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 1 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.

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 Martinez 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 a 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
43Win41–2 Nobuhiro IshidaUD12Feb 18, 2012 American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
42Win40–2 Erislandy LaraMD12Jul 9, 2011 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
41Loss39–2 Sergio MartínezKO2, 1:10Nov 20, 2010 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.For WBC and The Ring middleweight titles
40Win39–1 Kermit Cintrón4, 3:00May 8, 2010 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Split TD after Cintrón could not continue from falling out of the ring
39Win38–1 Sergio Martínez12Dec 5, 2009 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
38Win37–1 Winky WrightUD12Apr 11, 2009 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
37Win36–1 Verno PhillipsTKO8, 3:00Nov 29, 2008 Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.Won WBO interim junior middleweight title
36Win35–1 Andy KolleTKO1, 1:37Sep 25, 2008 Soboba Casino, San Jacinto, California, U.S.
35Win34–1 Carlos QuintanaTKO1, 2:15Jun 7, 2008 Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.Won WBO welterweight title
34Loss33–1 Carlos QuintanaUD12Feb 9, 2008 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.Lost WBO welterweight title
33Win33–0 Antonio MargaritoUD12Jul 14, 2007 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Won WBO welterweight title
32Win32–0 Santos PakauTKO6, 2:16Nov 4, 2006 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
31Win31–0 Sharmba MitchellKO4, 2:57Aug 19, 2006 Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC–USNBC and WBO–NABO welterweight titles
30Win30–0 Walter MatthysseTKO10, 1:56May 27, 2006 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO welterweight title
29Win29–0 Sergio RiosKO2, 2:24Apr 12, 2006 Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S.Won WBC–USNBC welterweight title
28Win28–0 Alfonso SanchezKO5, 1:12Dec 2, 2005 Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S.
27Win27–0 Marteze LoganUD8Sep 30, 2005 Cache Creek Casino Resort, Brooks, California, U.S.
26Win26–0 Terrance CauthenUD10Apr 22, 2005 Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
25Win25–0 Sammy SparkmanTKO4 Nov 11, 2004 Hilton, Washington, D.C., U.S.
24Win24–0 Javier Hector ValadezTKO1, 1:08Sep 23, 2004 HP Pavilion, San Jose, California, U.S.
23Win23–0 Luis HernandezUD10May 7, 2004 Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
22Win22–0 Rodolfo GomezTKO4, 2:43Feb 6, 2004 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
21Win21–0 Arturo RodriguezKO1 Nov 7, 2003 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
20Win20–0 Benjie MarquezDQ3 Aug 26, 2003 Sandia Casino, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.Marquez disqualified for hitting after the bell
19Win19–0 Earl JacksonTKO2, 2:52Jan 3, 2003 Thunderbird Wild West Casino, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
18Win18–0 Joshua OnyangoUD6Oct 18, 2002 HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
17Win17–0 Gary GrantTKO2 Jul 27, 2002 Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
16Win16–0 Laatekwei HammondUD6Apr 5, 2002 Alumni Arena, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
15Win15–0 Agustin Silva4Jan 4, 2002 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.
14Win14–0 Mahan WashingtonTKO3, 1:44Dec 7, 2001 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
13Win13–0 Willie McDonaldTKO1 Sep 29, 2001 Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
12Win12–0 Robert MuhammadTKO5Aug 25, 2001 Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
11Win11–0 Rhon RobertsTKO4Jul 3, 2001 Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
10Win10–0 Miguel AquilaTKO3Mar 31, 2001 Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
9Win9–0 Henry HawkinsTKO1Jan 27, 2001 Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
8Win8–0 Miguel AquilaTKO2Dec 14, 2000 Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
7Win7–0 Rohan NantonTKO1Dec 9, 2000 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
6Win6–0 Eleser OrtegaTKO1Oct 28, 2000 Jarrell's Boxing Gym, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
5Win5–0 James YoungTKO3Oct 19, 2000 Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
4Win4–0 Adrian McNeilKO1Sep 30, 2000 Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
3Win3–0 Richard Burns1, 1:56Aug 18, 2000 Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, Ocala, Florida, U.S.
2Win2–0 Matt Hill1Aug 1, 2000 Washington, D.C., U.S.
1Win1–0 Jeremy Mickelson4Jul 21, 2000 Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.

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