Erislandy Lara vs Paul Williams next Saturday, official thread !!!

Williams, probably by knockout!

 

I agree, this is a difficult one. A true test for Lara, that's for sure. Williams has some serious expirience in high caliber fights, and knows how to bounce back from defeat.

Lara is very fresh, technical, hungry, and has the potential to be a star in the division. He going to have to be ready to adapt and make certain changes during the fight, cuz Williams make plenty of adjustments.

Too close too call, but I do think someone is getting laid out!!!

 

I don't know about this one, but its either the comeback of one or the making of another.

 

I am new here so I don't know how the majority of posters view either fighter, But what I am excited about is seeing how Williams rebounds after a devastated loss. And when I say "rebound" I mean does he actually have a team around him that finally understands that Williams is 6'2 with long freakin' arms and should be fighting on the outside and from distance. As for Lara, I just want to see the best of him. Everytime I have seen him, he's looked dreadful. And in his last fight against Molina, it's been awhile since I have said that a fighter got a Gift by getting a Draw, because Lara lost that fight by a Country Mile.

 

Williams didn't have any flaws, he just got caught. It's like saying Roy Jones Jr had flaws when he got caught.

Everybody can get caught. Williams is young enough to learn to fight tall and keep his hands up. If he does that he wont ever get caught again.

 

Perhaps his knock out loss caused a lot more damage than he is admitting to the public.

Physically he is in his prime. It would be ridiculous for him to retire when he could make millions.
It would be as ridiculous as when Floyd retired.

 

Lara's gonna get beat down by Williams' workrate. Williams is Molina x 5, Lara couldn't stand up to him so I don't see how he can handle a Paul Williams that'll be all guns blazing looking to make statement in his retun.

 

His last four fights before Molina ended in 1st round stoppages. The level of competition was not incredible, but it's impressive nonetheless.

I'd love to see Paul get more technical discipline and strategic emphasis behind him, but I remember reading that him and his trainer just spend 10 percent of their camp on technique because apparently "If you learn how to throw a jab right at 11, you're going to throw it right for the rest of your life." The worst was his talk after the Martinez fight. He insisted in interviews that he "got caught", that "it happens", and that Martinez "got lucky" by landing that punch "with his eyes closed." Not the words of someone looking to admit and correct their mistakes in the gym through any close observation.

 

Lara by SD , the only chance PW has in a fight against a boxer of Lara's quality is Height/Reach and we all know he won't use these natural advantages he has , he will throw a lot of punches like always and Lara will just counter puncher him all night long , it will be a great victory for Lara , wth this fight , and taking into account what happened in his last one , Lara could silence all his critics and make a name for himself , he's been knocking at the door of greatness for some time now ( ever since his ams days ) and so far very little has happened , he won't have another oportunity to show the world what he really can do in a long time ( asuming he loses this one ) , for the first time he is fighting a " name " and comes as the underdog , so ... this is it , I hope he realizes the importance a fight like this can have for his career , I hope ..... ( Solis didn't .... ) . Peace.

 

Good Stuff. But the only thing impressive about 1st round KO's is when it happens against a fighter that brings something to the table. Those recent 1st rd KO's by Lara were against opponents that both you and I could KO in 1 rd. And those opponents were all KO several times coming into the Lara fight. I have nothing against Lara, All I am saying is that I have yet to see a Lara fight and say: That was Impressive!!! Although the win over Grady Brewer was Solid.

 

See, there's the difference I think. Obviously you didn't mean that literally, but I think if you can knock out a tomato can in one round, you're at least demonstrating the physical ability to punch someone hard and fast enough in the head to render them incapable of continuing in under 3 minutes. While not a gauge of a fighter's ultimate potential, it at least recognizes the innate talent he possesses.

The main point I was trying to make though is that the defensive boxer that let a lot of fans down against Molina is actually familiar with the concept of taking the fight to an opponent and adopting an effectively offensive style, and that we shouldn't assume he'll be a negative boxer trying to tentatively hold off Paul's aggression. That's all.

 

If Williams does the right thing by boxing at long-range using his huge reach and his usual high volume output he can't be beaten. That means he does not go to war recklessly as he usually does and decides to use his jab. If he does this fight will be a walk in the park!!

 

I see where you are going, but I never mentioned anything about Williams aggression nor about what will be Lara's gameplan in this up-coming fight. I simply said that I would like to see Lara's Best Performance. In his last fight against an opponent that was a Huge underdog, and also lacked Elite-level skill, Molina beat up on Lara for the entire night. And the Draw was a Gift...Big-Time. Win or Lose I wanna watch this fight and say Lara was Impressive!!! I have yet to say that.

 

Paul Williams is going to push his **** in.

 

Williams team is aware of Williams physical advantages but it's up to him to use them or not. He did it in the Margarito fight but then felt invincible thanks to his chin. His trainer usually asks him to use his jab but Williams dont give a ****. I said it before but Williams with his workrate and reach could be almost invincible bc it's hard to do much when punches are coming in bunches for 12 rounds from long range. It's up to him though