Weekend aftermath: Martinez carves up Pavlik, Bute humiliates Miranda
Sergio Martinez finally landed the big one on Saturday, wrenching the middleweight championship away from Kelly Pavlik with a sublime show of boxing in Atlantic City. Going in, many felt Pavlik’s size and power would trump the Argentine’s speed and movement, which was borne out by bookmakers posting him as a hefty favourite.
In a fight of three distinct acts, Martinez swept the bout’s first third using ring smarts and sharp, snappy punching from the outside. Each time the champion set himself to punch, Martinez would pop him in the chops. If Pavlik threw a left, he’d be hit with a right cross over his extended jabbing arm, a right hand from Kelly and Sergio would beat him to the draw with a lightning left lead. Basic, yet highly effective here.
With the writing on the wall, “The Ghost” did what all good champions are supposed to and responded. Picking up the challenger’s rhythm, Kelly began to pick off Martinez’s shots on his gloves, before ramming home rangy left and right handers. It was a dramatic switch in momentum which would last for exactly four rounds, during which (in round seven) Pavlik tallied a knockdown to completely turn things around on the scorecards.
Then, just as suddenly as events had flip flopped one way, they reversed again as a long left from Martinez opened up a shocking gash over Pavlik’s right eye, all but blinding him from the smaller man’s spiteful punches (Kelly’s left eye had been cut in the opener).
After finding his traditional second wind and with his opponent in distress, Martinez opened fire and engulfed the champ in a maelstrom of leather in the most one sided round of the contest.With his cutman seemingly unable to deal with his wounds effectively, Pavlik lost his thread completely and Martinez whirred away until the final bell, winning on all cards by scores of 115-112, 115-111 and 116-111.
It was a signature win for Sergio, one well deserved after a 2009 which would have discouraged plenty of lesser men. His overall contribution was fantastic and oozed of star quality.
Pavlik too can take credit from his performance, one which looked at one point, as though it might be good enough to carry him home for a famous come-from-behind victory, until Martinez’s struck in the ninth.
The middleweight triumvirate of Martinez, Pavlik and (Paul) Williams suggest a bright future for this prestigious division. Just get those contracts signed.
Martinez moves to 45-2-2 (24) whilst Pavlik slips to 36-2 (32).
The joint double header, featured Canadian based Romanian super middleweight Lucian Bute, in a mark time bout against the power punching Edison Miranda. Bute, who appears to be improving with each fight, cracked his man out with a right uppercut in the third after Miranda had rather embarrassingly posed seconds earlier in an “I’m not hurt” posture.
It was a perfect riposte from Bute, rated as the top man at 168lbs by Ring Magazine, no doubt proving the proverbial thorn in the side of Showtime’s Super Six organisers. Quite where Miranda goes from here, after a humbling defeat which recalled Nate Campbell’s embarrassing kayo loss to Robbie Peden in 2004, after the Floridian had offered his chin out for the Aussie to hit, is difficult to say.
Bute meanwhile must search hard for a worthy opponent, at least until a rival emerges from the aforementioned tournament.
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