Paul Williams vs Winky Wright

[Uke]

This is a hard one to pick.

On one hand you have Winky Wright ... a fighter that not only defends against most of what his opponents throw at him, but by doing so he psychologically gut punches his opponents. He's the kind of fighter that can make anyone look bad.

Then you have Paul Williams ... who has the perfect style to fight a defensive boxer like Wright. Williams has solid power. Not great, but solid. Still, he doesn't predicate his style of boxing on his power. The kid is a workhorse. He throws 100 punches per round. He throws impressive combinations from all angles. He wears down his opponents through relentless attrition and honestly ... the kid lands so much so often that his opponents realize that if they don't do something they will be so far behind on the scorecards that they'll need a knockout to win.

Here's the problem:

We don't know how Paul Williams will perform at jr middleweight. We really have no idea. Seven pounds has made or broken fighters before. If he shines at this weight, it could open up new doors for him. If he struggles and looks like the extra weight is cumbersome, then he'll have to go back down.

This makes it difficult to make a pick.

Williams has youth on his side, but the way Wright fights doesn't take a whole bunch of youth to be effective. Wright doesn't have KO power, but Williams has shown that he's susceptible to an overhand left ... and when the pressure is put on him he can be taken out of his game as seen against Quintana.

I guess this boils down to which Williams shows up. I never count Winky out, as he's a hard guy to beat or even look good against, but if Williams shows up in true form and throws 100 punches per round he could win this one on sheer activity. I don't see either man in danger of getting knocked out, but if one were to get in trouble I see it being Wright based on the fact that he rarely stops his opponents, lacks power and isn't nearly as busy as Williams.

Williams has to remember to go to the body, work off of his jab, and he really needs to remember that he doesn't have to constantly force the action. All he has to do is keep busy, attack the body, occasionally head hunt and let his work pay dividends later on.

I'll pick Williams. Wright gets the short end of the stick even when he does win, so I'll lean towards Williams, but not confidently because this is his first venture into the new division.

[Aaron09]

I like Wright.

[Uke]

Originally Posted by Aaron09

I like Wright.

What about him do you like? I mean other than his obvious defense?

[Uke]

Originally Posted by Aaron09

I like Wright.

Hey Aaron09 ... do ya still like Wright?

Paul Williams ... the future of the sport if he keeps his head on straight and works hard. The kid is an anomaly. He can go to 147, 154 or 160lbs and probably be a force in all three divisions. I am supposing that he will do well at 160 as he hasn't proven that yet.

He's a punching machine. I won't go as far as saying that he doesn't tire as he gassed a bit against Margarito towards the end, but he's definitely something else. Wright gave a great effort. Actually, it was probably one of Wright's best offensive efforts ever.

The only thing that he needs is better defense. I wholeheartedly believe that if a heavy handed boxer would have landed some of the same shots that Wright did, Williams might have been in real big trouble. The thing is there aren't too many big punchers between 147 & 160. Pavlik has been shown to have great difficulty with slick fighters ... and while Williams isn't as slick as Hopkins, he's leaps and bounds more slick than Pavlik. That would be a real test but I don't see Pavlik being much different than Margarito.

Time will tell, but Williams is definitely a commodity.

My advice? He should fight with his current camp for 2 more years and then get a new trainer like Buddy McGirt or Nazim Richardson to refine his rough edges. I tremendously respect McGirt. Richardson on the other hand was the one to train Hopkins for his recent streak of upsets. He also trained Mosley for his bout with Margarito. He's a man to consider.

I think Paul Williams should ride out two more years and look to dramatically improve after that time in order to establish a legacy. Right now he's still growing, and there's much room for improvement. I think another loss at the end of the 2 years would force him to reevaluate his training camp and look for more seasoned instruction.

Anyway, congrats to Paul Williams on an impressive win over a man that can usually make ANYONE look bad no matter how they are.

[jezzicaz789]

Originally Posted by Uke

What about him do you like? I mean other than his obvious defense?

Hi all!
I've just visited this forum. Happy to get acquainted with you. Thanks.