Sergio Martinez v Paul Williams set to go
Paul Williams is set to get his first title shot since his 2008 welterweight defeat to Carlos Quintana when he takes on WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in November.
Williams has been avoided for sometime due to his awkward frame.
The likes of Manny Pacquiao and Kelly Pavlik have avoided fighting Williams over the years because his style is very hard to combat against. At 6ft 1in tall and with a reach of 208cm he is a formidable opponent for anyone in the middleweights or the welterweights because he is so big.
Martinez won the belt in April when he beat Pavlik. It was a surprise victory because Pavlik was heavy favourite and Martinez has no real history of fighting as a middleweight.
Williams and Martinez have met before, when they fought a very close and tough match in December which Williams won by majority decision.
The fight was so close that there was a lot of scope for a rematch and that now looks set to be announced with the date thought to be set on November 20th.
Last time Williams was in action he was involved in a very strange bout that saw his rival Kermit Cintron fall out the ring and he was handed an unsatisfying victory as a result.
As for Martinez he hasn’t fought since he won his title, despite being linked to everyone from Pacquiao to Andre Berto. There is no doubt that he has been given a renewed lease of life as two years ago was written off by everyone and couldn’t get a manager.
One interesting side note might be that both these two fighters are light for a middleweight and essentially blown up welterweights. Pacquiao is fighting Miguel Cotto for his light-middleweight title and may have his eye at taking on the winner of this in a catch-weight, particularly Martinez if both come through their battles. Should these events occur it would equate as Pacman’s ninth different weight-class belt.
For now though Williams will just be happy he found someone prepared to fight him, particularly as it is for a title.
Perhaps now he will finally be able to shed his reputation as the most avoided man in boxing.
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