dan Goossen hoped to line up a big fight for Williams at welterweight, where he used to hold a title, against an opponent such as Manny Pacquiao or Shane Mosley.
When promoter Lou DiBella ran out of patience waiting for the Williams side to accept the fight in mid-August, DiBella cut off talks and offered the fight to junior middleweight contender Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo, a network staple in recent years. However, when Angulo turned down $750,000, a career-high purse by more than double, Martinez's camp made another run at Williams and this time accepting the fight on November 20.
The fight
The HBO-televised fight took place at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States.
The fight was billed as a potential "fight of the year," however the fight ended abruptly and dramatically when Sergio Martinez delivered a knockout blow with 2:02 left in the 2nd round of the scheduled 12 round fight. The punch was a short left hook that caught Williams right on the chin, as he attempted to deliver a left-hand of his own. Williams' right hand was at his waist when the punch landed, rendering Paul Williams unconscious upon contact.
Televised
Martinez defeats Williams via KO at 1:10 of round 2.
Untelevised
Guerrero defeats Lockett via TKO at 1:06 of round 4.
Thompson defeats Marinaccio via TKO at 2:02 of round 4.
Nelson defeats Whitaker via TKO at 2:22 of round 1.
Del Valle defeats Lopez Jr via TKO at 1:48 of round 3.
Erdei defeats Onyango via unanimous decision (79-73, 80-72, 80-72). This was Erdei's first fight in a year.
