Andy Murray produced probably the best display of his career to beat Claudinei Lacerna on points. Murray was dropped in the first round (the first time in his career) when a right hand found him off balance but he recovered unbelievably well. The knockdown served as a warning that Lacerna carried a huge amount of power and for the rest of the fight Murray fought intelligently at distance. Lacerna is a poor boxer who is looking for the one big punch and Murray completely outboxed him in the other nine rounds. Murray has great skill and technique but the worry of his defense is still going to be there after this fight. I still wouldn't be confident that Andy could beat the European champion John Murray but i was very impressed by this display.
Over in Atlantic City, Sergio Martinez avenged his loss to Paul Williams with the knockout of the year in the second round. Williams won a controversial split decision last year and Martinez was desperate for the fight to end swiftly this time around. Both fighters attempted to throw left hooks with Martinez getting his off first which landed flush to William's chin and sent him face first to the canvas. It was a stunning finish to a fight that most thought would be closely fought. It seemed that Martinez had learned lessons from the first fight, Williams hadn't.
Martinez is now considered top 5 in the pound for pound list. However, this brutal KO will probably rule out a big money showdown with Pacquiao and Mayweather. That leaves very few people for Martinez to fight as the Middleweight division really is lacking in big names. It really is hard to see where he will go after this. His best bet would be a rematch with Kelly Pavlik who he defeated after being knocked down but Pavlik's injury problems still cast a doubt over his fighting career. He could also opt to avenge his loss to Antonio Margarito who he lost to in 2000 after the fight was stopped in the 7th round.
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