P4P: Burley and/or Johnson?

So how does this affect your rating of Williams?

 

I'd never call him a knockout artist, because I don't think he was allowed to be. Bottom line for me, a top five puncher of all time when on form.

 

You need to watch the Gatica fight. I don't even need to be biased to say it's the most precise punching at lightweight I've seen and perhaps in all divisions.

 

**** you. Cokes wasn't a notorious puncher, Williams was. Gatcia confirms this. Actually, thinking about it, the Cokes stoppage wasn't in the Williams-Gatica league.

 

And Beau Jack, and Kid Gavilan, and numerous other sportswriters and boxers of the time. Don't make it sound like I'm the one being silly - you must be the first person I've come across who's questioned Williams' power to such a degree, and your basis is that he took a few too many punches to stop his opponent. It is well documented and recognised that he was a very hard puncher, so you must be saying that all that is a bit wrong.

Indirectly you're criticising Williams' punching as a whole, not just power, because otherwise he'd have stopped more fighters, correct?

 

There are myriad factors opposing the ones you listed.

For how he looks on film, consider that it's unfortunate that we don't get to see his more definitive finishes, just like we don't get to see Henry Armstrong's - but going by his record, we know Armstrong was a nasty puncher.

Which takes us to Williams' lack of great knockout percentage, but then throwing us into disarray is the notion of carrying opponents, not trying and whatever.

Then there are contemporary reports which all point to Williams being a massive hitter. The opposition is how much you believe them.

Even so, you don't think that the filmed evidence points to Williams being one of the greatest punchers when on top form? That's madness. Very rarely will you see a battering like the one inflicted on Jack, and I doubt you'll find one to rival the blitz on Gatica. His breaking of Bratton would surely work in Williams' favour, too.

I think it was McVey who said he'd seen the third Bolanos fight. That may add weight to either argument.

 

So in short, you disregard everything I've given you about restrictions on Williams' career, and the contemporary accounts of his power.

 

That is a very brave statement.
Certainly top 5 at lightweight,I don't actually think there have been that many, among those that held the crown.

Williams
Jenkins
Arguello
Rosario
Duran