Williams Gets Majority Decision Win over Martinez in Brutal Back and Forth War
In a fight that some people were predicting could have been a snoozer, Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez put on an absolute war, making a last minute entry into the Fight of the Year for 2009 running. At the end of the night, the Williams vs. Martinez results saw the judges rule the bout in favor of Williams via Majority Decision.
The official judges scorecards for Paul Williams vs. Sergio Martinez were 114-114, 115-113 and 119-110. The final scorecard was an absolute travesty, as the battle could have gone to either man. To score the fight so lopsided is a true disservice. The fight started in a vicious back and forth, and continued that way for much of the evening.
In the first round, Williams began applying pressure as Martinez tried to backpedal and counter. Soon Williams was able to land a left off the top of Martinez’s head which seemed to catch him off balance and knocked him down. Martinez wasn’t hurt though, and right before the bell he tagged Williams and knocked him down. Williams however was seriously hurt. This kind of back forth went on for the rest of the affair.
Martinez for the next three to four rounds found a constant home for his right hook, which Williams seemed to be unable to guard against. One almost feels bad for Williams, expecting to face right handed, slugging and at least in comparison plodding Kelly Pavlik, and instead having to get in with one of the slickest south paws in the game.
In the middle rounds of the night, the pressure of Paul Williams turned to the tide. But both men continued to battle, and Williams suffered a bad cut via an accidental head butt. As the two men continued to duke it out, eventually Martinez also found a home for a straight left hand to Williams’ head.
The same pattern repeated itself throughout the night. Martinez landed crisp leads and counters that sent the head of Paul Williams flying backward and to the side. Williams however would remain undeterred, constantly coming forward, throwing more shots and applying strong pressure.
After the 12th round, as the two exhausted fighters both somehow made it to the final bell, it seemed as if the decision could have gone to either fighter. ProBoxing-Fans.com scored the bout 115-113 for Martinez, based on the clean, hard shots that he landed. Taking a look at the fighters’ faces, or imagining yourself in their shoes, you would have wanted to be Sergio Martinez on this night.
However, the judges thought the fight went the other way, and the decision isn’t the problem. The problem is that the official judges’ scorecards, on the one judge’s card, was so outrageously lopsided it was beyond belief.
As two of the best junior middleweight fighters fighting at 160 lbs, hopefully Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams step down to 154 lbs and fight a rematch with some title belts at stake. Cheers to Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez on a great night, and shame on the judge for ruining the Williams vs. Martinez results with that terrible score.
