Sergio Martinez Flattens Paul Williams in Two Rounds [KO FOOTAGE]

Boxing fans and critics were expecting another Fight of Year candidate. Instead, Sergio Martinez gave fans a definitive Knockout of Year by taking out Paul Williams with one left hook to retain his middleweight championship.

From the first round, both men immediately tried to impose their will. Williams came forward throwing hard overhand hooks with both hands. Martinez, in line with his strategy of trying to back up Williams, looked to land short counters inside and tie up. The champion succeeded early in backing Williams into the ropes, and landing two solid straight lefts. But Williams fired back in kind, and did well closing out the round with his higher punch output.

30 seconds into the second round, Martinez landed a hard overhand left, a harbinger of things to come. Williams took it and immediately tried to chase down the champ and retaliate. He did so out of clinch by getting the better of a left hook exchange. When he attempted it again, Paul Williams was short-circuited by a Sergio Martinez left he didn’t see coming. The shot landed with sickening accuracy, and Williams hunched forward and crumpled to the mat with a blank look in his eyes. Martinez immediately celebrated, instinctively knowing there was no need for a count. 

The shocking knockout fulfilled Martinez’s promise to score an emphatic KO. According to the Argentinian champion, Williams’ whirlwind offense is what set up the counter.

“We had it prepared. It was the product of a lot of work,” Martinez told HBO’s Max Kellerman. “What changed was I decided to attack, but always waiting for his mistakes. He was too open and left me a lot of room to come in and punch him.”

In recent weeks, Floyd Mayweather was rumored to have interest in the winner of this fight. Martinez acknowledged his openness to the fight, and even doing a catchweight.

“I want to hear offers and see what comes my way,” he stated. “I want to rest a little bit and say hello to Paul Williams because he’s a great fighter. 156 [pounds] is fine, but I want to hear the offers.”

Paul Williams, still in shock after suffering his first knockout loss, could only say he didn’t see the punch.

“I just got caught with a punch,” Williams admitted. “He caught me with a clean shot. He caught me with a punch I didn’t see.”

The spectacular knockout gives Sergio Martinez his first successful title defense, and raises his record to 46-2-2 with 25 KOs. Paul Williams falls to 39-2, with 27 KOs.

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I’m sure my neighbors are mad at me, because I was sure yelling when that shot connected. Trust me, we’ve locked in our Knockout of the Year. Electrifying win for Sergio Martinez.

Max Kellerman made a few comments about Sergio Martinez being in the Top 3 pound for pound. That’s not a crazy statement. He was robbed of a KO against Kermit Cintron, lost very close to Paul Williams, defeated Kelly Pavlik, and now stretched Williams in the rematch. That’s a very good resume.

After seeing this, do we seriously think either Mayweather or Pacquiao are going to step in the ring with him?