HBO goes right to the fight post Malignaggi/Diaz, as taped earlier in an apparently empty ring in Bern, Switzerland. No question that Johnson is a huge underdog, probably no less than Buster Douglas was against Tyson. the difference is that Klitschko is not a fool convinced he no longer has to train. He is a smart and dedicated champion with a massive reach advantage.
ROUND ONE - Johnson is laying way back on the ropes and it seems Johnson is trying to wait him out, maybe tire Klitschko out. Johnson mounts almost no offense and loses the round on aggression alone 10-9.
ROUND TWO - Klitschko picking up the pace and trying to drop a big right hand in behind a shoving jab. Johnson almost completely defensive, but not yet hurt. Finally with a minute left, they move to ring center...but Johnson not seeming to try to punch...just trying to survive. Johnson is a big guy himself, not so dwarfed as many of Klitschko's opponents are...but he's still the smaller man. As the round ends, Klitschko begins to land and it's easily Klitschko's round 20-18.
ROUND THREE - Knowing nothing about Johnson, I called this fight to end by KO in round five. We'll see. Johnson is mugging for Klitschko as he lays on the ropes and invites him in. He's still getting the worst of it as Klitschko goes up 30-27.
ROUND FOUR - Johnson is clearly unafraid in there and is, as Kellerman describes, a skilled defensive fighter...but he's not showing any offense. Lennox Lewis speculates that Johnson is waiting unti the later rounds, but not showing enough offense to win rounds is going to be tough to overcome. Klitschko IS red around his left eye and his mouth is hanging open, so some of Johnson's flicking jabs are finding their mark. Johnson is talking to Klitschko a LOT and taunting him as the round ends. It's fun to watch, if it's a strategy intended to enrage Klitschko...it may be working...though that may be a crazy strategy. Again, it's easily Klitschko's round...though closer this time 40-36.
ROUND FIVE - Johnson scoring well with his flicking jab even while eating right hands. He's behind halfway through, but not by as much. Johnson is not being dominated, which is something that is not the case with many Klitschko opponents and Vitali does look more, if not exactly tired, then...interested in trying to get rid of Johnson so he can stop having to work so hard. Still Klitschko's round though 50-45.
ROUND SIX - With a minute left, Klitschko is not doing anything effective and Johnson landing. Johnson ducks his head a lot. I can give this one to Johnson in good conscience. Klitschko was definitely the aggressor, but Johnson was more effective and landed a lot of counter jabs and one nice left hook. It becomes 59-55 favoring Klitschko.
ROUND SEVEN - Klitschko starting to get a little wild, seemingly interested in getting Johnson out of there. Johnson is not hurt and against Klitchko that is an accomplishment. More of the same, but Johnson not landing as much. Vitali takes the round, going up 69-64.
ROUND EIGHT - Lennox speculating earlier than Vitali may have a bum right shoulder because he's not turning over his punches with that hand and I don't disagree, but then Johnson is a good boxer and not giving Klitschko good looks, even if he's overmatched. Johnson slips a lot of punches, but he's not throwing enough big punches to give himself a chance. Johnson closes strong, stinging Klitschko with jabs...but it's not enough as Vitali is more effective and aggressive all round long, going up 79-73.
ROUND NINE - A carbon copy of past rounds with Johson laying on the ropes here and there and everywhere and Klitschko standing in front of him, stalking him and throwing...missing mostly and hitting enough. Vitali goes up 89-82.
ROUND TEN - Johnson completely defensive, not even bothering to try to punch. He's avoiding the worst of the punishment that Vitali is trying to dole out, but that's not going to get him anything. Johnson is not engaging, bobbing and weaving instead...as if demonstrating boxing skill without punching is an art. It is. It's a losing art. 99-91 for Klitschko.
ROUND ELEVEN - Lennox calls it kind of like a sparring session where a guy is working on his defense against a big man. All of the HBO team discussion focuses on Johnson's failure to mount or even attempt to mount any offense. Johnson taunts Klitschko at rounds end, as if his aggression while the clock is ticking actually exists. It doesn't, in any measure that might win him a round. Vitali's round again, making it 109-100.
ROUND TWELVE - We keep waiting for the cocky Johnson to come out of his bobbing crouch fighting...but he never does and with a minute left, it becomes clear he never will. He's satisfied to not get KO'd. And even now, Vitali trying to close the show...but Johnson continues to dodge and bob and weave.
At the fight's end, Johnson shows some heart, literally in the last ten seconds, lets his hands go. Not the time to do it. It's still a walkover, just not a KO. Final Tally: 119-109 for Klitschko. The official scorecards 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. As it should be. Not close, but twelve good rounds of work. Pretty much a shutout.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Malignaggi v. Diaz II: No Excuses or Automatic Rubber Match?
Well, as I watch the ring walk live, I scanned my call of the last fight and see I called it even 114-114. I recall this was a very good fight the first time around and Malignaggi complained bitterly that it was fixed and that he'd been hometowned in Houston by Golden Boy and the Texas athletic comission. Well, this time around it's in Chicago, so no excuses. I may simply watch this one and limit my descriptions, but we'll see. Considering the way Malignaggi lost it after the last fight, I'm surprised and gratified to see Diaz willing to rematch elsewhere. That's the way it should be and the way it should be is too seldom seen in boxing. Credit to Golden Boy too for allowing it to happen. I said last time around that Golden Boy pulled all the stops out to protect their fighter and assure a result. Allowing the rematch doesn't jibe with that...except that it was a good fight and if Malignaggi wins, it guarantees fight number three. Am I cynical or what?
ROUND ONE - Diaz not as aggressive as usual and Malignaggi is quicker once again. Malignaggi plays to the crowd and Diaz not active enough. Malignaggi lands better and takes round one to go up 10-9.
ROUND TWO - Diaz looks wary to step in and engage and the speed differential is obvious. Malignaggi is using the larger (this time) 20 foot ring to dance away after landing. Diaz is unable to bull rush as is his usual tactic. When he does, Malignaggi is gone. Again, now I think that all of teh things that favored Diaz last time are gone and his edge (making it more even) with it. Diaz didn't land a punch that I saw and Malignaggi clearly did. Nothing spectacular, but it's enough. Malignaggi goes up 20-18.
ROUND THREE - Diaz cut over left eye from a punch. Diaz finally mixes it up about a minute in and the fun exchange comes out about even, though Diaz will probably be over-credited because it's the first time he really engaged with any success. The round is a close one as Diaz lands a few times while Malignaggi carries every other moment. I can't call it even so it goes to Malignaggi for being more consistent. Malignaggi up 30-27.
ROUND FOUR - Amazing to see Diaz throwing so little compared to his workrate in the past. Diaz does seem to be sticking to a gameplan of jabbing with Malignaggi. If that's the reason he's so inactive, then it's a fool's errand. Malignaggi is a slickster first and foremost and he'll win a boxing match when it's against a similarly feather fisted fighter like Diaz. Diaz is completely ineffective, not landing anything while Malignaggi not doing anything spectacular...but enough to carry the round. Malignaggi pulling away 40-36.
ROUND FIVE - Diaz finally pins malignaggi against the conrner, but Malilgnaggi spins away. Now Diaz tagging Malignaggi a minute in and Diaz is more effective. Lennox absolutely right: Malignaggi is foolish to engage when he's winning by boxing. Diaz easily ahead in the round for the first time as a result. Simply because Malignaggi decided stupidly to stand and fight. in the last half of the round, Malignaggi reverts to boxing, but the round is lost barring a huge reversal. Diaz' first round, making it 49-46 favoring Malignaggi.
ROUND SIX - A minute in, Malignaggi is standing and inviting Diaz into a jabbing contest, convinced he can't lose and Diaz keeps it even.When he stops and "plays", as Lennox Lewis calls it, Malignaggi absorbs punches. He hurts Diaz! ...and doesn't even try to finish him...he mugs and waves to the crowd. He bolo punches and waits the round out. The damage switches the round back to Malignaggi 59-55.
ROUND SEVEN - Unbelievably, Diaz' corner tells him to "take this round off". Wow. Harold Lederman is right: it's "nonsense" for Diaz' corner to tell him to take the round off. Halfway through, the round is a total bore. Diaz waiting and Malignaggi not attacking. Ugly. Lennox says he never had a trainer tell him to take a round off unless he was winning the fight. Diaz is clearly behind. Very strange. With less than a minute left, it's a dancing inactive fight. Ten second stretches with either fighter not punching only twitching at each other. Neither fighter deserved the round, so I'll give it to the aggressor Diaz, so it's 68-65 favoring Malignaggi.
ROUND EIGHT - Active, close round that goes to Diaz, narrowing the gap to 77-75 favoring Malignaggi. Diaz isn't particularly effective, but he's more aggressive.
ROUND NINE - Malilgnaggi goes back to boxing and with a half minute left, he is again getting the better of exchanges where he doesn't stick around to allow Diaz to fall in while punching. The round pretty clearly goes to Malignaggi, putting him back up by two rounds 87-84.
ROUND TEN - I wish Kellerman would stop hedging his bets by calling "early rounds that could go either way", seeming to want to give an out, even while acknowledging that he scored those rounds for Malignaggi. The ref gave Diaz an eight count! and the announcers say there is no standing eight count, so there was a knockdown called. That makes it a mandatory 10-8 round for Malignaggi. Malignaggi cuffed Diaz and spun Diaz and the glove brushed the ground. A bad call probably. Regardless, it's now 97-92.
ROUND ELEVEN - Diaz definitely getting the better of the round, though Malignaggi clearly not hurt. Malignaggi not seeming to care to fight hard, while Diaz is definitely more aggressive, even while Malignaggi talking to the HBO team from the ring (that he's blocking what might look like big landed punches). Diaz' round, making it 106-102.
ROUND TWELVE - Diaz more aggressive and more efffective, but not hurting Malignaggi. Diaz finishing stronger, but Malignaggi not withering away, just not active. Diaz' round, making the final tally on my card favoring Malignaggi 115-112.
The Judge's scorecards are identical: 116-111 for Malignaggi, declaring the "new NABO champion". Big whoop. Do I want to see a third fight? Eh. I imagine Golden Boy has contracted for an automatic rematch with HBO, so we'll probably have to see it. Malignaggi probably wins it again, if his ten cent head doesn't come into play (which it might).
Once again, Malignaggi is an interesting post-fight interview. You have to love how candid he is, even if his brashness is off-putting. He classily refuses to take the bait to bash former trainer Buddy McGirt...which would be easy after we all saw McGirt unfairly pull him out of a big fight when he wanted and was able to continue. Max Kellerman is right: Malignaggi has upped his value in a packed division. He calls out Ricky Hatton, but there's little chance that will happen.
ROUND ONE - Diaz not as aggressive as usual and Malignaggi is quicker once again. Malignaggi plays to the crowd and Diaz not active enough. Malignaggi lands better and takes round one to go up 10-9.
ROUND TWO - Diaz looks wary to step in and engage and the speed differential is obvious. Malignaggi is using the larger (this time) 20 foot ring to dance away after landing. Diaz is unable to bull rush as is his usual tactic. When he does, Malignaggi is gone. Again, now I think that all of teh things that favored Diaz last time are gone and his edge (making it more even) with it. Diaz didn't land a punch that I saw and Malignaggi clearly did. Nothing spectacular, but it's enough. Malignaggi goes up 20-18.
ROUND THREE - Diaz cut over left eye from a punch. Diaz finally mixes it up about a minute in and the fun exchange comes out about even, though Diaz will probably be over-credited because it's the first time he really engaged with any success. The round is a close one as Diaz lands a few times while Malignaggi carries every other moment. I can't call it even so it goes to Malignaggi for being more consistent. Malignaggi up 30-27.
ROUND FOUR - Amazing to see Diaz throwing so little compared to his workrate in the past. Diaz does seem to be sticking to a gameplan of jabbing with Malignaggi. If that's the reason he's so inactive, then it's a fool's errand. Malignaggi is a slickster first and foremost and he'll win a boxing match when it's against a similarly feather fisted fighter like Diaz. Diaz is completely ineffective, not landing anything while Malignaggi not doing anything spectacular...but enough to carry the round. Malignaggi pulling away 40-36.
ROUND FIVE - Diaz finally pins malignaggi against the conrner, but Malilgnaggi spins away. Now Diaz tagging Malignaggi a minute in and Diaz is more effective. Lennox absolutely right: Malignaggi is foolish to engage when he's winning by boxing. Diaz easily ahead in the round for the first time as a result. Simply because Malignaggi decided stupidly to stand and fight. in the last half of the round, Malignaggi reverts to boxing, but the round is lost barring a huge reversal. Diaz' first round, making it 49-46 favoring Malignaggi.
ROUND SIX - A minute in, Malignaggi is standing and inviting Diaz into a jabbing contest, convinced he can't lose and Diaz keeps it even.When he stops and "plays", as Lennox Lewis calls it, Malignaggi absorbs punches. He hurts Diaz! ...and doesn't even try to finish him...he mugs and waves to the crowd. He bolo punches and waits the round out. The damage switches the round back to Malignaggi 59-55.
ROUND SEVEN - Unbelievably, Diaz' corner tells him to "take this round off". Wow. Harold Lederman is right: it's "nonsense" for Diaz' corner to tell him to take the round off. Halfway through, the round is a total bore. Diaz waiting and Malignaggi not attacking. Ugly. Lennox says he never had a trainer tell him to take a round off unless he was winning the fight. Diaz is clearly behind. Very strange. With less than a minute left, it's a dancing inactive fight. Ten second stretches with either fighter not punching only twitching at each other. Neither fighter deserved the round, so I'll give it to the aggressor Diaz, so it's 68-65 favoring Malignaggi.
ROUND EIGHT - Active, close round that goes to Diaz, narrowing the gap to 77-75 favoring Malignaggi. Diaz isn't particularly effective, but he's more aggressive.
ROUND NINE - Malilgnaggi goes back to boxing and with a half minute left, he is again getting the better of exchanges where he doesn't stick around to allow Diaz to fall in while punching. The round pretty clearly goes to Malignaggi, putting him back up by two rounds 87-84.
ROUND TEN - I wish Kellerman would stop hedging his bets by calling "early rounds that could go either way", seeming to want to give an out, even while acknowledging that he scored those rounds for Malignaggi. The ref gave Diaz an eight count! and the announcers say there is no standing eight count, so there was a knockdown called. That makes it a mandatory 10-8 round for Malignaggi. Malignaggi cuffed Diaz and spun Diaz and the glove brushed the ground. A bad call probably. Regardless, it's now 97-92.
ROUND ELEVEN - Diaz definitely getting the better of the round, though Malignaggi clearly not hurt. Malignaggi not seeming to care to fight hard, while Diaz is definitely more aggressive, even while Malignaggi talking to the HBO team from the ring (that he's blocking what might look like big landed punches). Diaz' round, making it 106-102.
ROUND TWELVE - Diaz more aggressive and more efffective, but not hurting Malignaggi. Diaz finishing stronger, but Malignaggi not withering away, just not active. Diaz' round, making the final tally on my card favoring Malignaggi 115-112.
The Judge's scorecards are identical: 116-111 for Malignaggi, declaring the "new NABO champion". Big whoop. Do I want to see a third fight? Eh. I imagine Golden Boy has contracted for an automatic rematch with HBO, so we'll probably have to see it. Malignaggi probably wins it again, if his ten cent head doesn't come into play (which it might).
Once again, Malignaggi is an interesting post-fight interview. You have to love how candid he is, even if his brashness is off-putting. He classily refuses to take the bait to bash former trainer Buddy McGirt...which would be easy after we all saw McGirt unfairly pull him out of a big fight when he wanted and was able to continue. Max Kellerman is right: Malignaggi has upped his value in a packed division. He calls out Ricky Hatton, but there's little chance that will happen.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Williams v. Martinez: sleeper fight of the year
I tuned in to the HBO 12/6/09 matchup between Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez not knowing what to expect, but figuring this was another showcase for Williams. As I heard the HBO crew announce that these two fighters were the best 154 pounders on the planet fighting a non-title bout at 16o lbs., I wondered how on earth I'd never even heard of Martinez, whom Jim Lampley announced is the "fastest fighter in the world at 154 pounds" (in Lampley's opinion). I had my doubts. Then the fight began.
As I watched the first round, figuring I'd see Williams batter Martinez, I got what I expected...at first. Martinez looked ineffective, backpedaling and dancing away and forced by Williams to fight at an uncomfortable pace. When Martinez was dropped halfway through the first, it was exactly as I'd expected. Then a funny thing happened...Martinez shook it off and, taking advantage of Williams' wild and apparently misguided effort to press his advantage, floored Williams in return near the rounds end. It was on.
Because Williams is such an action fighter...as long as his opponent is capable of trading with him... he promises an action fight. The catch is that he's faced few fighters capable of maintaining his literal throw a punch every two seconds on average plus pace. Even those who have managed to do it wilt under the constant pressure, Williams' reach advantage and his willingness to take heavy leather in order to give. This was just such an action fight, mostly because Martinez never fully wilted.
A clearly fast handed and skilled counterpuncher, Martinez spent almost the entire fight backing up. No surprise there. Williams naturally comes forward the entire fight, punching constantly. It must take a special fighter to stand in there for 36 minutes, as Martinez did. Indeed, he probably did follow the template set by the only fighter to take a decision win (or any win for that matter) away from a Williams fight: Carlos Quintana. Quintana was preternaturally sharp in his first fight with Williams, using pinpoint counterpunching to bloody Willliams for a full twelve rounds and giving Williams a boxing lesson in the process. It was a lesson that Quintana could not manage to re-teach in the rematch, suffering a quick KO to Williams...but he'd showed how to beat Williams (or at least showed how to fare well): punish Williams for his punchrate style consistently enough that you win rounds and be in good enough shape that you don't wear down. Quintana had to fight the fight of his life to do it, then couldn't duplicate that feat. Martinez was nearly up to the task.
I didn't score the fight, but I probably should have. I didn't expect the fight to be as close or as good as it was, frankly. I could go back and score it again and it's a good enough fight to warrant that, but I haven't yet done it. I know this: every round was competitive and I only saw one round, I recall it was the 8th, where the fighters seemed to take the first half off. Otherwise, nearly every moment of every round was a punch-filled slugfest. As Max Kellerman opined, it was like Gatti/Ward, but contested at a higher level of skill. The analogy is imperfect, but apt. These guys were both there to win and they threw a lot of bad intention punches and each absorbed a lot of punishment. The momentum actually didn't seem to shift as much as some super action fights do...and that is why I leaned toward Williams. He drove the action, following Martinez throughout the fight and forcing Martinez to engage, but almost only ever in response.
And engage Martinez did. As is typical for Williams, he was throwing about 90-100 punches a round, but he seemed less accurate than I've seen him before. I suspect that he took Martinez lightly. The HBO team intoned that Williams' trainer had predicted a quick KO. Credit however should go to Martinez because as much as it's possible Williams wasn't razor sharp, Martinez may have been making him miss. Martinez' hands were faster and while giving away a full six inches in height and probably a comparable amount in reach, he landed consistently all night. He keeps his hands down at his sides between flurries, literally dropping them at his sides. It's amazing he was able to maintain that stylistic flaw against the ever-pursuing Williams, but he did. He changed tactics successfully at least once, adding a straight lefthanded body attack about halfway through the fight, temporarily causing a ripple in Williams' constant aggression. He also landed cleanly at least as frequently, if not more frequently, than did Williams. Then how did he lose?
Well, since I didn't score it I'd have to defer to the actual judging and Harold Lederman's card (which seemed fair and had the fight even at 95-95 going into the two final "championship rounds"of the 12 round fight). I'm tempted to throw out the 119-110 score by the ringside Judge who, along with a 115-113 score for Williams threw the fight to him. Indeed, Julie Lederman (yes, Harold's daughter) scored it even at 114-114. The one lopsided score seems unrealistic, even if you scored most of the close rounds for Williams. Martinez was consistently more effective in enough rounds to take enough rounds to make it close. Jim Lampley bluntly called that Judge "blind." The Martinez camp literally screamed "travesty" from behind their fighter when asked about it post-fight by Kellerman. I suspect I'd have given the final two close rounds to Williams, especially the closing round. Martinez was obviously wearing out and though he kept up his counterattack even then, it was clearly borne more of a fighting spirit than conditioning. He was pushing past his limits, which while admirable, highlited the fact that Williams had walked through the best he could give, kept coming with a higher punchrate, and still looked ready to go into no longer extant rounds 13 to 15.
Bottom line, Williams' constant aggression again carried the day for him. Martinez was definitely effective, but since he could do little more than backpedal all night long, firing from his back foot while the iron-chinned (mostly...once he realized he was in a fight, anyway) Williams advanced. The barrage made Martinez look like he was the one who had bitten off more than he could chew, rather than the other way around. Kellerman claimed in the post-fight interview that he'd scored it for Martinez. While that score was unquestionably plausible, I would disagree and tend to think, as I thought was the case with some lengthy portions of Lampleys' call, that a card for Martinez would have to be predicated on spending more time watching what Martinez was doing, to the exclusion of Williams. It's an easy mistake to make because Williams is so constant that to see the aggression effectively counter-attacked is enticing. Martinez was indeed able to do so in spots and he showed great heart and skill...but that is not to say he won the fight. He was able to make it close...which against Paul Williams means you are a special fighter. At least on this night.
Which brings us to the best question: rematch? Martinez says he wants to do it and Williams says he's willing. I say do it! Will Martinez be able to handle a fully prepared Williams, who definitely won't take him lightly a second time around? Quintana couldn't. Does anyone else want to fight either of these guys? probably not. Can they build a meaningful rivalry between the two of them and continue to raise both their profiles with great fights? maybe...but the problem is that Williams won this one. It would work better if Martinez had won. Apart from not being able to find a fighter anywhere in the vast division neighborhood he's willing to occupy (from 147 lb to 160 lb and beyond), there's little incentive for Williams. But that "noone will fight me" problem is very real for him and I for one, would like to see this fight again. Will Martinez be another Quintana? I think not. But then again, do I think he can beat Williams in a rematch? No. But still...a realfightfan loves to see a real fight. And both of these men are real fighters.
As I watched the first round, figuring I'd see Williams batter Martinez, I got what I expected...at first. Martinez looked ineffective, backpedaling and dancing away and forced by Williams to fight at an uncomfortable pace. When Martinez was dropped halfway through the first, it was exactly as I'd expected. Then a funny thing happened...Martinez shook it off and, taking advantage of Williams' wild and apparently misguided effort to press his advantage, floored Williams in return near the rounds end. It was on.
Because Williams is such an action fighter...as long as his opponent is capable of trading with him... he promises an action fight. The catch is that he's faced few fighters capable of maintaining his literal throw a punch every two seconds on average plus pace. Even those who have managed to do it wilt under the constant pressure, Williams' reach advantage and his willingness to take heavy leather in order to give. This was just such an action fight, mostly because Martinez never fully wilted.
A clearly fast handed and skilled counterpuncher, Martinez spent almost the entire fight backing up. No surprise there. Williams naturally comes forward the entire fight, punching constantly. It must take a special fighter to stand in there for 36 minutes, as Martinez did. Indeed, he probably did follow the template set by the only fighter to take a decision win (or any win for that matter) away from a Williams fight: Carlos Quintana. Quintana was preternaturally sharp in his first fight with Williams, using pinpoint counterpunching to bloody Willliams for a full twelve rounds and giving Williams a boxing lesson in the process. It was a lesson that Quintana could not manage to re-teach in the rematch, suffering a quick KO to Williams...but he'd showed how to beat Williams (or at least showed how to fare well): punish Williams for his punchrate style consistently enough that you win rounds and be in good enough shape that you don't wear down. Quintana had to fight the fight of his life to do it, then couldn't duplicate that feat. Martinez was nearly up to the task.
I didn't score the fight, but I probably should have. I didn't expect the fight to be as close or as good as it was, frankly. I could go back and score it again and it's a good enough fight to warrant that, but I haven't yet done it. I know this: every round was competitive and I only saw one round, I recall it was the 8th, where the fighters seemed to take the first half off. Otherwise, nearly every moment of every round was a punch-filled slugfest. As Max Kellerman opined, it was like Gatti/Ward, but contested at a higher level of skill. The analogy is imperfect, but apt. These guys were both there to win and they threw a lot of bad intention punches and each absorbed a lot of punishment. The momentum actually didn't seem to shift as much as some super action fights do...and that is why I leaned toward Williams. He drove the action, following Martinez throughout the fight and forcing Martinez to engage, but almost only ever in response.
And engage Martinez did. As is typical for Williams, he was throwing about 90-100 punches a round, but he seemed less accurate than I've seen him before. I suspect that he took Martinez lightly. The HBO team intoned that Williams' trainer had predicted a quick KO. Credit however should go to Martinez because as much as it's possible Williams wasn't razor sharp, Martinez may have been making him miss. Martinez' hands were faster and while giving away a full six inches in height and probably a comparable amount in reach, he landed consistently all night. He keeps his hands down at his sides between flurries, literally dropping them at his sides. It's amazing he was able to maintain that stylistic flaw against the ever-pursuing Williams, but he did. He changed tactics successfully at least once, adding a straight lefthanded body attack about halfway through the fight, temporarily causing a ripple in Williams' constant aggression. He also landed cleanly at least as frequently, if not more frequently, than did Williams. Then how did he lose?
Well, since I didn't score it I'd have to defer to the actual judging and Harold Lederman's card (which seemed fair and had the fight even at 95-95 going into the two final "championship rounds"of the 12 round fight). I'm tempted to throw out the 119-110 score by the ringside Judge who, along with a 115-113 score for Williams threw the fight to him. Indeed, Julie Lederman (yes, Harold's daughter) scored it even at 114-114. The one lopsided score seems unrealistic, even if you scored most of the close rounds for Williams. Martinez was consistently more effective in enough rounds to take enough rounds to make it close. Jim Lampley bluntly called that Judge "blind." The Martinez camp literally screamed "travesty" from behind their fighter when asked about it post-fight by Kellerman. I suspect I'd have given the final two close rounds to Williams, especially the closing round. Martinez was obviously wearing out and though he kept up his counterattack even then, it was clearly borne more of a fighting spirit than conditioning. He was pushing past his limits, which while admirable, highlited the fact that Williams had walked through the best he could give, kept coming with a higher punchrate, and still looked ready to go into no longer extant rounds 13 to 15.
Bottom line, Williams' constant aggression again carried the day for him. Martinez was definitely effective, but since he could do little more than backpedal all night long, firing from his back foot while the iron-chinned (mostly...once he realized he was in a fight, anyway) Williams advanced. The barrage made Martinez look like he was the one who had bitten off more than he could chew, rather than the other way around. Kellerman claimed in the post-fight interview that he'd scored it for Martinez. While that score was unquestionably plausible, I would disagree and tend to think, as I thought was the case with some lengthy portions of Lampleys' call, that a card for Martinez would have to be predicated on spending more time watching what Martinez was doing, to the exclusion of Williams. It's an easy mistake to make because Williams is so constant that to see the aggression effectively counter-attacked is enticing. Martinez was indeed able to do so in spots and he showed great heart and skill...but that is not to say he won the fight. He was able to make it close...which against Paul Williams means you are a special fighter. At least on this night.
Which brings us to the best question: rematch? Martinez says he wants to do it and Williams says he's willing. I say do it! Will Martinez be able to handle a fully prepared Williams, who definitely won't take him lightly a second time around? Quintana couldn't. Does anyone else want to fight either of these guys? probably not. Can they build a meaningful rivalry between the two of them and continue to raise both their profiles with great fights? maybe...but the problem is that Williams won this one. It would work better if Martinez had won. Apart from not being able to find a fighter anywhere in the vast division neighborhood he's willing to occupy (from 147 lb to 160 lb and beyond), there's little incentive for Williams. But that "noone will fight me" problem is very real for him and I for one, would like to see this fight again. Will Martinez be another Quintana? I think not. But then again, do I think he can beat Williams in a rematch? No. But still...a realfightfan loves to see a real fight. And both of these men are real fighters.
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