-Photo Credit: Jose Hernandez-

The only question before the fight was not if Paul Williams would win, but how decisively would he be able to do it. A 6’ 1” welterweight, Williams’ imposing size and incessant punching were good enough to beat Antonio Margarito, but would fall short against the unheralded Carlos Quintana. 

So what went wrong? The only thing that was wrong with the fight was the severe underestimation of Quintana’s boxing ability which was tarnished by his one sided loss to Cotto. From the opening bell Carlos took the fight to the taller Williams and landed the cleaner and harder shots. Williams, displaying a good chin, was able to shake off the punches and continued to come forward although not very effectively. Most of his shots were looping left hands that packed little power and seemed to slap more than punch. Quintana, on the other hand,  landed with precision and utilized good ring movement to keep Williams off balance. 

As the fight progressed Quintana seemed to tire in the later rounds giving Williams a chance to press the action and take the fight to Carlos. While Williams continued to move forward and stay busy, his offense as a  whole was not very effective because of his inability to land clean punches that could hurt Quintana. Coming into the championship rounds the fight seemed up for grabs, as Williams seemingly managed to win most of the second half of the fight. While Paul showed unbelievable stamina in the last two rounds and continued to throw more punches than his opponent, Quintana managed to land the more telling blows despite being visibly the more tired of the two fighters. Ultimately Williams’ inability to stop Quintana’s straight left that landed with regularity would be his undoing. In the end Quintana would win the fight by a unanimous decision, with scores of 115-113, 116-112, 116-112, to claim Williams’ WBO welterweight title.

This fight raised a few questions for Paul Williams regarding his defense and punching power. For Quintana it was a redemption fight and a chance for more mega fights in the future. While Williams looked less than stellar in his loss, it may be too early to count him out, as most boxers experience nights that may not be an accurate depiction of their ability. Just as Carlos Quintana who after his loss to Cotto was barraged with criticism, only to make an impressive comeback against Paul Williams, expect Williams to make a comeback and to remain a central figure in the division for years to come.