lpinoy
09-24-2010, 04:58 AM
C/P
By;Boxing Dispatch
Foaming ever so slightly at the mouth, the seriously outspoken yet casually dressed Lou DiBella stood over the crescent of reporters who were sat behind an exquisitely starched round table. He looks indecipherable, expressing both relief and annoyance in equal measure.
“I’m working in something that I sometimes think might not be around in five years. Boxing needs fights like this.”
He is of course talking about the fight on 20 November between two fighters who are both heralded and avoided in equal measure – Paul “The Punisher” Williams and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez.
“It [boxing] needs guys like Sergio [Martinez] and Paul Williams. If we don’t have more of this, we’re heading right into the toilet bowl.”
But what a fight the fans, the networks and most of all the fighters have to look forward to. The fans get to see a rematch of 2009′s Fight of the Year candidate. HBO meanwhile admit that this is an easy sell to a pack of fans desperate for a bright end to what has been a dull year thus far. So how can it fail?
“You can make an argument that this is the second biggest fight in the sport,” said Kery Davis of HBO.
“You have, in the eyes of many two of the best welterweights in the world facing each other, and some who argue this is a fight between two of the best junior middleweights in the world.”
The last fight, as many remember was a more than a mere scuffle. Both fighters chose to engage with each other at close quarters, both knocked down in the first round and both remained standing alongside fans who were kept enraptured at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. There was universal agreement that either fighter could have walked away with the win. Officially it was Williams who got the nod.
The rematch has been aptly dubbed “Blood and Guts”.
“Williams and his team came away from that fight grateful for that ‘W’,” noted DiBella. ”Some people thought that Martinez beat Williams first time around.”
Remarkably after sharing blood and pain in equal measure there is great respect and slight affection between Williams and Martinez. When Martinez was presented with his Ring Magazine belt, Williams did not applaud out of decorum but with evident warmth.
“This fight is not about revenge, it’s about putting a rubber stamp on things.” said DiBella who claimed that to finalize the fight with Williams, Martinez rejected fights with Winky Wright, Sergio Mora and Jan Zaveck. “He’s the third best pound for pound fighter in the world.”
Martinez himself admitted as much.
“Paul Williams is by far the most difficult fighter I’ve met. He’s the hardest puncher I’ve faced.”
But there is a paradox to this match. While it is the fight want to see it is also a fine example of boxing’s great malaise. Williams and Martinez are supremely skilled fighters – they’re not the only ones. But they are certainly in the minority in the upper echelons of the sport who will fight anyone. They just want to scrap. The same cannot be said of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the sport’s two biggest stars. Mayweather faces a court case amidst accusations of domestic violence, and Pacquiao fights a the controversial Antonio Margarito.
“I don’t think he [Pacquiao] should be fighting Margarito, a fighter that Paul [Williams] beat when nobody wanted to fight Margarito,” said Dan Goossen [William's promoter]. ”
“At this stage of his career he [Pacquiao] should not be fighting B or C level guys.”
Ironically the fight that everybody wanted, Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez ended up here because they had nobody left but each other.
Boxing just needs more fighters to follow their example. The fight promises much.
“When you’re watching just don’t go to the bathroom or go get your popcorn,” advised Paul Williams with a rye smile.”
By;Boxing Dispatch
Foaming ever so slightly at the mouth, the seriously outspoken yet casually dressed Lou DiBella stood over the crescent of reporters who were sat behind an exquisitely starched round table. He looks indecipherable, expressing both relief and annoyance in equal measure.
“I’m working in something that I sometimes think might not be around in five years. Boxing needs fights like this.”
He is of course talking about the fight on 20 November between two fighters who are both heralded and avoided in equal measure – Paul “The Punisher” Williams and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez.
“It [boxing] needs guys like Sergio [Martinez] and Paul Williams. If we don’t have more of this, we’re heading right into the toilet bowl.”
But what a fight the fans, the networks and most of all the fighters have to look forward to. The fans get to see a rematch of 2009′s Fight of the Year candidate. HBO meanwhile admit that this is an easy sell to a pack of fans desperate for a bright end to what has been a dull year thus far. So how can it fail?
“You can make an argument that this is the second biggest fight in the sport,” said Kery Davis of HBO.
“You have, in the eyes of many two of the best welterweights in the world facing each other, and some who argue this is a fight between two of the best junior middleweights in the world.”
The last fight, as many remember was a more than a mere scuffle. Both fighters chose to engage with each other at close quarters, both knocked down in the first round and both remained standing alongside fans who were kept enraptured at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. There was universal agreement that either fighter could have walked away with the win. Officially it was Williams who got the nod.
The rematch has been aptly dubbed “Blood and Guts”.
“Williams and his team came away from that fight grateful for that ‘W’,” noted DiBella. ”Some people thought that Martinez beat Williams first time around.”
Remarkably after sharing blood and pain in equal measure there is great respect and slight affection between Williams and Martinez. When Martinez was presented with his Ring Magazine belt, Williams did not applaud out of decorum but with evident warmth.
“This fight is not about revenge, it’s about putting a rubber stamp on things.” said DiBella who claimed that to finalize the fight with Williams, Martinez rejected fights with Winky Wright, Sergio Mora and Jan Zaveck. “He’s the third best pound for pound fighter in the world.”
Martinez himself admitted as much.
“Paul Williams is by far the most difficult fighter I’ve met. He’s the hardest puncher I’ve faced.”
But there is a paradox to this match. While it is the fight want to see it is also a fine example of boxing’s great malaise. Williams and Martinez are supremely skilled fighters – they’re not the only ones. But they are certainly in the minority in the upper echelons of the sport who will fight anyone. They just want to scrap. The same cannot be said of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the sport’s two biggest stars. Mayweather faces a court case amidst accusations of domestic violence, and Pacquiao fights a the controversial Antonio Margarito.
“I don’t think he [Pacquiao] should be fighting Margarito, a fighter that Paul [Williams] beat when nobody wanted to fight Margarito,” said Dan Goossen [William's promoter]. ”
“At this stage of his career he [Pacquiao] should not be fighting B or C level guys.”
Ironically the fight that everybody wanted, Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez ended up here because they had nobody left but each other.
Boxing just needs more fighters to follow their example. The fight promises much.
“When you’re watching just don’t go to the bathroom or go get your popcorn,” advised Paul Williams with a rye smile.”