What must be done to turn the tide in Flushing? After two consecutive losing seasons and questions about who will be where in the lineup, Collins certainly has a huge task. Expectations for the Mets to contend in 2011 are very slim with limited payroll flexibility, and probably no significant additions to the roster.

The new manager immediately said he wants to win. He emphasized speed on the bases and mentioned how important it was for Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay to stay healthy.  Previous manager Jerry Manuel knew how important that was, but for Collins to see success it will require more than Beltran and Bay playing at full strength.

“I want to win, and there is no doubt in my mind we have the talent to win,” said the 61-year old Collins, an intense and competitive individual who expects nothing more than winning. He reminds you of a general leading his troops to war. A veteran baseball man with expertise coming back to the dugout after an 11-year hiatus should not be an issue.

Collins knows the game, so adjusting to a new situation, in the big city will be the question. Can he handle a losing situation?  Time will tell because Collins will always have a skeptical past to his resume after dismissing himself from his managerial duties with the California Angels with 29 games remaining in 1999.

But that had no bearing on the decision to bring him on board. He beat out Mets homegrown favorite Wally Backman, third base coach Chip Hale, and minor league instructor Bob Melvin who had the previous managerial background to lead.

“We believe Terry’s knowledge of our players, intensity and direct approach will make an immediate, positive impact both in the clubhouse and on the field,” said new General Manager Sandy Alderson.

There is also intensity that comes with Collins. An emotional man in the dugout when he piloted the Houston Astros before the Angels, and perhaps what his predecessor Jerry Manuel could not do, Collins will be able to. That is bringing the intensity and fire to the Mets clubhouse.

Though we can’t put the entire blame on Manuel’s personality and Collins will inherit most of the mess that Manuel had to work with. Luis Castillo with the big contract, probably no way Oliver Perez gets traded, and if the Mets can’t eat the remaining $36 million of his contract, Collins may have to put him back on the mound. And he has to deal with a controversial closer Francisco Rodriguez who is coming off thumb surgery and a legal issue of assault.

An immediate impact will be on the youngsters that Collins knows well. He served as the Mets minor league field coordinator this past season and is familiar with Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis and Josh Thole.  No doubt Alderson and the new Mets regime, all familiar with Alderson, took that into consideration when they hired their new manager.

What Mets fans will see is a more intense and feisty individual, something Manuel lacked. There will be no laugh in the pre and post game meetings with members of the media that symbolized Manuel during his tenure as manager. Collins is straight to the point and on a mission to try and turn things around at Citi Field.

“I really hope that when we get together as a team in spring training that the lines of communication open up,” stated Collins. “They have to be open on a daily basis and the players have to realize my passion for the game and my passion for excellence.”

Time will tell how the Terry Collins managerial reign will unfold. “We want to be the last team standing net October,” said Collins who definitely has proved to have a passion for the game.

A bold statement for sure, and an experienced leader who immediately took charge as a new era has officially started at Citi Field.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

That statement alone described what Martinez has now achieved. A 35-year old champion that HBO Sports believed had potential, and a crafty fighter that Dibella felt could be better than former champions under his wing such as Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik.

And now Martinez, who earned a career high $1.5 million against Williams, is ready for the culmination of a successful career. Three fights left in him, probably at 154 and maybe a matchup with either Miguel Cotto or even eight-time division champion Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I was mentally prepared for this,” said a jubilant Martinez about the KO, described now as knockout of the year. Hours later at a post fight victory dinner, upstairs at the Caesars Atlantic City Café Roma, Martinez was congratulated  by family, friends, members of his stable and of course Dibella who organized the gathering.

It was a rematch of their first bout that took place at Boardwalk Hall last December. Then Martinez moved up in weight. In that anticipated bout both fighters hit the canvas in the first round with Martinez losing a controversial and close 12-round decision.

But the only knockdown in this fight was the knockout of the year in boxing delivered by Martinez. It had the Boardwalk Hall crowd stunned when Martinez delivered a quick left hook to the jaw of Williams with the stoppage coming at 1:10 of round 2.

“We had it prepared and went through a lot of hard work to do that,” said Martinez in the ring wearing a customary victory crown.”I did not what the judges’ to rob me this time,” referring to the decision last December that many thought he should have had.

“One of the top three fighters in the world,” claimed Dibella about his champion. And there will be no argument about that putting Martinez in a category with Pacquiao and Mayweather.  Those could be possible future opponents for the middleweight champion, or a unification bout with Dmitry Pirog.

Martinez seeking redemption came out strong in the first round and used a good left to the body of Williams. “I was waiting for him to make a mistake,” he said about the knockout that put Williams on the canvas. The round and a half of boxing saw 56 combined connected punches of which 52 were power shots.

“We’ll fight anyone,” commented Dibella. “Let’s face it, it’s about the money.” Fights with either Mayweather or Pacquiao will guarantee big money, though the boxing fans still anticipates Pacquiao facing Mayweather that would determine who indeed is the best pound-for-pound fighter.

If there were doubts about Martinez they are now over. Before the fight he was once again the underdog, and as champion the respect was not granted when he entered the ring before the challenger Williams. His commanding win over Pavlik earlier this year and the big knockout punch Saturday night will earn him fighter of the year honors.

“I want to listen to all offers and see what comes my way, but for now I will go home and rest,” said Martinez (46-2-2, 25KO’s) of Quilmes Argentina and residing in Oxnard California. “

And now the offers will come in, because the boxing world with this stunning knockout knows that Sergio Martinez is one of the best. He also has the right guy in his corner, Dibella.

“Martinez’s speed and power in a middleweight, one of the best I ever saw,” said Dibella who has seen his share over the years as a boxing executive with HBO and as a successful promoter.

Indeed Sergio Martinez has proved he is one of the best three fighters in the world with more to come.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

The opening encounter was a four round junior welterweight clash between Christian Martinez (2-0, 2 KO’s) of New York City and Gabriel Morris of Toledo, Ohio (1-5-1). Referee David Fiields stopped the slaughter after 58 seconds of the first round after Morris had been knocked to the campus three times. The three knockdown rule gave Martinez had second TKO win, both at B.B. King’s.

Two Latino featherweights faced one another in the second bout. Luis”Orlanditio” DelValle (8-0, 6 KO’s) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico claimed the win over Noe Lopez, Jr. (5-5, 4 KO’s), a native of Sonora, Mexico after the end of the second round. The ringside physician, after checking on an of Santiago, Cuba. injury to the left hand of Lopez, advised the referee to halt the bout. Overjoyed fans chanted “Tito” after the close of action, Del Valle like  Martinez was very comfortable in the venue as it was his fourth pro fight at King’s.

Another local favorite Gabriel Bracero (8-0) of Sunset Park, Brooklyn followed the pattern of his past pro fights by gaining a victory but not stopping his opponent. The 28 year-old never fights far from home. All of his bouts took place in New York City. Bracero’s opponent, Carl McNickels (6-3, 6 KO’s) does not fear a challenge. He traveled to Manhattan from Gulfport, MS to face a New York City fighter, and has fought an undefeated boxer in his last four bouts. McNickels dropped to the canvas in the third, but opened a cut over the left eye of Bracero. The votes of the judges at the end of the six-round junior welterweight bout was one-sided, 60-53, 59-54, and 58-55.

Heavyweight Tor Hamer (10-0, 8 KO’s) is making an effort to move into the rankings and represented the United States in a weight class that had been dominated by Americans in the past. The Penn State graduate had no difficulty with Mazur Ali (6-5, 3 KO’s) of Egypt. After receiving a body shor to the stomach, Ali spit out his mouthpiece and leaned over the ropes. The referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the opening round. Mazur was a late replacement for Dominic Jenkins. At the pre-fight physical examination, a fracture was discovered in Jenkins’s skull, and he was forbidden to box. Promoter DiBella was incensed by Ali’s ring demeanor. He said to reporters, “If you don’t want to fight, don’t come.”

The headline bout featured one of the most heralded amateur boxers in recent years, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (4-0, 3 KO’s) of Cuba. The 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games gold medalist for Cuba defected to the United States in the early part of 2009, after being taken off the Cuban National team prior to the 2008 Olympics. He has since begun a professional boxing career. The 29 year-old Cuban like Hamer was fighting a last minute replacement, Lante Addy (6-5-1, 4 KO’s) of Ghana. Addy’s record may look better than it is because his last five bouts were fought in the U.S. In all five of the bouts (four losses and a draw) his opponents were undefeated. Each of those five bouts, including the one on Wednesday went the distance. Rigondeaux floored Addy in the first round. Neither was again in trouble in a lackluster and one-sided encounter. The crowd jeered the lack of action in rounds two and four. Both were in excellent condition to last eight rounds. The score of the judges were: 79-72, 80-71, and 80-71.