Martinez KOs Williams

Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

Sergio Martinez was a good enough athlete in his native Argentina that he played competitive soccer and tennis, and even became an accomplished cyclist.

He didn’t turn to boxing until he was 20, ancient for a sport that rewards youth and wearies quickly of aging stars. He stepped into the ring for the first time 15 years ago for the same reason as thousands before him: to escape from the drugs and violence that ruled the streets of his hometown of Quilmes, in the province of Buenos Aires.

“You cannot dream to be in my place today,” Martinez said in the early hours Sunday morning, after the shock of his incredible knockout of Paul Williams had worn off.

“I’m very happy, and I’m very happy with myself, with all my life,” he said humbly. “This is a very happy day, everybody knows what I’m coming from.”

The road to stardom has not been easy for Martinez, nor paved in dollar bills.

His emphatic defense of his middleweight title at Boardwalk Hall is almost certain to be the Knockout of the Year, if not the decade. Yet he earned a little more than $1 million for the fight, far less than Williams, even though it was Martinez who was defending his title.

The second-class status that Martinez has been burdened with for far too long was also evident in the moments before the fight, when he was moved to the blue corner that had been reserved for the challenger all night. It forced him to pass through the Williams camp in the opposite corner and across the ring to reach his team before introductions.

Martinez promoter Lou DiBella bristled at the slight, but told a few reporters ringside that it wouldn’t matter when Martinez put Williams flat on his back.

Martinez was quicker to the punch in the opening round and hurt Williams against the ropes midway through it, but it was early in the second that the drama happened. Williams was setting up for a hook when Martinez literally beat him to the punch, catching him flush on the chin and sending him to the canvas — face first — for a brutally efficient knockout.

“He kept saying it wouldn’t go seven rounds,” DiBella said. “He told me he’d catch him with one of those punches. He must have said it a 1,000 times. You know me, I worried like a maniac and he was calming me down. He said, ‘Don’t worry, because I’m knocking him out.”’