In round seven against Kermit Cintron a clear cut knockdown of Kermit got me thinking...sergio is the real deal and the future pound for pound best. Fast forward nearly three years later. Sergio Martinez said his rematch with Paul Williams would be different from their first fight.
Boy, was he ever right.
Four minutes and 10 seconds into their middleweight title fight at Boardwalk Hall Saturday night, Martinez plowed a powerful left hook into the jaw of Williams, dropping the three-time world champion in a heap on the canvas, knocking him out cold just 1:10 into the second round and ending the fight with sudden brutalness.
Martinez, the 35-year-old handsome Argentine with the power-packed punch, retained his WBC middleweight title and stunned the crowd of 5,502 that had barely settled into their seats.
Williams (39-2, 27 KOs) fell so hard and so fast that referee Earl Morton did not even count him out. There was no need because he wasn't getting up. It took a minute or two to get Williams to his feet.
"I was waiting for a mistake, but I was surprised that it came so soon," said Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs), who donned a king's crown and leaped onto the ropes, screaming for joy. "I didn't want the judges to rob me this time."
That was in reference to their fight in December 2009, a controversial decision at the same venue, won by Williams. It was a leading candidate for fight of the year. In that bout, both fighters went down in the first round before slugging it out for the last 11 rounds. Martinez felt he had won.
This fight instantly became the leading candidate for knockout of the year.
Williams, when he finally came to, said, in an understatement, "I got caught with a punch. I knew it was going to be a tough fight."
Martinez's promoter, Lou DiBella, was jubilant over his fighter's quick KO.
"That was one of the great knockout punches I've ever seen," said DiBella. "It goes back to (Roberto) Duran and (Thomas) Hearns (a second-round knockout for Hearns in 1984).
Asked at his post-fight press conference what kind of punch it was, Martinez said, "It was a perfect punch. You can call it whatever you want, but that's what it was."
"I got the greatest fighter in the world," he shouted, saying that Martinez came down in weight (158-pound catch weight, two pounds under the middleweight limit) and took less to make the fight, pocketing $1,050,000.
DiBella said there was no rematch clause, but "If Paul wants a rematch, why not?"
Martinez connected on 23 of 76 punches (30%), while Williams connected on 33 of 105 (31%). Of the fighters' 56 combined connects, 52 were power shots.
Both fighters came out slugging in the first round, but Martinez twice got Williams against the ropes and connected solidly on combinations.
Williams won the first round on two of the three judges' scorecards
Then in the second round, the Argentine came out slugging and caught Williams with two flush lefts that shook the fighter a bit, before connecting on Williams' jaw that dropped the taller, rangier fighter.
"I've never seen a middleweight (fall) so fast," said DiBella.
Looking ahead, Martinez said, "I've got two or three more fights left in me before I retire, and I'd like one of them to be against (Manny) Pacquiao."
Later, however, Martinez said Pacquiao was too small for him, but said his greatest challenge would be undefeated Floyd Mayweather, who has not fought since May and faces several felony domestic battery charges.
Martinez added that he will never fight below 155 pounds.