by James Slater – Talk about a match-up that has the look of a fight that cannot possibly be anything but entertaining and fan-friendly! For some time now there has been talk of exciting warriors Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron meeting on an HBO card on May 8th, and now it looks as though the fight will indeed take place (the bout is up as happening on BoxRec, while ESPN.com reports how the fight is all but a done deal).
Set to clash at light-middleweight, Williams and Cintron could well meet in ring centre and trade bombs. Both guys have proven they can bang, Puerto Rico’s Cintron especially, and both men have also shown considerable boxing skill, Georgia’s Williams especially. So, with these two very much proven world class operators going at it in a fight both men will be ultra-determined to win, fans sure look set to wind up getting a memorable and pleasing clash..
Southpaw Williams, 38-1(27) will, once again, have a considerable height and reach advantage in the fight, and his stance may also prove to hinder the former two-weight titlist known as “The Killer.” Common opponent Sergio Gabriel Martinez, the excellent fighter who took both guys the distance – Williams in a middleweight encounter, Cintron down at 154 – looked to have done enough to have deserved the decision against Cintron back in February of last year, and maybe it was the Argentine’s stance that gave the 30-year-old problems.
Martinez, of course, also came within a whisker or two of decisioning “The Punisher” back in December of last year, instead dropping a close majority verdict to the 28-year-old in his last outing. Looking at who wins on May 8th, and basing things on how well both guys did against Martinez, it’s clear there is very little between Williams and Cintron. Then again, both men have also been in with Mexico’s Antonio Margarito, but whereas Williams out-pointed Margarito, Cintron was twice painfully halted by “The Tijuana Tornado.” The edge here goes to Williams then.
Of even more interest to those fans who put a lot of stock in how fighters did against common opposition, respectively, is the name of Walter Matthysse. Both men faced the big-hitter, yet Cintron blew this Argentine out inside two chilling rounds while Williams when he met Matthysse, had to go into the 10th-round to get the stoppage. The edge goes to Cintron on this one! Yes indeed, this fight is an excellent match-up, and a case can be made for either man winning it.
Despite his long reach and height, Williams, a throwback fighter in attitude, likes to abandon his boxing to get inside and rumble. Against the quite lethal-punching Cintron, this could prove his undoing. At 32-2-1(28), Cintron’s stats show how hard a hitter he really is. And despite the fact that almost all of Cintron’s explosive KO’s took place down at welterweight, a stoppage win for Kermit cannot be in any way be ruled out against Williams.
Of course, though he doesn’t have as naturally heavy hands as does Cintron, Williams can crack himself (see his rematch, 1st-round blast out of Carlos Quintana; the win that avenged William’s sole pro loss). To my way of thinking, the outcome of this fight will have a lot to do with how Williams approaches the contest. I feel the taller, faster man who is capable of throwing around a hundred punches per round can outbox Cintron if he takes that approach. Something tells me, though, that “The Punisher” will try and score a highlight reel KO victory.
Annoyed at how his critics suggested Martinez may have beaten him last time out, and also frustrated at how the top dogs have continued to avoid him, Williams may well feel a statement-making and brutal-looking stoppage of Cintron will serve two purposes: to silence those critics who were unimpressed with his last win, and to get the fans demanding the marquee names he wants to man up and face Williams.
In a nutshell, if Williams does what comes naturally to him and he sticks and moves and concentrates on his boxing, he wins the fight in May. But if he stands and trades in looking for that KO (which, as I’ve said, I feel he will), Williams will give Cintron a real chance of winning.
Expect major fireworks when these two collide!