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

Martinez. (44-2, 2, 24KO’s) from Madrid Spain, the WBC Super Welterweight Champion, also knows Pavlik is anxious to get back in the ring. Martinez got his opportunity as the number one contender and Pavlik had a mandatory defense.

“It will be two different styles,” commented Martinez Wednesday afternoon at the final press conference at Gallagher’s Steak House in Manhattan. He probably worried more about my speed than my power,” he said through a translator. And when it comes to respect, all of that will be thrown away when Martinez trades punches with Pavlik.

The two fighters have been had their share of issues the past year. Pavlik was dominated by now light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins in October of 2008 and twice had to cancel his title defense against highly touted Paul Wiliams because of his hand issue.

Martinez, (44-2-2, 24KO’s) the native of Argentina achieved success in 2007 knocking out Saul Roman in a WBC super welterweight bout and one year later won the WBC interim super welterweight title with an eighth round stoppage of Alex Bunema, and late last year elevated to WBC world super welterweight champion.

Martinez though still lives with the stigma of losing a controversial non-title middleweight bout last year to former champion Paul Williams that ended a 29-bout unbeaten streak. “ I thank him (Pavlik) for giving me the opportunity, said Martinez, “and I have overcome that loss to Williams. It is an opportunity that I have to overcome the bad decision.”

Pavlik will not dispute criticism that was levied against him when he had to bail out on Williams. He understands that is a part of the boxing game. He, also was not paying much attention to the Hopkins win against Rou Jones Jr, a few weeks ago. “There’s nothing I can do about that,” he said about the criticism that Pavlik may have needed more time against a determined Williams. “I’m still the champion,” he said.

It is a mandatory fight for Pavlik who returns to Boardwalk Hall where he has success. He dethroned champion Jermaine Taylor there nearly two years ago and also handily defeated him in a rematch out in Las Vegas.  And the native of Youngstown Ohio anticipates a return to Boardwalk Hall because, a contingent of fans come from Ohio to offer their support.

“I saw Martinez’s fight against Paul Williams and I thought he won it,” commented Pavlik who says the hand is one hundred percent. “It’s great to be back in Atlantic City where I won my world titles.”

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

First off, the news came down yesterday that the much awaited Middleweight showdown between Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik and Paul “The Punisher” Williams has been postponed…again. It seems that Pavlik is still feeling the affects of his multiple surgeries to remove a staph infection which has caused him to postpone three fight dates this year (Mora in June, Two with Williams).

The WBC and WBO middleweight champion was trying to fight through the pain and seemed like he was on his way there. However, he cannot close his hand completely and as a result is unable to train properly. His trainer Jack Loew has advised not to go through with the bout.

“He’s trying,” said Loew. “He’s running, he’s trying to shadow box with one hand, hit the speed bag with one hand…I’ve been keeping it secret but I’m not going to fool anyone any longer.”

So what are to make of all this? Paul’s status as the “most avoided boxer in boxing” still holds true and is still without a fight. I know this was a case of bad luck but I am really starting to feel for the Punisher. Am I the only one who is still waiting to see how good Paul really is? We know he has one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world when we saw him best Antonio Margarito, knocked out Carlos Quintana in their rematch in the first round, and totally dismantle Winky Wright. But Williams needs to find a fight soon or else his marketability will be completely vanished.

Now as I write this, there is news coming out of the Williams camp that they want to fight December 5^th no matter what. Dan Goosen promoter for Paul Williams seems has told Boxingscene.com he will be in action on December 5 whomever his opponent may be.

‘Paul is the star and the guy fans love to see, we plan on bringing him back December 5. No ifs, ands or buts. We ain’t waiting on him no more. I don’t know who but we are fighting somebody December 5.

George Peterson, William’s trainer was very skeptical of Pavlik’s injury. Even going as far as to question Pavlik’s integrity:

”If he had the staph infection for this long, he would have been poisoned to death. It’s not his hand it’s his heart that needs to be corrected.”

Ouch, I did not see those comments coming. I will not go quite as far as Peterson but it sure seems that Pavlik has lost some of his appeal. It was only back in early 2008 that Pavlik had the opening to become the top star in American boxing. His first win over Jermain Taylor was one of the best boxing matches of our era and showed how much heart Kelly had that night. He is essentially the King of Youngstown, Ohio and had a loyal and strong following as good as Ricky Hatton. Every fight for Pavlik became a hot ticket because the fans that come out to see him bring a passion that can rival any Mexican boxing fans.

But Pavlik’s appeal took a big hit when he was dominated by future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins in what turned out to be Hopkins best performance of his career. Pavlik not only had his first loss of his career but he lost some of his star power. Even though Bernard told Kelly after the fight that “he could become one of the best middleweights ever”, it didn’t seem to be enough to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

Pavlik would bounce back this past February when he dominated Marco Antonio Rubio in front of his hometown crowd of Youngstown in what was a snooze of a fight. Sure he got back on the winning track but I still was not convinced that he vindicated himself from the embarrassment of the Hopkins fight.

Now with Pavlik’s latest fight postponement, he has slowly phased out as one of American boxing’s biggest star. Sure all of us at 411mania have Kelly in our top 10 pound for pound rankings but his luster has certainly worn off. He is starting to become the Leno Spinks of our generation. That might be over blowing it a little but time will tell for the Ghost.

As for the World Boxing classic, King Arthur Abraham might have put the finishing touches of the highly promising career of Jermain Taylor. Taylor was knocked out in the 12^th round for the second straight fight by an Abraham right that landed right on the sweet spot of the nose. While it was a devastating loss for Taylor both mentally and physically, It was perfect boxing by Abraham, using a left hook to split Taylor’s gloves the slightest bit enough for the right hand to slip through and drill Taylor.

Some have doubted Arthur given his track record but certainly has more believers now after that performance. It is readily evident that the beatings Taylor suffered at the hands of Kelly Pavlik have badly diminished his physical capabilities and it is time for the 2000 bronze medalist to seriously consider hanging up his gloves.

On the flipside, Abraham, 29, an Armenian-German who wowed his hometown supporters with his brilliant performance this past weekend, is a genuine force in the ring and his future in prizefighting is exceedingly bright. Abraham has emerged as the clear favorite in this tournament and right now looks like the best super middleweight in the world.

The second fight of the tournament was a lot more competitative but not without controversy. Froch was able to use his brute strength to successfully counterbalance the superior speed that Dirrell is renowned for and he was able to narrowly prevail in front of his fellow Englishmen. Many felt that Direll deserve to win the decision but I do not think so. Direll did not come to win this fight but actually try to steal it. Direll certainly looked like he won the last three rounds of the fight but before that, just did not do enough to beat. Make no mistake about it, Dirrell is going to do very well in this tournament and will have that chance when we next face off against Abraham.