Image by Getty Images via @daylifePromoters Lou DiBella and Dan Goossen got this message earlier than most. They have put together a rematch between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams that is sure to lessen some of the disappointment most boxing fans currently feel.
If boxing ever needed to smooth things over with its fans it does now, and Martinez-Williams II (set for Nov. 20 on HBO) will likely do it.
"This is a can't-miss fight," Williams promoter Goossen told ESPN.com during a prefight news conference Thursday. "This isn't a fight that we are going to look back at on Nov. 21 and say, 'It looked better on paper.'
"There is no way this fight isn't going to look great on paper and in the ring on Nov. 20. There is no doubt about it. We have two elite athletes, two of the most feared fighters in the world, two of the most aggressive ones fighting each other and two of the fighters with the most heart fighting each other," Goossen said.
"It's going to be an explosive night of boxing."
Williams (39-1-0, 27 knockouts) won the hotly contested first meeting -- on Dec. 6, 2009 -- by majority decision. The rematch will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where the original bout was held.
Each fighter used every weapon in his arsenal. Neither took a backward step.
There is no reason to expect less action in the rematch. If Williams and Martinez are half as motivated as they were in the original, boxing fans are in for a much-deserved treat.
Based on the excitement in their voices and the personal goals each has set for himself, fireworks are just about guaranteed.
Both Martinez and Williams are ranked in the top five on most boxing pound-for-pound lists. Neither, however, is satisfied with his current status.
Each man wants to be the best in the sport, and a victory Nov. 20 will go a long way toward achieving that goal.
Williams is in the better position to control his destiny. He is expected to immediately begin campaigning for a 147-pound bout against Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- the only fighters ranked ahead of him -- following a win over Martinez.
For Martinez (45-2-2, with 24 KOs), reaching the top of boxing's pound-for-pound rankings might prove more difficult. Even with a win over Williams, a future bout against Pacquiao or Mayweather is highly unlikely. Martinez can't cut to 147 pounds.
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