By Lem Satterfield
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, a deal for a rematch between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24KOs) and Paul Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) "is basically done, but it's not signed yet." Williams won a close majority decision over Martinez last December in a "fight of the year" contender. HBO has been pushing for the rematch to take place.
The tentative televised date is November 20, which means the fight will be paired with the HBO replay of Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito [taking place on November 13]. The fight quickly came back on the table after junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo turned down an offer of $750,000 to fight Martinez in October.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
AWESOME, what a tremendous fight last time, I thought it was possibly the best fight of the year, which is funny cuz as I recall, it was on one of the final days of the year, toward the end of December. Anyway, great news.
Great news, I was hoping this would get set up. Martinez gave Williams everything he could handle in the first fight.
First fight was awesome, right up there with Marquez-Diaz I for FOTY. I wanted Williams to win, but I had Martinez by one point.
Next fight should determine who is the man at 154-160.
If Alfredo Angulo really turned down $750K to fight Martinez, his manager is doing a lousy job. That's more money than he will make in his next 4-5 fights, and his style guarantees a short career.
Both his manager and his promoter (Gary Shaw)said that he should have taken the offer. The most he had made before that was 300k for the Cintron fight.
He wanted 1 million and then 900k but neither were available. The fight would've been for the middleweight title at a catchweight of 156 or 7 and had he lost he was guaranteed by the WBC to keep his #1 ranking at 154.