In pursuit of an unbiased look at Kelly Pavlik
By Bart Barry
Wednesday brought some good news about Kelly Pavlik. All is ready but the contracts for Pavlik to defend his middleweight championship in April against Sergio Martinez. It isn’t the rematch we wanted for Martinez after his fantastic fight with Paul Williams two months ago, but it’s better than any match we’ve seen Pavlik make since Bernard Hopkins in 2008.
It’s also an occasion for examining personal bias, something I’ve wanted to do for a while. The last three years in the boxing gym – privy to arguments between numerous ethnicities and nationalities – have seen me play a role like neutral solon. When a Filipino and a Mexican argue about who won Pacquiao-Marquez II, I’m the tiebreaker, in other words, chastening both for ethnic bias.
But observing’s not as much fun as participating. That’s why I promised the next time a prizefighter who looked like me and came from my country was in a major fight, I’d do an examination of conscience – as the Xaverian brothers at St. John’s High School used to put it.
Kelly Pavlik meets those criteria. What follows, then, is a good-faith effort to better understand why we cheer the fighters we cheer, and where to draw a sensible line for cheering against others.
Folks who put on gloves and headgear tend to cheer fighters according to this hierarchy: 1. Race, 2. Fighting style, 3. Nationality, 4. Personality. This is supposed to be the post-racial world of 2010, I know, so if it makes things more palatable, go ahead and attribute our fixation on race to the forum in which it appears: We routinely get punched in the head.
As a white man in a country led by a black man, I’m now able to enjoy some newfound liberty. I think cheering for someone because he shares your race does not make you a racist. Cheering against someone because he does not share your race, though, may be something you shouldn’t do.
In an important essay about the need for affirmative action, written 23 years ago and subtitled “Reckoning with Unconscious Racism,” Professor Charles Lawrence made a thought-provoking case that anticipated a day when all racism was unconscious. Those of you who’ve suffered through some form of corporate diversity training are surely rolling your eyes right now, saying, “‘Unconscious racism’! Where does it end?”
Point taken. But consider: When the CEO of a Fortune 500 company acts ethically in the task of choosing his replacement, what qualities does he look for? After all, he’s done a fine job for the shareholders, and it’s his professional obligation to find someone who’ll do the same.
Acting in the best interests of his employer, then, he’ll select someone who reminds him of himself. That’s why there aren’t many latina women leading Fortune 500 companies. They’re not all less-qualified. Their predecessors aren’t racists. And yet the boardroom remains monochrome.
Two points, there, pertaining to prizefighting. First, we don’t need to be racists to cheer guys who remind us of ourselves. Second, we do need to be conscious of this predisposition before having our shoulders measured for that cloak of objectivity. That’s true for all sports fans, of course, but boxing, for all the criticism we accept, has always treated ethnic bias more openly than our peers; we expect more honesty from ourselves as fans.
Kelly Pavlik is white like me. He fights in the simple way – jab, hook, cross – that appeals to someone with my slower reflexes. He’s an American. He never belittles an opponent.
That role of the neutral solon I play in the gym? It partially reduces to my people not having a very impressive run in boxing these last 25 years.
That’s also the reason I feel an initial spark of interest about Pavlik that I don’t feel when I hear about Sergio Martinez or Paul Williams. After I think about Martinez or Williams matching up against Pavlik, I might well favor them or even cheer them against Pavlik. But that happens afterwards, and consciously.
What fearlessness I have in wandering about this minefield of bad faith and ruined reputation comes courtesy of Shannon Briggs. Before his 2006 fight with Sergei Liakhovich in Phoenix, Briggs called himself the “Great Black Hope” – in contrast to all the Eurasian heavyweight champions at the time. Intoxicated by a chance to represent his people, Briggs also made allegations of racism at the Liakhovich camp.
How much did this bother a Belarusian making a first title defense in his adopted hometown? In the post-fight press conference, after he’d lost his WBO belt in the fight’s final second, Liakhovich brought it up almost immediately. He turned to Briggs and said, in broken English, he wanted everyone to know he’d never said anything derogatory about black Americans.
Briggs said, “I know.” Then he explained it was just a ruse to sell the fight and get in Liakhovich’s head. Don King cackled away. Liakhovich looked more relieved than offended. And I promised myself I’d never be called a racist and take it seriously again.
Still, voluntary examinations of conscience can’t hurt, especially when I cheer against people.
I cheered against Fernando Vargas when he fought Oscar De La Hoya, but obviously not because he was latino. I’ll cheer against Floyd Mayweather when he fights Shane Mosley, but obviously not because he’s black. I’ll cheer against Wladimir Klitschko when he fights Eddie Chambers, though I can’t imagine it’s because he’s white.
I don’t like the personalities of Vargas or Mayweather, or the fighting style of Klitschko.
I’ll cheer for whomever I wish, then, for whatever reason – and that will probably mean Kelly Pavlik. But when I cheer against someone, I’ll do my best to ensure it’s not for ethnic reasons. I think that’s about as much as we can ask of ourselves.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Why we watch the fights
By Bart Barry
Maybe it wasn’t the best fight of the year, or maybe it was. What Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez did Saturday, though, deserves an award of some sort. How about favorite fight of the year? The one that, when considered as a 36-minute body of work, brings back the most complete feelings of satisfaction to those who saw it.
The best part? On paper, it wasn’t supposed to be that good. An underappreciated black American volume puncher from Georgia and a barely known Argentinean southpaw from Spain, fighting on short notice, before fewer than 2,000 paying customers in New Jersey. Go ahead and try to sell that mess.
Yet it was magic. The rematch will sell itself.
Saturday in Atlantic City, Williams and Martinez battled for no title whatever in a middleweight match that Williams ultimately won by majority-decision scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 119-110. It was a fight cobbled together after middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, citing a staph infection, broke two contracts with Williams – the owner of boxing’s least-desired title, “Most Avoided Fighter.”
The fight was very close; scorekeepers needed to check their biases throughout. Judge Pierre Benoist did nothing of the sort, 119-110. He should be made to account for his card, even if the accounting comprises only a statement like: “Each round was tight, but Williams won 1:31 of every three-minute stanza but two.” Otherwise, his 10-1-1 card retains its sinister air.
My card probably overcorrected for bias. As an unapologetic proponent of action fighters, preferring ineffective aggressiveness to everything but effective aggressiveness, I went out of my way to account for solid counterpunches. Too, I tried not to give my countryman the benefit of every doubt.
I had it 115-114 for Martinez. Rounds 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 11 went to him. Rounds 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 went to Williams. The first round, which saw each man felled once, I scored even, 10-10.
That’s that. Now I quietly close the Scorecard.xls file on my laptop and set about the task of honoring Williams-Martinez. For like so many things boxing officials do, Saturday’s judging is less than a footnote. The fight itself was a treat. So what if the genuine tension ceased at the final bell?
It almost ceased moments after the opening bell, didn’t it? Williams came out ferocious as he’s been since Carlos Quintana. He looked much taller than 6 foot 2, and Martinez looked like a gladiator fleeing a lion. A Williams left cross, thrown from his gangly southpaw stance, bounced off Martinez’s lead right shoulder (southpaw as well) and skipped off his temple, compromising his balance and shoving him to the canvas. Martinez quickly stood, composed.
Williams was not. He attacked like Robitussin on a cough – as Big Daddy Kane once put it. He closed all sorts of space, got way over his front foot, razed his advantage of stature and ran into a right hook. Down went Williams. Not from a balance shot but a punch consequential enough to undo the preceding 2:58 and a knockdown.
Judge Benoist actually got this round right, scoring it even while his companions saw it 10-9 for Williams. Benoist got the next round right, too, scoring it 10-9 for Martinez. Then Benoist decided to show empathy to Texas judge Gale Van Hoy – deserving a transitive verb of his own if only we could be sure of how to conjugate “to Benoist.”
After flattening Williams at the end of the first round, Martinez went sweet scientist for the next six minutes. With excellent advice from his corner, he used a visual trick on Williams. Martinez drew his hands in. Williams’ punches, a perfect length in the beginning, were suddenly wrong. They were too short. Then Williams recalibrated his cross by lowering his left glove. Then Martinez pasted him with right hooks over his lowered guard. Martinez couldn’t miss.
So Williams put the ‘will’ in P-Will. Blood running into both eyes, his hapless corner fixating on why-didn’t-you’s instead of next-time-do’s, or cuts, Williams trusted his size and conditioning and just kept stalking his emboldened foe. Williams was not accurate. His defense was suspect, chin high and hands low, but he kept faith Martinez’s fitness would not hold up.
Martinez doubted Williams’ fitness right back. That’s what made the fight special.
The best matches happen when neither guy respects the other’s power, when both guys square up and each knows the other cannot take his best shot. This was a variation on that: I know I am the only man who can sustain a pace for 12 rounds, so we’re going to do this thing, and I’m going to watch you wilt. Except neither did. Not quite.
The reason this was maybe not the best fight of the year was because it ended indecisively with two world-class fighters missing more punches than they landed. It ended with fatigue undoing class.
But it was still such a fight. Such a joy! Such a list of reasons why no one wanted to fight these guys at 154 pounds.
Afterwards, Williams’ promoter feinted at Bernard Hopkins, while Martinez’s promoter made threats about Kelly Pavlik. Forget it, guys. Hopkins would add 20 pounds to Martinez’s right hooks and land them as easily. Pavlik’s right cross on Martinez would make Williams’ left feel like a love tap. Those fights are all wrong.
A rematch is all right. Williams and Martinez deserve a bigger audience and larger purses. The rest of us deserve more enjoyment.
One last thing. By way of a preview for next week’s Diaz-Malignaggi rematch, let’s pause to acknowledge the comparative dignity of Sergio Martinez’s reaction to Saturday’s wayward scorecard. No calling-out the state of New Jersey, no “vos dije! vos dije!”, no victimhood. Just a simple “I believe it was an error.” Makes you think Madrid might be a friendlier place to live than Brooklyn.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Williams scores Majority decision Martinez in classic battle
By Marc Abrams (ringside)
Paul Williams scored a close majority decision victory over Sergio Martinez in a battle of world champions in a twelve round Middleweight fight at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City
The fight was non-stop action from the beginning and the first round provided some serious fireworks as both fighters scored knockdowns. It Williams who struck first by landing hard left to the top of the head that sent Martinez to the deck. The knockdown seemed to be a flash one as he came back to floor Williams with a hard left at the end of the round.
Martinez continued to land hard right hooks through the third round as he continued to rock Williams. In the third he mixed it up and buckled Williams with a big left. Williams started to get it going in the middle rounds as it was his right hook and long straight left that started to make an impression on Spaniard. In round five, Williams was cut on the forehead from an accidental headbutt. the continued to trade hard shots with the only difference being that Williams was using his jab on occasion. Martinez rocked Williams in round ten from an uppercut.
Round eleven saw a toe to toe ward with both wailing away on each other with Martinez landing some hard lefts to the bloody face of Williams. Williams has a good round twelve as he finished the show by buckling Martinez with two uppercuts. the first one had Martinez holding on.
That final round mat have given Williams the fight as judge Julie Lederman scored the fight even at 1114-114 while Lynn Carter won by a 115-113 (same as 15rounds.com) and Pierre Benoist (119-110????) gave Williams the victory.
Williams, 157 lbs of Augusta, Georgia thought he would facing world Middleweight champion Kelly pavlik on this night and got alot more then he bargained for in Martinez and is now 38-1. Martinez, 159 lbs of Madrid, Spain is now 44-2-2.
Chris Arreola got back on the winning track after his title losing effort to Vitali Klitschko after he stopped Brian Minto in round four of their ten round Heavyweight bout.
The action was heated from the start as Arreola landed some hard right hands early in the fight. Minto landed some quick hard rights and was competitive in the second round. In what was one of the better heavyweight rounds in recent memory, the fourth was a fire fight that was highlighted by Arreola landing a hard four punch combination that was capped off by a booming right hand that dropped Minto to the canvas. Minto not only got up but landed some great shots in what turned into a back and forth fire fight. Arreola rocked Minto into the ropes as Minto was stumbling all around and Arreola drilled him one more time with the left hand as Minto was defenseless. Minto went down but got to his feet but referee Eddie Cotton called a halt to action at 2:40 of round four.
Arreola, 263 lbs of Riverside, CA is now 28-1 with twenty-five knockouts. Minto, 219 lbs of Butler, PA is 34-3.
Tony Thompson made a pitch to get back into Heavyweight title contention as he stopped Chazz Witherspoon in round nine of a scheduled ten round Heavyweight bout.
The fight was void of action over the first couple of rounds but Thompson was winning them as he would land the only significant blows over the first four rounds.
Over the middle rounds, Thompson would buckle Witherpsoon on several occasions but Witherpsoon would show plenty of life as he would land some overhand right’s that would back Thompson up to the ropes. In round nine, the southpaw Thompson turned orthodox and landed a hard right hook that was followed by a booming right hand that sent Witherspoon stumbling into the ropes and referee Benjy Esteves ruled a knockdown. Witherspoon tried to make a last stand but was pummeled with a hard combination along the ropes and Esteves rightfully stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:13 of round nine.
Thompson, 250 lbs of Washington, DC hopes to get back into title contention after being stopped by Wladimir Klitschko just over a year ago when he attempted to win the coveted heavyweight crown. Thompson is now 33-2 with twenty-one knockouts. Witherpsoon, 234 lbs of Philadelphia is now 26-2.
Despite suffering a second round knockdown, former Welterweight champion Carlos Quintana stopped Jesse Feliciano after a cut was opened up on Feliciano’s right eye.
Referee Randy Neumann ruled the cut was opened up by a punch at fifty-nine seconds of the third round after Quintana controlled most of the action over the three rounds other then the knockdown.
Quintana, 153 1/2 lbs of Moca, PR is now 27-2 with twenty-one knockouts. Feliciano, 152 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas is now 15-8-3
Good looking Featherweight prospect Jorge Diaz remained undefeated by scoring a stunning one-punch knockout over Luis Paneto at 2:53 of round one in their scheduled six round bout.
Diaz landed a booming over hand that sent Paneto down for the ten count. Diaz, 123 1/2 lbs of New Brunswick, NJ is now 11-0 with seven knockouts. Paneto, 121 1/2 lbs of Caguas, PR is now 5-7-2.
Jeremiah Wiggins opened up the show by scoring a six round unanimous decision over Manuel Guzman in a six round bout.
Wiggins landed the hard combination but as always Guzman was a tough customer as refused to go anywhere.
Wiggins, 151 1/2 lbs of Newport News, VA won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 to remain undefeated at 7-0-1. Guzman, 150 lbs of Lancaster, VA is now 6-9-2
FOLLOW WILLIAMS – MARTINEZ ; ARREOLA-MINTO LIVE FROM RINGSIDE
Follow all the action from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk hall as Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez get it on in a Middleweight battle of title holder. The action gets underway at 9:30pm Eastern/6:30 pm Pacific with a Heavyweight battle of Brawlers Chris Arreola and Brian Minto
12 Rounds-Middleweights–Paul williams (37-1, 27 KO’s) vs Sergio Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KO’s)
Round 1: Williams comes out with lots of energy and lands a right hook..Martinez lands an inside right hook…LEFT TO TOP OF HEAD AND DOWN GOES MARTINEZ…Martinez lands a hard right hook..Williams lands a left on the ropes…MARTINEZ LANDS A HARD LEFT AND DOWN GOES WILLIAMS …10-9 Martinez…
Round 2: Williams lands a right hook..Martinez lands a hard left and right…Hard jab…Martinez wings a right hook..Williams walks right into another left…Williams lands a right hook inside…20-18 Martinez…
Round 3: Williams lands a hard body shot..Hard right hook from Martinez..Leaping right hook from Williams…Counter Jab from Martinez..2 big lefts buckle Williams…Williams lands a left..Right hook from Martinez..Hard right from Williams at the bell…30-27 Martinez
Round 4: Martinez lands ahard right..Martinez with a flush right..Mauling and punching..Jab from Martinez…Counter left from Martinez..toe to toe action as Williams lands a hard left…Big left from Williams…Martinez lands a left in tight…Big left from williams…39-37 Martinez
Round 5: 2 Huge right hooks and straight left from Williams…Tight hook..BIG left from Martinez..Williams Lands…Hard left from Martinez…Williams lands a huge tight hook…48-47 Williams…Williams cut on the forehead as a result of a headbutt
Round 6: Williams lands a counter left…Jab from Martinez..Right hook from Williams…Williams landing little shots inside…57-57
Round 7: Hard jab from Williams…right from Martinez…Williams lands a hard 2 hook combination.. Right hook from Martinez.. Double jab from Williams…Right from Martinez..67-66 Williams…
Round 8: Williams lands a hard double jab/straight left combo…Hard uppercut from martinez that backs Williams up..77-75 Williams…
Round 9: Right hook inside from Williams… jab…Double jab…jab…Martinez lands a double right hook…87-84 Williams
Round 10: Martinez lands a right hook that rocks Willams and then a booming left…Williams lands a right and martinez counters with a jab…96-94 Williams
Round 11: Martinez a little over hand left…Counter left from Williams…Trading hard shots with Martinez landing a hard left…2 hard left and Williams firing back..Williams bleeding from the right eye..Martinez landed a left at the belll105-104 Williams
Round 12:m Williams lands a hard uppercut that has Martinez holding on..Uppercut buckles Martinez..straight left from Martinez…115-113 Williams..
MAJORITY DECISION….114-114; 115-113; 119-110–PAUL WILLIAMS
10 ROUNDS HEAVYWEIGHTS–CHRIS ARREOLA (27-1, 24 KO’S) VS BRIAN MINTO (34-2, 21 KO’S)
ROUND 1: Arreola lands a left that drives Minto back…Right over top buckles Minto…Hard right from Arreola…10-9 Arreola
Round 2: Minto lands a left as Arreola answers with a hard right…action picking up..Right from Minto..Minto tries to go to the body ..Arreola hard right cross…Quick right from Minto..Minto counter right..Arreola a right..and 2 more rights at the bell…20-19 Arreola
Round 3: Arreola lands a right to the top of head…Hard jab…30-28 Arreola
Round 4: Trading hard shots on the ropes as Minto lands a hard right uppercut…HRAD 4 PUNCH COMBINATION THAT IS FINISHED UP BY A RIGHT TO THE JAW AND DOWN GOES MINTO….A great Brawl is breaking out with Minto landing some hard shits as well as Arreola…Some HARD SHOTS ROCK MINTO AS HE STAGGERS INTO THE ROPES AND DOWN HE GOES AFTER ARREOLA LANDS A HUGE LEFT…MINTO IS GROGGY ON HIS FEET AND REFEREE EDDIE COTTON STOPS THE FIGHT
WEIGHTS FROM ATLANTIC CITY
Paul Williams 157 – Sergio Martinez 159
Chris Arreola 263 – Brian Minto 218
Chazz Witherspoon 234 – Tony Thompson 250
Carlos Quintana 153.5 – Jesse Feliciano 152.5
Jorge Diaz 123.5 – Luis Paneto 123.5
Jeremiah Wiggins 151.5 – Manuel Guzman 150
Paul Williams wants to be feared instead of avoided
By Norm Frauenheim
Paul Williams isn’t playing dodge ball, although a lot of potential business partners do seem to duck, dodge and scatter in search of a lesser threat when confronted by hands as dangerous as any wrecking ball at any weight between 147 and 168 pounds. But the dodge game is won by steps over, around and always away from harm’s way. It’s an elusive dance. Avoid, avoid, avoid, no matter who the aggressor is. It’s tough to win that one. Tough to sell too. That’s why promoter Dan Goossen is quick to counter with a subtle distinction whenever anybody reaches into the cliché bucket and pulls out the one about being the most avoided. “With Paul, they don’t avoid him,” Goossen said in response to fellow promoter Lou DiBella during a conference call for the Williams-Sergio Martinez fight Saturday night in Atlantic City. “They fear him.’’ Fear sells. From Sonny Liston to Mike Tyson, it’s a proven commodity. Nobody knows quite what to make of being avoided, which turns into being forgotten if allowed to linger too long. Some have been able to make a career out of the label, a title all its own. Winky Wright did it. But Goossen argues Wright’s slick, make-you-miss style fits the role. With tactical elusiveness, Wright made it work. Goossen says Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) can’t, maybe by instinct accented with style defined by punching power delivered at a sprinter’s pace. Hide-and-seek is a trap for anybody who doesn’t know how to set one. “There is a big difference between being avoided and being feared,’’ Goossen said. It is as different as waiting and pursuing. In the pursuit, there is better chance at generating demand from an impatient public for the kind of fights that kept Wright in the waiting room for so many years. Yet, that pursuit also includes risk, which is often heightened by the unpredictability inherent in a rush to attack. In part, Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs), an Argentina native living in Madrid, personifies the uncertainty. He will be in the corner opposite only because Kelly Pavlik won’t be. Pavlik was supposed to be there, first on Oct. 3 and then on Saturday, but withdrew both times because of a staph infection on his left hand. Then, Pavlik, the World Boxing Council’s middleweight champion, scheduled a fight for Dec. 19 against Miguel Espino in Youngstown, Ohio, his hometown. That move resulted in inevitable speculation and turned the likeable Pavlik into an easy target for anybody armed with a cell phone, a computer, rumors, insults and no accountability. It turns out that Pavlik’s infection was resistant to antibiotics. By the time that was discovered by a specialist in Cleveland, his life was in danger. The infection is gone. The rumors live on. Pavlik’s mistake was in not acknowledging the severity of the infection. If he had told managers, promoters and physicians what was wrong, the fight might never have been announced. Now, however, the damage in the public’s perception of Pavlik, will be there until or perhaps if – he ever fights Williams. The guess here is that he will. But the Williams camp is predictably skeptical. According to Goossen, there was never any word from the Pavlik camp that he would withdraw from Dec. 5 bout. By then, however, Goossen said he was already planning for that possibility. The first withdrawal served as a warning. “We certainly prepared ourselves for another cancellation,’’ Goossen said. “We wouldn’t play with a serious thing such as a staph infection. On the other hand, we also heard some stories that — come hell or high water — we didn’t think he was going to be in that ring come December 5th.’’ In turning to Martinez, Williams stays in the news with another chance to embellish Goossen’s new advertising label for him: “The most feared man in boxing.” The intriguing twist is that sometimes that substitute is some the wild card that springs the upset. Martinez? Who knows? His lone loss is to Antonio Margarito, who in 2000 stopped him in the seventh. Williams beat Margarito, taking a unanimous decision in 2007. Yet, Williams also has one loss in 2008 to Carlos Quintana, a lefthander. Martinez, who predicted he will knock out Williams, is also left-handed. No problem, says Williams, who seems to say everything in a matter-of-fact tone. “I don’t think it is difficult fighting a left-hander,’’ said Williams, who went on to beat Quintana in a rematch later in 2008. “It doesn’t matter if he is a right-hander or a left-hander. I just deal with the fighter in front of me.’’ No fear there.
Thanksgiving in Camp for Williams and Martinez… PAUL WILLIAMS & SERGIO MARTINEZ SPEND THANKSIVING WITH RESPECTIVE TEAMS IN TRAINING CAMP…& BOTH INDULGE
Thanksgiving report from Paul Williams’ training camp in Arlington, VA. “Thanksgiving is the same ole’, same ole’ for me. I trained on Thanksgiving Day, so it’s just another day. The only difference is that we (trainer George Peterson and I) shared a meal with George Peterson’s family members. The best part is Thanksgiving was enjoyable for me because I ate all the turkey and fixings that I liked. My workout regiment burns everything I eat right through so I am can have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.” “Of course I miss my family and would have loved to spend this Holiday with them but this is all business right now and I understand that. One thing that makes me feel even better about this is that we (Paul’s family) will be spending Christmas together.” Thanksgiving report from Sergio Martinez’ training camp, Port Hueneme, CA “Traditionally, I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but I will this year with my team. I am very excited about it because turkey is my favorite. I trained in the morning, rested in the afternoon and had dinner with my team last night. Weight is not an issue with me and I had my cook, Cicilio Flores, prepare something special.” Martinez is training at the World Crown Sports Training Facility. At the dinner table were head trainer Gabriel Sarmiento, assistant trainers Cicilio Flores and Juan Molina.
* * * On Saturday night December 5th, in the main event at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, Paul Williams, the “Most Feared Fighter in the World,” will face his latest challenge, this coming from Sergio Martinez, in a scheduled 12-round middleweight bout. In the 10-round co-featured bout, Cristobal Arreola will see his first action since a courageous loss at the hands of WBC heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko, when he battles bruiser Brian Minto. Goossen Tutor Promotions and Caesars Atlantic City in association with DiBella Entertainment are presenting this evening of boxing. Williams vs. Martinez and Arreola vs. Minto will be broadcast on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT. Tickets, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale and can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at ticketmast.com.
For more on Goossen Tutor Promotions go to www.goossentutor.com.
Exciting Heavyweight Bout Added To December 5 Boardwalk Hall
WILLIAMS vs. MARTINEZ Main Event
“REAL CHAMPIONS”
CRISTOBAL “The Nightmare” ARREOLA vs.
BRIAN “The Beast” MINTO
Los Angeles, CA (November 23, 2009) – On Saturday night December 5th, in the main event at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, Three-time World Champion Paul Williams, the “Most Feared Fighter in the World,” will face his latest challenge, this coming from WBC Super Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez, in a scheduled 12-round middleweight bout. In the 10-round co-featured bout, Cristobal Arreola will see his first action since a courageous loss at the hands of WBC heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko, when he battles bruiser Brian Minto.
Goossen Tutor Promotions and Caesars Atlantic City in association with DiBella Entertainment are presenting this evening of boxing and Williams vs. Martinez and Arreola vs. Minto will be broadcast on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT.
Tickets, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at ticketmast.com.
Since debuting as a professional in 2003, Cristobal Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs) from Riverside, CA began recording knockout wins at a Tyson-like pace as only one of his first twenty-seven opponents went the distance. Arreola became a fan-favorite in Southern California while knocking out fellow contenders and climbing the heavyweight world rankings. Following wins against Chazz Witherspoon (June 21, 2006) and Jameel McCline (KO 4, April 11, 2009), Arreola became the No. 1 ranked and mandatory challenger to World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Vitali Klitschko. On September 26, 2009, in front of 18,000 screaming fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA., Arreola’s knockout and win streak came to an end in a warrior like performance against the bigger, stronger Klitschko, but like any proud boxer of Mexican heritage, “The Nightmare” vows to return and will begin the climb back to the top on December 5 against the very dangerous Brian Minto.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring against Brian Minto on Dec 5th,” said Arreola. I’m excited about fighting in Atlantic City and back on HBO again. I know Minto will come to fight – he has an all action style, but I will be ready and am looking to put on an explosive performance. I’m looking to end 2009 on a positive note and looking to challenge for a title again in 2010, but this time not letting it slip away!”
Minto (32-4, 21 KOs) from Butler, PA dabbled in boxing as a child, was a standout football player in high school and played linebacker at Slippery Rock University. His football career came to an end in 1996 and Minto returned to the ring. With only 18 amateur fights (15-3) under his belt, “The Beast” turned professional in 2002 at the ripe age of twenty-eight. Minto fought nine times each in 2003 and 2004, his breakout fight coming against noted Queens brawler Vinny Maddalone on July 23, 2004. Minto was knocked down in round one and behind on all score cards going into the tenth and final round when he knocked Maddalone out with a vicious right hand. Minto followed that up with an even bigger win on December 5, 2005, traveling into hostile territory to take on Germany’s favorite boxing son, Axel Schultz. Minto battered and bloodied Schultz, dropping him in the fourth, and in the sixth when the fight was stopped during a Minto onslaught. A unanimous decision loss to Luan Krasniqi for the WBO Intercontinental title followed the Schultz win, but Minto has since reeled off seven consecutive victories.
“Actually, I was rooting for Arreola in his title fight with Klitschko,” said Minto. “He is extremely dangerous, and like myself, he fights with a great deal of determination, heart and skill. Ultimately, I feel that boxing fans and HBO are in for a very exciting and memorable heavyweight fight on Dec. 5th.”
“This is a very dangerous fight for Arreola so quickly after his bruising challenge against Klitschko. But on the other hand, he’s never backed away from a challenge and Minto will certainly give him one. A win puts Arreola right back into the top echelon of heavyweights and a loss, well we’ll just have to see,” stated Arreola’s promoter Dan Goossen.
Williams (37-1, 27 KO), born in Aiken, SC, living in Augusta, GA, and training in Washington, DC, started his World Championship rein in 2007 by defeating Antonio Margarito for his Welterweight Championship. Not finding additional willing challenges at welterweight, Williams moved to super welterweight and beat then-champion Verno Phillips. Once again saddled without a line of waiting challengers, Williams moved up again, to middleweight, to challenge two-time world champion “Winky” Wright. Williams thoroughly defeated Wright to establish himself as a modern day Henry Armstrong, willing to take on the toughest challenges in any weight-class. The three-time world champion had planned to battle WBC/WBO middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik next, but unfortunately for Williams, twice those bouts were cancelled when Pavlik pulled out.
Enter WBC Super Welterweight Champion Sergio Martinez, who recently predicted he would knock “The Punisher” out, but Williams has other plans. “I salute his confidence, but unfortunately for Sergio Martinez, he is going to have to absorb the punishment I planned for Pavlik.”
Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KO), a 34-year old, 5-11 southpaw from Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain via Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 12-year pro, Martinez’ only blemish came at the hands of Antonio Margarito almost ten years ago. He has since won his next 28 fights – culminated by an eighth-round stoppage of Alex Bunema to claim the Interim WBC Light Middleweight title in October of last year. In his most recent bout against former world champion Kermit Cintron, Martinez retained the title in a majority draw when ringside observers thought at one point Cintron was knocked down and counted out only to be able to continue in a mystifying turn of events.
“This is the challenge I’ve been struggling to get. I know I can beat Williams and believe me, I will not only beat him, I will knock him out and show him who the Real Champion is.”
PAUL WILLIAMS / SERGIO MARTINEZ CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT
PAUL WILLIAMS & SERGIO MARTINEZ CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT
With Respective Promoters Dan Goossen and Lou DiBella and
Williams’ trainer George Peterson
November 8, 2009
Dan Goossen: There are a little different dynamics coming into this fight. As everyone knows and I won’t go into much detail but Paul was supposed to fight Pavlik in Atlantic City on October 3 and again on December 5 in Atlantic City and it was cancelled again. We are just happy that we were able to put everything together with Paul and Sergio Martinez. More importantly, I think Paul Williams has always been an east coast fighter but he has fought so much on the west coast, mainly because he has west coast promoters. I have told Ken Condon and the people at Caesars that Paul is going to be the biggest star that Atlantic City is going to get behind for the next few years. I believe he is the most exciting fighter in the sport today. It’s been a few years since we promoted in Atlantic City and it is great to have this fight there especially to showcase Paul Williams in it. Lou DiBella: I would like to take umbrage in what you just saud, that this is a showcase for Paul Williams…I think he is the most avoided fighter between 147 and 168 pounds. I think he is a threat to everyone with his imposing physical size and his work rate…the guy is a great fighter. But he is fighting a great champion and on December 5, martinez is going to prove to the world that he is the dominant fighter at that weight class, at 154. I think AC is looking for fighters like Paul, I agree with that but more importantly they are starving for great fights. Right here we have a great match-up and a very difficult fight for Paul and I’ve got to give Paul and his entire team credit for taking this fight because frankly it is a much more difficult fight than a Pavlik fight with less reward. He could have fought a lesser opponent, but if you beat Sergio you will be making a statement because we believe you will be fighting one of the best fighters in the world. Dan Goossen: Lou, I make no slight to Sergio, I have been telling everyone that Sergio Martinez is a much bigger risk than a Kelly Pavlik in our eyes. On the other hand, we have so much confidence in Paul’s ability and we know that styles make fights, but Paul is different in that he takes control and makes everyone fight his fight. Lou DiBella: I agree and I know that your family knows enough about boxing that Sergio Martinez is a much more difficult fight that Kelly Pavlik whom I thought that Paul was going to cut right through. Sergio Martinez: Training has been going very well. I have been working hard. Ihave been in camp for five weeks now and I am in great condition. This week I will begin sparring. I have been training for this Williams fight like I have no other and right now things are going perfectly. Paul Williams: Sergio is a big threat and he brings a great challenge. So I have to do what I always do, I have to eliminate that threat. He is very fast so I will have to impose my will, like I always do when I get in there…control the fight. I have not seen much of Martinez, except for the Cintron fight. That is the only fight I have seen of his. My trainer will watch the tapes and put together a game plan for me and I will follow that plan. I don’t like watching tapes of guys that I am going to fight because you watch them do things then they come in and do something else. Dan Goossen: I felt it was important to kee this fight on the east coast and Al Haymon and George and Paul and I all worked hard to find an opponent that was a reputable challenge and obviously we found it in Sergio Martinez. There was a lot of disappointment that Pavlik was not the fight but I always believed that Paul was the star so we are still moving in that direction. We are going to have Paul showcased against a tougher challenge. We did have other venues available to us out on the west coast but from day 1 was to keep the fight in Atlantic City. Outside of the great sandwiches at the White House, we needed to get Paul in there for the fans of New York and Philadelphia and especially the casinos in Atlantic City to see what a fun talent he is and one they can get behind. How does it affect camp when a fight gets cancelled and then have to fight a guy with a different style? Paul Williams: The only difference is needed to get rid of all the right-handed sparring partners then bring in southpaws. That’s just part of boxing – you have to deal with the good and the bad and I think this works out for the best. How will Sergio combat the height and reach advantage? Sergio Martinez: The difference is going to be how rapid I fight. I am very fast. I am much faster than Paul Williams and I am going to throw a lot more pnches and that’s going to be the big difference. Has the Pavlik camp contacted you regretting the cancellations? Dan Goossen: No. We don’t need it or expect it and we certainly prepared ourselves for another cancellation. We wouldn’t play with a serious thing such as a staph infection. On the other hand we have also heard some stories that come hell or high water we didn’t think he was going to be in that ring come December 5th. As you know, Clottey andQuintana were also going to be on the show originally along with Sergio just to insure that Paul wasn’t in another training camp and left with the news that Paul was pulling out. Since Pavlik was being cultivated to be the next AC fighter after Gatti…have you heard that Pavlik will not be able to fight again? Dan Goossen: We haven’t heard anything like that. Quite frankly, this was a blessing in disguise. Paul, I believe, was the meat and potatoes of the Pavlik fight and I believe he was ready to demonstrate that. Now, Paul goes to Atlantic City and Sergio wants to have his opportunity and we are going to show why Paul is the most feared fighter in the world on December 5th. Now keep in mind I think he is one of the most exciting fighters around…we’ve got some exciting fighters out there…we are going to see an exciting fight this coming weekend and the following weekend with Ward. There are a lot of great fighters out there. Paul Williams brings something that we don’t get to see and that is three minutes of pure punching power and activity, and Lou touched on this a little, here is this man that is a natural 147-pounder that is willing to fight anyone from 147 to 160. One thing I disagree with Lou on is that I don’t like to hear people say he is the most avoidable fighter…Winky Wright was the most avoided and that was because of his style. Same thing with Sergio and what he just said about his style that people avoid him. With Paul, they don’t avoid him, they fear him because of his aggressiveness, his punching power, his activity. There is a big difference between being avoided and being feared. When we made this fight with Martinez, he’s got to be congratulated because he will be in the ring with who no one wants to be in the ring with. It gives us the opportunity to make Paul Williams the star and continue this for him. How much has Sergio’s style changed since his last fight with Margarito? Sergio Martinez: I have matured a lot since my fight with Margarito. It has been almost 10years and I have changed a lot, mainly because of my fight against Kermit Cintron which made me a much tougher and a lot more confident. How will it be fighting another left-hander, since your only loss was against a left-hander? Paul Williams: I think I proved that in my second fight with Quintana. It’s not that I have trouble with left-handers, I just had an off-night that night. I made up for that in the second fight. I look at all fighters the same. I don’t think it is difficult fighting a left-hander. It doesn’t matter if he is a right-hander or a left-hander. I just deal with the fighter that is in front of me. I think all the fights are tough fights. I can say that Sergio will move and Kelly will stand still. That’s all I can say about that, but we are working on things that will handle that. We have sparring partners that will handle that. Have you seen tapes of Sergio? Paul Williams: I don’t really watch tapes because fighters can always change what they do in the ring for different fights. Sergio, how do you think you will be able to win this fight? Sergio Martinez: For me going up in weight really doesn’t affect me. It makes me feel stronger and I know I will still have my speed, so I don’t really see any disadvantages. Also, being that I am always well conditioned, it doesn’t matter that I have taken this fight on short notice. Will Sergio stay at middleweight or go back down again to defend the 154-ound title? Sergio Martinez: I would consider staying at middleweight and would love to fight Kelly Pavlik because for sure I will win against Williams. Paul Williams: Well they all talk like that until they get in the ring when the bell rings. And start taking all the punches that I am throwing. I am happy that he is confident and I know in my heart that this is a big test for me. That’s why my team and I are training hard for this fight. How do you beat a Paul Williams? Sergio Martinez: I am going to win by knockout and I am sure of it. I am in the best shape of my life at the best time of my career. I am a lot faster than Paul and I don’t take as many hits as he does so that will really do well for me in this fight. Lou DiBella: Sergio has never lacked confidence so he believes what he is saying so maybe Paul is the one that is in trouble. George Peterson: Well, Sergio can do all he wants. He will move a lot. The time is right and we will have no problems with that. That is basically what we are working on. We don’t get caught up in that, we are training for a twelve-round fight. He has been knocked out once, that that proves he can be knocked out again so we basically strategize for that. Paul has all the advantages and he also has the will to win and to be the greatest. Paul can also make the necessary adjustments. He can adjust to what the opponent does in front of him. When you have a guy that is not one-dimensional. We are very confident about going in there and stopping this guy. He has no pop and it is evident that Paul has a chin made of granite. We don’t know how long this guy is going to withstand this punishment. Sergio said he was going to knock Paul out… George Peterson: It will be in his dreams because it won’t be on December 5th. He hasn’t knocked anybody out, no sir. Paul Williams: I am glad that his confidence is such as that. We will have a fight George Peterson: Sergio has never seen a fighter such as Paul. We are glad that he has that attitude. That is the attitude that we need for Paul to knock him out. Sergio Martinez: This is going to be the first time that Paul encounters an opponent that attacks like I do. He has never been up against somebody like me that has my mentality and he is going to know why I am the champion at 154-pounds. George Peterson: Well he is no Vernon Phillips and Vernon couldn’t know Paul out. Sharmbe Mitchell attacked him, as long as it lasted. That is the strategy that he definitely doesn’t want to do. He should keep that jack-rabbit strategy that he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to attack Paul. But we definitely want him to think that way, no doubt.
Paul Williams to battle Sergio Martinez on December 5th in Atlantic City
According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Paul Williams will challenge WBC Super Welterweight champion Sergio Martinez in a non-tilte bout on December 5th in Atlantic City.
Williams was originally scheduled to challenge middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for the title in the main arena. However, the fight was canceled Oct. 21 when Pavlik withdrew for the second time because of persistent problems with his left hand stemming from a staph infection and two subsequent surgeries. Pavlik and Williams were originally scheduled to fight Oct. 3, but that date was pushed to Dec. 5 before being canceled.
“It’s a tough fight against what many would consider an unknown champion, but Martinez can’t be underestimated,” Dan Goossen, Williams promoter said. “He’s hungry and he’s been looking for his opportunity to fight a name fighter. This is it. Martinez has everything to gain from this fight. [Williams trainer] George [Peterson] and Paul are cognizant of the fact that Martinez can go out there and cause problems.
“These are the types of fights that are the tough ones, a fight made off the cuff because of the circumstances we were faced with Pavlik pulling out on short notice. Normally, you’d rather have a much bigger window to prepare for a tricky left-hander like Martinez,” he said.
Said Lou DiBella, the co-promoter of Martinez: “I think it’s as competitive a fight as you can make for Williams right now. These are two guys that most people don’t want to fight. Nobody is running to fight either guy. I think Sergio has a lot going for him in this fight. He’s unusually fast and strong for a left boxer. He has pop and speed and he’s not a little guy.”
Heavyweight Cristobal Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs), who was stopped in the 10th round of a one-sided title challenge to Vitali Klitschko on Sept. 26, will return to face an opponent to be determined in the televised co-feature.
“We didn’t object to the weight because of simple reality,” DiBella said. “We’re not going to object because whatever happens, Sergio retains his belt and that is fine with us. The main thing is this is a good fight.”
“We did not receive any notification,” Goossen said. “But this fight is not about which belts these guys have. It’s about the best fighting the best. This is about the fighters.”
“We also made the obligatory reach-out to Shane Mosley, but there wasn’t any interest,” Goossen said. “Even though Paul can make the weight, we’re destined right now to wave goodbye to the welterweights. They just don’t seem to have any interest in stepping into the ring with Paul.”
“We had some sites in Las Vegas and Los Angeles that we could have moved to [after Pavlik, the big draw in Atlantic City, fell out], but I felt it was important to establish a base for Paul on the East Coast,” he said. “I believe Paul will be a big hit in Atlantic City. This is exactly what you try to accomplish with a fighter at the doorstep of becoming a star — build up a following on both coasts.”
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