Cable boxing giant HBO has informed Paul Williams’ management that they prefer he rematch Sergio Martinez or face Sergei Dzinziruk in his next bout.
Williams’ last bout was a four round technical decision win over Kermit Cintron in May. The fight was contested at junior middleweight and called off early after Cintron injured himself falling out of the ring.
Since then, Williams’ promoter Dan Goossen had tried to get the Punisher fights at welterweight against either Shane Mosley or Manny Pacquiao. Both of those fighters have signed on for other bouts, and HBO’s move has made it clear they see Williams’ future at either 154 pounds or middleweight.
Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams battled in a highly entertaining Fight of the Year candidate last December. Martinez cut Williams and landed more power shots than any other man on the 6’1 fighter. However, the judges preferred Williams’ aggression and output in awarding him a controversial split decision victory.
Martinez would defeat Kelly Pavlik in his next fight to capture the middleweight title. A Williams rematch would be the obvious choice for fan appeal over Dzinziruk, who just made his U.S. TV debut in May with a 10th round TKO over Daniel Dawson. Martinez is said to be anticipating the rematch and is already in training.
Gary Shaw, who co-promotes Dzindiruk, has his fighter ready in case Martinz-Williams falls through. He senses that Williams’ camp may be reluctant following the close call in the first fight, as a contract impasse has happened due to Williams’ team requesting more than a 50-50 split.
“I’ve alway said, if they can’t make a fight between Martinez and Williams, then Sergei Dzinziruk and Alfredo Angulo are ready to step in against either guy,” Shaw told Boxing Scene.
Shaw also has a potential championship offer for Angulo against IBF 154 pound titlist Cory Spinks. Spinks faces Cornelius Bundrage tomorrow night (August 7) on the untelevised portion of HBO Alexander-Kotelnik card in St. Louis.
If Spinks and Alexander win, it sets up a potential big card in early 2011 with Devon Alexander unifying against Timothy Bradley at junior welterweight, and Angulo earning his first title shot on the undercard against Spinks.
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Even though HBO needed to have this type of firmness with Mayweather and Pacquiao, I’m glad to see them put their foot down regarding the competitive matchups they want to see on their network.
Paul Williams hasn’t fought at welterweight in two years. There is nothing at that weight class for him. Pacquiao and Mosley has both moved up to 154 to face in-house fighters from their respective stables in Antonio Margarito and Sergio Mora. Williams and Andre Berto share Al Haymon as an adviser, and Berto told me earlier this year that they wouldn’t get in the ring unless there was huge money.
But it’s not like HBO has put the Punisher in a bad position. He beats Martinez and he becomes the middleweight champion of the world. That title holds weight at the negotiation table. If he goes for Dzinziruk and wins, he picks up the WBO 154 pound title and can unify against the Spinks-Angulo winner or take on the winner of Mosley-Mora. And by then, James Kirkland should be back in the championship mix.
Personally, I’d go for Martinez. He’s more known in America courtesy of the first fight and his win over Pavlik. But either bout is great for his fans. Considering the split is such an issue in the Martinez fight, I can’t see Williams opting to take lesser money against Dzinziruk.
Regarding Spinks-Angulo if Cory wins tomorrow, that’s a great fight for Angulo. Yes, we saw El Perro get outboxed by Kermit Cintron last year. And Spinks is much better technically than Kermit. But it was Cintron’s power that made Angulo hesitant to pressure him like he does the majority of his opponents. Spinks has no power and has slowed down considerably as seen in his last bout against Deandre Lattimore.
Should they fight, I see Angulo mauling Spinks badly and knocking him out around the 5th round.
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Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 