Middleweight contender Paul Williams fought the fight of his life to barely outpoint WBC light middleweight champion Sergio Martinez 44-2-2(24) over twelve close, hard fought rounds.
It was a late candidate for fight of the year as Williams a budding super star got all he could handle from the counterpunching southpaw. Both fighters scored knockdowns in the first and Martinez seemed to have the edge early but Paul Williams would not give up and soon the fans were to get a terrific war. Every time Williams seemed to gain control, Martinez would land a few sharp counter punches.
The heavy pace took it's toll on both fighters. The eleventh round was a toe to exchange
that seemed to last the full three minutes. The two continued til the final bell
before a standing crowd at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The scoring depended
on whether you favored the aggressive volume punching of Williams or the crisp counterpunching
of Martinez. The judges at ringside in the end favored the first choice as they gave
their vote to Williams, 115-113, a questionable 119-110 and 114-114 on the third
card.
With the majority decision win Williams, now 38-1(27) really should go back to the basics and reconsider his style. Fighters like him cut their own career short but they do sell tickets. Sergio Martinez who made a great showing is expected to return to the light middleweight division.
The undercard featured a couple good heavyweight bouts.
Chris Arreola 28-1(27) returned after a failed attempt at Vitali Klitschko's WBC
belt and proved too strong and determined for Brian Minto 34-3(21) in a scheduled
ten rounder. Minto showed a warriors heart but after Arreola had him down twice in
the fourth before referee Ed Cotton rescued him at 2:40 of the round.
The off tv portion of the undercard featured heavyweight Tony Thompson 33-2(20) as he stopped Chazz Witherspoon 26-1(18) in the ninth round.
Former WBO welterweight champion Carlos Quintana 27-2(21) stopped former IBF title challenger Jesse Feliciano 15-8-3(9) by tko in the third round.
