02.06.08 – by James Slater: Not long ago at all, Paul “The Punisher” Williams was being referred to as “The most feared man in boxing!” Being given that label after his super win over the previous welterweight to have been given such a fearsome reputation in Antonio Margarito, Williams looked set for a long reign atop the welterweight division. But then, in the very first defence of the WBO 147 pound belt he’d snatched from the teak-tough Mexican, “The Punisher” was upset by former world title challenger Carlos Quintana.
Theories abounded as to why the freakishly tall welterweight was beaten. Was it because he could no longer make 147 pounds properly? Was it because Williams badly underestimated Quintana, a man who was beaten relatively easily by Miguel Cotto? Was it because Williams was simply over-rated all along? Well, this Saturday in Connecticut -on a card that also features Vernon Forrest defending his light-middleweight championship against Sergio Mora – Williams gets the chance to answer these questions in a return match with the only man to have beaten him..
Though many people, Lou DiBella for one, expected the 26-year-old southpaw to move up in weight, Williams has remained at 147 pounds in an attempt to avenge his sole pro defeat. Was this a wise move? Quintana, also a southpaw, was able to hit Williams with a quite alarming number of shots back in February’s meeting. “The Punisher” pretty much became the punished as a result and in no way did he look like the superb fighter who out-pointed Margarito. Whether this was indeed due to Paul being weakened due to making an agonising effort to make 147 is open to speculation. The unanimous decision Quintana scored should not be devalued even if this was the case, however. The gutsy 31-year-old Puerto Rican beat Williams fair and square. Can he do so for second time this Saturday?
Williams’ defence looked awful in February, and nowhere to be seen was the punch output of close to a hundred effective punches a round that the 26-year-old is capable of. If the February fight was the first time you’d seen Williams fight, you wouldn’t have though he was anything to get excited about. But, let’s be fair here, Williams is a much better fighter than he appeared to be in his first pro loss – as the win over “Tony” proves. Maybe he should have left the welterweight division behind – Paul is 6’1,” after all – or maybe he knows he can still get down to the weight and be effective enough to win at top level.
One cannot help but think Paul Williams has taken a gamble with Saturday’s fight. Staying at welterweight AND going straight back in with Quintana without a tune-up? We’ll soon see if this gamble was one worth taking. For this writer’s money, Williams will win a close decision, but his last fight at 147 pounds will have been fought in the process.