Boxing News 2011: Lee stuns McEwan

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Andy Lee knew he was in trouble going to the 10th and final round of his middleweight fight with Craig McEwan on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Arena at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.

His answer? To score a booming knockout in the top undercard bout on the show headlined by middleweight champ Sergio Martinez's title defense against junior middleweight titlist Sergiy Dzinziruk.

With a strong contingent of Irish supporters cheering him on, Lee rallied in the ninth to drop McEwan, a native of Scotland living in Los Angeles, late in the round.

McEwan, bleeding from a small cut by his left eye, survived, but not for long. He looked gassed as the 10th began and Lee went at him. Lee landed a tremendous left hand, McEwan dropped to his knees in bad shape and referee Steve Smoger called it off at 56 seconds.

Two judges had the fight 85-85 going to the final round while the third judge had McEwan ahead 86-84 of what had been an entertaining scrap.

"I was down, I was getting outboxed, I needed a knockout, or at least a knockdown in the 10th round," said Lee, a 2004 Irish Olympian who had once beaten McEwan during their standout amateur careers. "He was throwing a lot of punches. He caught me relaxing and he stunned me. I'm not that happy. I don't feel too good. I like to dominate. I had to dig deep. I didn't have my legs. I went back to the street. That's how we fight at Kronk."

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Boxing News 2010: Sergio Martinez is the fighter of the year

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During the jubilant celebration inside the ring after Sergio Martinez knocked Paul Williams into another dimension, trainer Gabriel Sarmiento placed a gold-colored crown on his pupil's head.

One of the members of Martinez's team had bought the prop more or less as a gag, but it was certainly a fitting symbol for what Martinez had done, not only on that November night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., but during a year in which he blazed his way to becoming king of the middleweight division and earning his place among the top fighters in the world, pound for pound.

Martinez -- known as "Maravilla" -- won the middleweight championship by slicing up Kelly Pavlik to win a clear decision and drilled Williams in their much-anticipated rematch to cement his status as the 2010 ESPN.com fighter of the year.

Martinez, 35, had ended 2009 by going toe-to-toe with Williams in a sensational, all-action fight, but he lost a disputed majority decision. While a rematch was what boxing fans and media asked for, their promoters wanted them go to their separate ways for at least one fight until the inevitable sequel would take place.

When a fight between Williams and Pavlik could not be made -- yet again -- Martinez, who held a junior middleweight title, happily accepted the opportunity to challenge for the middleweight championship. That title means a lot in Martinez's home country of Argentina, which produced Carlos Monzon, one of the greatest middleweight champions in history and Martinez's boxing idol.

Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) and Pavlik met April 17 at Boardwalk Hall and it was clear from the outset that even though Pavlik was the bigger man, it was going to be a tough fight. Martinez easily won the opening rounds with his superior boxing ability. But after Pavlik came on strong in the middle rounds, including scoring a seventh-round knockdown, Martinez turned it up a notch. He dominated down the stretch, opening a bad cut over Pavlik's right eye in the ninth round and sweeping the rest of the fight to claim the title in an outstanding performance.

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Boxing News 2010: Martinez, Williams to the rescue

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Promoters 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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