Paul Williams (boxer)


Paul Williams is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He held the WBO welterweight title twice between 2007 and 2008, the WBO interim junior middleweight title in 2008, and challenged once for the unified middleweight title in 2010. Nicknamed "The Punisher", and standing at a height of 6 feet 2 inches, Williams was unusually tall for the three divisions in which he competed. His career was cut short in 2012 after a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. During 2010 he was ranked 5th in the The Ring Pound for Pound Rankings.

Professional career

Early years at welterweight

His debut was in the year 2000. He is promoted by the Goossens. In 2005 he outpointed former Olympic bronze medalist Terrence Cauthen and, later that year, he knocked out Alfonso Sanchez in 5 rounds.
His ESPN debut was a second-round knockout of Sergio Rios on Wednesday Night Fights. Williams made his HBO debut against then-undefeated Walter Matthysse, winning by a tenth-round technical knockout. That was followed by a victory over former junior welterweight world champion Sharmba Mitchell. He knocked Mitchell down three times en route to a fourth-round TKO.

WBO Welterweight Championship

Williams became the mandatory challenger for WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito. The match took place July 14, 2007, in Carson, California, at the Home Depot Center with Williams winning a unanimous decision in which turned out to be a close fight where Williams' seemingly stronger finish seemed to seal him the decision victory in the eyes of boxing experts and fans alike.
Williams fought Carlos Quintana on February 9, 2008, in his first defense of his title. Williams lost to Quintana by decision in what many considered a minor upset.
Williams and Quintana had a rematch at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on June 7, 2008, for the WBO Welterweight title, at Williams' request. Williams got off to a quick start when a left hand sent Quintana into a daze as several follow-up barrages put Quintana down. He got up, but Williams opened up with dozens of unanswered punches as the referee jumped in to stop the fight while Quintana was going down again.
Williams was rumored to be moving up two weight classes to fight Kelly Pavlik for the WBC Middleweight title but instead Pavlik himself decided to move up two weight classes himself to fight Bernard Hopkins. Williams fought Andy Kolle on September 25. Williams dominated the fight from the start and recorded a first-round knockout in 1:37 seconds.

Light Middleweight

After failing to secure another meaningful contest at welterweight, Williams vacated his WBO welterweight title in order to fight Verno Phillips for the WBO Interim Light Middleweight title.
On November 29, 2008, Williams defeated Phillips by way of TKO after 8 rounds after the Doctor stopped the fight. In doing so he secured the WBO Interim Light Middleweight title.

Middleweight

Winky Wright

Williams fought Winky Wright on April 11, 2009, in a 12-round middleweight bout featured on HBO. Williams defeated Wright in a unanimous decision which was not close on the scorecards - two of the three judges gave Williams all but one round while the third scored all 12 rounds for Williams.
Williams was then preparing to fight Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik in a bout scheduled to take place on October 3, 2009, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The bout was postponed when it was discovered Pavlik had a staph infection in his knuckle and had been rescheduled for December 5. However, the bout was called off for a second time six weeks prior to the fight because Pavlik's infection had not completely healed.

Sergio Martínez

On December 5, 2009, Paul Williams fought Sergio Martínez in a war of a twelve-round main event. In the first round Martinez was knocked down due to bad balance and a grazing left hand that landed just below the ear. In the final seconds of the 1st round though Martinez scored a knockdown of his own over Williams. The next two rounds were heavily in Martinez's favor as he hit Williams with barrages of counter punches. After Martinez was seemingly won the first 3 rounds, rounds 4-7 showed Williams coming back effectively landing hard lefts to the head of Martinez. In rounds 8-10 Martinez again confused Williams with using different varieties of punches, including straight lead lefts to the body followed by right hooks to the head and straight lefts to the face. The final 2 rounds showed much fatigue in Martinez and Williams but both warriors fought through to the end, although Williams seemed to win both of the last 2 rounds by being the far more active boxer, which would ultimately prove to be the difference and as a result of having far superior activity during those final 2 rounds, Williams won a close majority decision over Martinez. The judges scored the fight 114–114, 115–113 for Williams and 119–110 for Williams, thus making Williams emerge as the majority decision winner.

Kermit Cintron

After his close win over Sergio Martínez, Paul Williams moved on to face Puerto Rican prospect Kermit Cintrón. The two met on May 8, 2010, Live on Saturday Night HBO Boxing. In the fourth round, Kermit Cintron fell out of the ring unintentionally and was not allowed to continue fighting due to hitting the arena floor. Williams was ahead on two of the three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage and was declared the winner by split technical decision. Cintron, who believed he should have been ahead on the scorecards, filed a complaint to have the ruling changed to a no-contest, claiming he was not given the five-minute recovery time allowed under California rules.

Williams vs Martinez II">Sergio Martinez vs. Paul Williams II">Williams vs Martinez II

A highly anticipated rematch with Sergio Martinez eventually materialized at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 20, 2010. Upon the Williams camp's insistence, the fight was contested at the catchweight limit of 158 pounds instead of the middleweight limit of 160, with Martinez's WBC Middleweight title on the line. The fight was billed as a potential "fight-of-the-year," however the fight ended abruptly and dramatically when Sergio Martínez delivered a knockout blow with 2:02 left in the 2nd round. The punch was a short left cross that caught Williams right on the chin as he attempted to deliver a left-hand of his own. Williams' right hand was at his waist when the punch landed, rendering Paul Williams unconscious upon contact.

Erislandy Lara

On July 9, 2011, Paul Williams fought in a light middleweight contest in Atlantic City against former Cuban amateur sensation Erislandy Lara. Throughout the fight, Lara repeatedly hit Williams with hard left hands and appeared to have won the fight convincingly in the eyes of the HBO crew and those sitting at ringside. However, the judges awarded Williams with a narrow majority decision, a highly controversial verdict that ultimately led to the suspension of the three judges by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board.

Motorcycle accident and paralysis

On May 27, 2012, Williams was severely injured when he crashed his motorcycle in Georgia. He swerved to avoid hitting a car while traveling at about 75 mph on the motorcycle and was launched sixty feet. Witnesses say he landed on his head and his body "folded like a suitcase." The accident left him with part of his spinal cord severely bruised, paralyzing him from the waist down. Since it was bruised and not severed, it gives him a chance to regain sensation. The doctors told Williams the swelling could go down in a year or two, potentially giving him a chance of walking again. The accident came as Williams was preparing for his PPV main event against Canelo Álvarez on September 15. "I'm just chilling in a wheelchair because I got tired of walking," Williams said in an interview with Jim Gray on Showtime Championship Boxing on the day he was supposed to fight. "Whether I am walking or not walking, my game ain't over until the Lord takes my life."

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
43Win41–2Nobuhiro IshidaUD12Feb 18, 2012American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
42Win40–2Erislandy LaraMD12Jul 9, 2011Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
41Loss39–2Sergio MartínezKO2, 1:10Nov 20, 2010Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.For WBC and The Ring middleweight titles
40Win39–1Kermit Cintrón4, 3:00May 8, 2010Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Split TD: Cintrón unable to continue after falling out of the ring
39Win38–1Sergio Martínez12Dec 5, 2009Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
38Win37–1Winky WrightUD12Apr 11, 2009Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
37Win36–1Verno PhillipsTKO8, 3:00Nov 29, 2008Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.Won WBO interim junior middleweight title
36Win35–1Andy KolleTKO1, 1:37Sep 25, 2008Soboba Casino, San Jacinto, California, U.S.
35Win34–1Carlos QuintanaTKO1, 2:15Jun 7, 2008Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.Won WBO welterweight title
34Loss33–1Carlos QuintanaUD12Feb 9, 2008Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.Lost WBO welterweight title
33Win33–0Antonio MargaritoUD12Jul 14, 2007Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Won WBO welterweight title
32Win32–0Santos PakauTKO6, 2:16Nov 4, 2006Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
31Win31–0Sharmba MitchellKO4, 2:57Aug 19, 2006Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC–USNBC and WBO–NABO welterweight titles
30Win30–0Walter MatthysseTKO10, 1:56May 27, 2006Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO welterweight title
29Win29–0Sergio RiosKO2, 2:24Apr 12, 2006Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S.Won WBC–USNBC welterweight title
28Win28–0Alfonso SanchezKO5, 1:12Dec 2, 2005Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S.
27Win27–0Marteze LoganUD8Sep 30, 2005Cache Creek Casino Resort, Brooks, California, U.S.
26Win26–0Terrance CauthenUD10Apr 22, 2005Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
25Win25–0Sammy SparkmanTKO4 Nov 11, 2004Hilton, Washington, D.C., U.S.
24Win24–0Javier Hector ValadezTKO1, 1:08Sep 23, 2004HP Pavilion, San Jose, California, U.S.
23Win23–0Luis HernandezUD10May 7, 2004Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
22Win22–0Rodolfo GomezTKO4, 2:43Feb 6, 2004Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
21Win21–0Arturo RodriguezKO1 Nov 7, 2003Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
20Win20–0Benjie Marquez3 Aug 26, 2003Sandia Casino, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.Marquez disqualified for hitting after the bell
19Win19–0Earl JacksonTKO2, 2:52Jan 3, 2003Thunderbird Wild West Casino, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
18Win18–0Joshua OnyangoUD6Oct 18, 2002HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
17Win17–0Gary GrantTKO2 Jul 27, 2002Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
16Win16–0Laatekwei HammondUD6Apr 5, 2002Alumni Arena, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
15Win15–0Agustin Silva4Jan 4, 2002American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.
14Win14–0Mahan WashingtonTKO3, 1:44Dec 7, 2001Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
13Win13–0Willie McDonaldTKO1 Sep 29, 2001Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
12Win12–0Robert MuhammadTKO5Aug 25, 2001Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
11Win11–0Rhon RobertsTKO4Jul 3, 2001Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
10Win10–0Miguel AquilaTKO3Mar 31, 2001Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
9Win9–0Henry HawkinsTKO1Jan 27, 2001Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
8Win8–0Miguel AquilaTKO2Dec 14, 2000Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
7Win7–0Rohan NantonTKO1Dec 9, 2000Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
6Win6–0Eleser OrtegaTKO1Oct 28, 2000Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
5Win5–0James YoungTKO3Oct 19, 2000Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
4Win4–0Adrian McNeilKO1Sep 30, 2000Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
3Win3–0Richard Burns1, 1:56Aug 18, 2000Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, Ocala, Florida, U.S.
2Win2–0Matt Hill1Aug 1, 2000Washington, D.C., U.S.
1Win1–0Jeremy Mickelson4Jul 21, 2000Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.