Brick City Boxing

Just what heights can Paul Williams reach?
By: Tim Crowley

That is the question to be answered this Saturday night as Paul Williams, who has become one of the most feared fighters in the welterweight division, takes on Carlos Quintana, a genuine barometer for welterweight potential.

Quintana & Williams with Mr. Goosen. (Photo: Jan Sanders)

Williams has looked impressive in all of his fights, and has stood out noticeably because of his enormous height and reach (6’2” — 82”). He has a high punch output and a comfort in the ring that exhibits a solid amateur background, and he has compiled an excellent pro record of 33-0 with 24 knockouts.

Williams’ excellent boxing skills are stretched into a huge frame for a welterweight, and his coordinated footwork and ability to keep opponents at bay with his long arms have many wondering if he could be the next king of the welterweights. His physical appearance is truly unique; he almost looks like a giant scarecrow with his lanky bones. But once he starts boxing, it becomes apparent that he carries the frame naturally and with strength.

In his most celebrated victory to date, Williams took a unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito for the WBO welterweight title in July ’07. It showed he had the stamina and skills to outbox a championship pressure fighter, and Williams also showed heart in weathering the Tornadoe’s late comeback attempt.

But though Williams is regarded as one of the best welterweights today, the suspicion is that he may be stretched too thin, and if a vicious puncher gets inside and goes to the body, Williams will topple.

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Antonio Margarito was able to score some in their fight, but he was overwhelmed by Williams’ punch output. Margarito wasn’t so much hurt during the fight as he was immobilized. He deflected a lot of Williams’ punches and the ones that got through he handled well. He just couldn’t get inside the reach. And he has stated repeatedly since the loss that if he were to fight Williams again, he would be more aggressive and not give away rounds on points.

Williams won a fair decision, though, and is the WBO champ amidst a very talented division that includes, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Oscar De la Hoya, Shane Mosley, Louis Collazo, and Joshua Clottey — all of whom can be dangerous on any given night.

The top welterweights are currently singling each other off as Floyd Mayweather, the legitimate and linear welterweight champ, waits for one to attain enough hype to garner the kind of super fight ($$$) Floyd requires. And Williams is lined up to be in the mix with all of them.

He was originally scheduled to fight Kermit Cintron, but Cintron pulled out due to a hand injury (adding to Williams’ reputation as a feared fighter). And even a rematch with Margarito could be interesting because Margarito knows he would have to step it up or face the same result again.

But most are hoping to see Williams square off against either Miguel Cotto, or Floyd Mayweather, and many are predicting he could one day fight both. But this fight against Quintana will have a big impact on how people view his potential.

Carlos Quintana is a very good welterweight, but is regarded as being one step below the aforementioned names. He made a name for himself by coming in as the underdog and out boxing the highly touted prospect Joel Julio. In that fight, Quintana got up from an early flash knockdown to cleverly outbox the hard punching Julio, and by the end of 12 rounds, Quintana had administered a thorough beating to the young prospect.

The win established Quintana as a crafty veteran who was not to be underestimated. He was matched up against Miguel Cotto, and though he was again considered the underdog many gave Quintana a chance to pull another upset. Cotto’s five-round destruction of the respectable Quintana has added much to his growing aura of violence. It’s not just that Cotto stopped Quintana — he hurt him. In five rounds Quintana’s face was beaten and blackened, and he was showing visible pain from the body punches Cotto was landing. Even with his own corner pushing him back out for the sixth round, Quintana refused.

So with this fight in mind we go to Williams vs. Quintana. We know that Williams has a lot of skill and potential, but we have yet to see him in with the likes of a Cotto. Cotto is currently regarded as one of the best, if not THE best welterweight today, and Williams’ performance against Quintana will say a lot about his ability to fight the best of the best.

Quintana is once again coming in as the underdog, but he is used to this position and will not be phased. Quintana always comes in to fights in top form and has a crafty southpaw style that has led him to victory before.

The question will be just how well Williams does against Quintana. Cotto has already set the bar pretty high on this one, and Williams will have to have an impressive performance to keep the upward momentum he has earned for himself. He needs to further cement the fact that he can use his tremendous height and reach to cause problems for everyone in the welterweight division, and that he is the man to beat at welterweight.

We’re all still seeing how Williams measures up.