The current state of the welterweight division in boxing is certainly filled with talent, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Alfonso Gomez, Floyd Mayweather, etc.
But one fighter has not gotten his due on a national stage and that is 33-0 Paul "The Punisher" Williams. Williams, who has 24 knockouts to his, defends his World Boxing Organization title Saturday against rugged Carlos Quintana, whose only loss is to Cotto.
Williams defeated Margarito last July and also owns wins against Sharmba Mitchell and Walter Matthysse.
The 26-year-old Williams was hoping to land a big fight against Kermit Cintron, who holds the International Boxing Federation belt. But that fell through.
So is Williams being ducked by some of the division's best?
"I wouldn't say I have been avoided," said Williams during a national teleconference on Monday. "I'm their last option. Not being able to unify the the titles with Cintron was disappointing. But I know I'm a good fighter and the only guy on my mind right now is Quintana. He's a tough fighter, he's a southpaw, but I've fought a southpaw before and knocked him out."
Williams is known for his ability to throw several punches during a fight and in his win against Margarito last July, he controlled most of the first half of the fight due to his solid boxing skills.
"Paul trains for the distance," trainer George Peterson said. "He wants to punish people, he's not about the one punch knockout. He has the mindset of going the distance. If the knockout comes, then it comes. Paul wants to go down as one of the best welterweights. We're not going to entertain thoughts of moving up. Other welterweights say they are the best, why not fight this guy (Williams)?"
Williams' promoter Dan Goosen said he hopes to keep the talented Williams busy in 2008. Cotto is fighting Gomez in April then he will likely fight the winner of the Cintron/Margarito winner in the summer.
"Cotto and Williams will have to fight if they are the ones standing," Goosen said. "We don't need to call out peopole. We'll keep on doing what we needed to. People are reluctant to get in the ring with Paul. We feel he's one of the greatest welterweights in the world. He's willing to fight anyone. We want to keep Paul busy. We've got patience."
Williams is certainly a talented fighter, he's big, strong and has good boxing skills. Plus, he's left-handed which makes him an even tougher opponent.
Should Williams get past Quintana on Saturday night, bigger fights will certainly come his way. The big-name guys can't avoid him forever.
The more title fights Williams engages in, the better he will likely become. He's a smart fighter and he trains hard for every fight and the future looks bright.
Saturday's Williams/Quintana fight will be shown on HBO's Boxing After Dark series.
— Felix
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1 comment:
Cintron will kill Williams. I can't wait for that fight.
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