By Phil Santos – Overhandright.com: With the exception of Kelly Pavlik no fighter did more to elevate his status among the best fighters in the sport in 2007 than “The Punisher” Paul Williams. Incredibly he achieved this heightened level of respect by winning only one fight. It just so happened that the fight in question was against one of the top fighters in the best division in boxing.
Williams boxed his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over Antonio Margarito in July and earned the WBO Welterweight title in the process. Williams frustrated the rugged veteran with his freakishly long reach, sharp, fluid punching and very quick hands. In addition to earning Williams a World title his victory over Margarito garnered him the distinction of being one of the games most feared combatants.
Williams enters 08’ with an impressive 33-0 (24) and looking to take on the best fighters out there, presumably Miguel Cotto or Kermit Cintron, and add another title to his résumé. To the disappointment of boxing fans (something we have grown quite accustomed to) a potentially great match up between IBF titlist Kermit Cintron and Paul Williams was called off with injuries to Cintron’s hand as the cited reason.
Enter Carlos “El Indio” Quintana.
At one point Carlos Quintana was considered a potential World champ with solid technical skills and good pop to go with it. He thoroughly dominated Joel Julio in a battle of undefeated fighters putting him next in line to test Miguel Cotto for the WBA title. Cotto beat Quintana down flooring him twice in the fifth round which led to his refusal to answer the bell to start round six. The loss, and more so the nature in which he lost, badly damaged Quintana’s reputation and his rating among the top Welters in the game. Quintana has fought just once since suffering his first defeat, pounding out a win over journeyman Christopher Henry by 4th round TKO in September, his only fight in 07’.
A date and location have been confirmed for Williams vs. Quintana. The fight will go down on February 9th at Penchanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California. Carlos Quintana is still a solid opponent, however, when a fighter refuses to answer the bell, particularly in a championship bout, many questions rise to the surface concerning said fighters heart, commitment and desire. Championship fights are few and far between, they are essentially the reason why you step between the ropes, and if you’ve quit once it becomes that much easier to do it again when the pressure is on, just ask Acelino Freitas.
With Williams coming off a career best win and Quintana presumably looking regain his standing among the top Welterweights you might expect a competitive fight. I do not. Look for Williams to punish Quintana from a distance before breaking him down and stopping him in the late rounds. I like Williams by TKO somewhere around the 9th or 10th round. Understandably Quintana was matched carefully, in his comeback, against a fighter with 18 losses on his record and even though he did what was expected and dispatched his opponent I find it hard to believe that a win over Christopher Henry, regardless of how impressive, is enough to restore the confidence that Miguel Cotto beat out of him.