Good workout, I think. Not great by any means, since the last set of squats didn't feel like I went all the way down there, and I didn't go for a fifth rep for my final bench set. But, I managed to deadlift that 245 again for 5 reps. Gonna try for an unambitious 255 next time. this can be salvaged!
Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Bench 5x45, 5x95, 5x135
- Deadlift 5x45, 5x135, 5x205
Work sets
- Squat 5x285, 5x290, 5x295
- Bench 5x160, 5x165, 4x165
- Deadlift 5x245
So technically this fight took place on December 5, but I didn't see it until about 12:00 AM Monday morning. Took me an unbelievable amount of effort not to check any boxing news websites to spoil it for me; the World Boxing Video Archive was a godsend for me here.
I didn't like Paul Williams before. He's far too big for the weight class in which he wants to compete; he's a southpaw; he doesn't seem to have any dramatic losses that humanize him; and he complains that no one wants to fight him. I didn't know who the hell Sergio Martinez was, but I wanted him to upset this beast at 160.
As it turned out, I came out of the fight a fan of both dudes. They traded knockdowns in the very first round. For the next two rounds, Martinez chilled outside of Williams's range with his hands at his knees, darting in and out with slick counters. His counter right hook landed flush, over and over, and I kept hoping that Williams would be KTFO. The first right hook that put him down was devastating, and Williams was seriously hurting.
But Williams not only managed to take them, shakily, he also started to give back as good as he took. Martinez's counters landed accurately and hard, and he started pounding Williams with a lead left straight later. Williams's response was to keep throwing punches. It's his same style as always, but the courage under fire was incredible.
At the end, both fighters had gassed, and their skills were remnants of the beginning of the war, but neither man went down, and neither man ever stopped trying. It wasn't a clean affair; there was plenty of clinching and wrestling, and both fighters went down and into the ropes from the grappling. But I'll be damned if they both didn't show incredible heart along with their skill. In addition, Williams looked truly vulnerable, and his response was extremely endearing.
Looking forward to see more of both of these warriors in the future. And no, I don't want to see a rematch. I want to see these guys against Mayweather, against Pavlik, against Hopkins, against Bute.
A late contender for Fight of the Year. Let's see if we get more in the coming weeks.
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