Paul Williams: A Look Back at the Remarkable Run of The Punisher in his Prime

Appreciation Thread
Paul Williams is a retired 6'2 33 year old WW, JMW, MW, with a 41-2 27 KO 1 KO loss record. Born in Augusta, Georgia Paul Williams was the tallest damn Welterweight I have ever seen, and he was actually a little too big for a Junior Middleweight, but he was one of the most enjoyable to watch fighters in recent memory, he was the definition of a volume puncher. His stamina was amazing he would have been an amazing fighter in the days of 15 rounders. He was one of the most naturally gifted fighters in the past 15 years, and could have possibly been one of the most famous of his era as well, unfortunately for him he was ducked by Cotto, possibly Pavlik and Mayweather, they all wanted nothing to do with The Punisher.

Not only was he athletic, rangy, awkward, and a volume puncher he was also a southpaw, which made him a tough puzzle for many opponents to solve, unfortunately it also ended up being his biggest weakness, he had his 3 worst performances against southpaws as well, Quintana, Martinez and Lara. Paul lost a 12 round decision to Quintana, and struggled badly the first time(lost) to Sergio and Lara, but most fighters have an Achilles' Heel. He had one of the best chins in boxing, if you need any proof of that, look no further than the Lara fight, after being horrifically KO'd by Sergio, he took countless brutal lefts from Lara, they didn't even buckle him. despite calls for his retirement after the back to back beatings he received, he came back the next year even stronger and shut out Kirkland destroyer, Ishida in a brutal 12 round pummeling to put himself right back into the mix.

Tragically he crashed his motorcycle avoiding an oncoming car going 75 mph and flew 60 feet through the air when he landed he was nearly bent in half causing severe bruising and swelling, not a break, in his spine paralyzing him from the waist down. Sadly that crash deprived him of what I think would have been a triumphant return to glory because Golden Boy foolishly thinking he was completely shot, signed him to fight Canelo Alvarez. A fight I was expecting to blow up in Canelo's face, Williams amazing stamina and workrate would have been very hard for Canelo to overcome especially at that stage in his career. There is still a chance that maybe one day Paul will walk again, maybe with the right experimental medicine or treatment he can possibly regain at least some of his ability to walk in the future. So Check Out The Punisher pre Martinez and remember him for the great fighter he was, not as merely the victim of a great KO, he deserves far more appreciation for his accomplishments than he receives, he just had the misfortune of meeting and losing to someone better than him in Sergio, which is nothing to be ashamed of.
Thanks for the great memories, Get Well Champ.

:ko:ko:ko:ko
Educate Yourselves on The Punisher
Williams Vs. Margarito
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKOpchE8OXw
Williams Vs. Wright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1t09H9SYks
Williams Vs. Quintana 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5lojfUT0zs
Williams Vs. Martinez 2009 FOTY IMO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnYGy9pdnEo
Williams Vs. Phillips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BeX7tqnxI
Williams Vs. Cintron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoxlVn3HYg
Williams Vs. Ishida Highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ovIuXXXZj8
Williams Vs. Matthysse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1UCBax7YyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjMMhWzDQM

 

Williams Vs. Rios
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kps5egKAGrg
Williams Vs. Mitchell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJ-DmuQov4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA1ehlWbx2A

Interviews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJUnt8k3is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfA3In0y1YA

 

Williams Vs. Lara
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688kDZOnkuw

 

:deal

 

Not always, there are new fans showing up on this forum all the time, just because we know who he is doesn't mean everybody does, he hasn't been relevant in 4 years that's an eternity in this short attention span generation.

 

:good and for anyone who doesn't, they can educate themselves:yep

 

Same here I've seen Martinez Williams 1 maybe 15 times