By Doveed Linder – Tonight at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Paul “The Punisher” Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) defeated Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) to win a unanimous decision with scores of 120-108, 119-109, and 119-109 in their middleweight bout, while heavyweight Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs) scored a 4th round KO over Jameel “Big Time” McCline (39-10-3, 23 KOs).
Paul Williams vs Winky Wright: The first round was perhaps the closest round of the fight. Williams came out busy like he always does, throwing a high volume of punches. Wright did some counter punching, but Williams was out-landing him. Of the times that Wright did find his range and connect with a shot, his punches were much harder and more effective than Williams, which made it a tough round to score..
From the 2nd round on, Williams dominated the fight. The two fighters spent the majority of the fight standing right in front of each other, trading punches in the middle of the ring. For the most part, the action was fairly uneventful. Williams let go with every punch in the book – jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts, bodyshots… And no matter what Wright did, Williams was a step ahead of him, letting go with combinations on the outside and on the inside, using small angles to punch from different positions.
Wright may have won a round or two along the way, but the score of 120-108 wasn’t unreasonable. He used his usual turtle defense and held his hands high, but Williams managed to find openings and connect with more shots than any of Wright’s previous opponents. Wright had a welt under his right eye early on and by the end of the fight, his face was pretty well marked up, though he was never seriously hurt. The championship rounds didn’t bring any urgency from either fighter, as Williams knew he was well ahead and Wright knew he was too far behind to win a decision and he didn’t posses the one-punch power to end it.
Chris Arreola vs Jameel McCline
In the 1st round, the fighters came out throwing jabs and began feeling each other out. Chris Arreola appeared relaxed and composed, while Jameel McCline seemed to be tight and tentative. It wasn’t long before Arreola opened up and began throwing power shots to the head and body. McCline didn’t do much in response until the later part of the round when he let go with a few shots that were ineffective.
In rounds 2 and 3, Arreola went to work on McCline and did what he wanted, whenever he wanted. He found success everytime he threw a punch and by the end of the 3rd round, McCline’s legs appeared weak and it was clear that he was out of the fight.
In the 4th round, Arreola sensed that he had McCline going and he began to step it up even more. McCline started covering up and leaning forward, so Arreola began throwing a left uppercut/right hand combination and having success with it. One of the left uppercut/right hand combos landed flush and hurt McCline. Arreola followed it up with a left hook/right hand, McCline went down, and the referee counted him out.
Final Summary
Paul Williams – This was a sensational performance from a fighter who could very well dominate at 147, 154, and 160. At 160, he doesn’t have tremendous punching power and we don’t know how he would react if he was hit flush, but he showed excellent upper body movement, unbelievable stamina, and a lot of natural ability. He lived up to all of the hype that surrounded him going into this fight and because of the way he dominated a guy who was at one time considered one of the best fighters in the world, Williams would have to be considered a favorite against Kelly Pavlik or Arthur Abraham.
Chris Arreola – He got in there with a 270-pound veteran, he took care of business, and he made it look easy. But he wasn’t tested and he was allowed to fight at his pace. At 255 pounds, Arreola looked soft and flabby. In future fights, he might be better suited fighting at 240 where he’d have more of a chance of sustaining the pace that a Klitschko or one of the other top fighters in the division might set. But it was a promising night for Arreola and exciting for the heavyweight division. And if he stays focused and dedicated, he’ll be a legitimate threat to any of the heavyweights out there.
Winky Wright – He picked a tough fight to come back to after a long layoff. Wright could still be a factor in this sport, but he needs to keep busy and possibly take a couple of tune-ups and shed some rust. It’s unlikely that he would ever beat Paul Williams, even if he was at his best. But he still has a lot of skills and if he got his groove back, it’s not out of the question that he could beat one of the current middleweight champions.
Jameel McCline – There’s not much he can do with his career at this point. If he continues fighting, he could win a few fights against sub par opposition. But if he fights anyone in the top 15, it’s not likely that he’ll have much success. Based on his performance tonight, he no longer makes a suitable gatekeeper and he is approaching the point where he’s going to have to look for something to do outside of boxing.