By James Slater – According to both Dan Rafael of ESPN.com and boxrec.com, Paul “The Punisher” Williams will make his return to the ring on July 9th, against Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida. As fans know, 35-year-old Ishida rose to huge prominence with his April 9th upset TKO of the previously unbeaten James Kirkland. That win introduced the former interim WBA 154-pound champ to U.S fans, and the man from Osaka now has an even bigger fight to look ahead to..
It goes without saying how 29-year-old Williams, inactive since that painful November 2010 KO at the hands of middleweight king Sergio Gabriel Martinez, badly needs to win on July 9th. Under normal circumstances, a fighter hitting the comeback trail after having been iced would appear smart going in with a relative non-puncher. And, going solely by his stats, a non-puncher is just what Ishida appears to be – just 8 KO’s on his ledger. But as we know, Ishida, almost as tall as Williams at 6’1,” looked anything but a powder-puff puncher against the rampaging Kirkland.
With Williams possibly being a little confidence-drained/gun-shy come fight night, the fighter from the land of the rising sun might just have a great shot at scoring another big upset. “The Punisher” hasn’t fought for well over six months and he has had a hard career already; even if he is young enough on paper to be able to come again. If the lanky southpaw’s punch resistance is shot (and some fans were suggesting this was the case even before he was waxed by an admittedly brutal shot by Martinez), he could be in big trouble against Ishida.
Had this fight been made at a time before Ishida, 23-6-2(8) had burst Kirkland’s bubble, fans would be moaning how Williams was coming back to the ring against a soft touch. But on April 9th, Ishida looked fast, powerful, accurate and composed. The occasion never got to the man from Japan in April, and it’s unlikely he will fall foul of nerves when he meets Williams in Atlantic City in July. Also, Ishida has never been stopped as a pro.
Williams, 39-2(27) has to be made the betting favourite, simply because of all the things his talents have achieved for him. A former ruler at welterweight and light-middleweight, Williams may have benefited from a nice rest; his batteries recharged and his motivational levels as high as can be. The scheduled 12-rounder, which will go out on HBO, will take place at 154-pounds. Arguably Williams’ best fighting weight, 154 seems to suit his frame better than welterweight (too low) or middleweight (too high).
Ishida had no problems coping with the southpaw stance of Kirkland; will the older man by six years cope as well with Williams’ fast hands, incredible reach (82” for Williams, a fraction over 72” for Ishida) and awesome work-rate? Or will the man from Georgia make a comeback statement by become the first man to halt Ishida? An intriguing fight to be sure.