DON'T PUNISH THE 'PUNISHER'... by Martin Wade Paul Williams, after taking the early rounds with angles and activity, after nearly drowning in round 11, made his statement. He marked off his distance and basically told one of boxing's toughest hombres “you will not drown me.” Margarito is one of those rare gifts in boxing in that he makes and breaks young contenders. Unfortunately for him, last Saturday he (against his own interest) “made” a welterweight Monster that may also surpass him as the game's “most avoided.” I want to believe differently but I just can’t see it panning out any other way. CINTRON, GOMEZ, WILLIAMS PREVAIL ... by George Elsasser The HBO welter Saturday Nite Special had champion (IBF) Kermit Cintron, (WBO) mandatory Paul Williams - and Alfonso Gomez of semi-pro "Contenders" fame sharing the spotlight with convincing winning performances. The double-dip from Atlantic City boardwalk of beauties and bag ladies opened the split viewing with Cintron defending against Argentine Walter Matthysse - when last visiting here the South American was seen snoozing courtesy of a Paul Williams late round barrage - neat qualifications for a title shot,  eh?     GOODBYE TO GATTI THE GREAT... AGAIN... by Jim Amato As much as I like Arturo I feel he has -without a doubt- reached the end of the line after being defeated by Alfonso Gomez. This was a fight that Arturo was not supposed to lose..  THE END OF THE ROAD FOR BOXING'S ULTIMATE GUNSLINGER... by Tom Dickey Arturo Gatti will never be mistaken for one of boxing's all time great technicians or defensive fighters; but, he will be remembered for a lot of other things. He will be remembered as an action star, a fighter with nearly too much heart for his own good. At times, Gatti seemed to be a fighter lost in the wrong era of boxing. He seemed better suited to have fought during the 1950s or 60s, when his fighting style was more commonly seen. He was truly old school, and I, along with many other boxing fans, will gravely miss him. HBO'S TRIPLE HEADER... by Frank Gonzalez Jr. After the fight, Gomez said he’d like to fight Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. That sounds like a good match up. Will J. C. Jr. take that fight or continue building his record against guys we never heard of and will never hear of again? Chavez appears to have some quality boxing skills, a long range and considerable power. Against Gomez, he’d have a significant height advantage to work his jab. It’s a fight I think most fans would enjoy. Let's hope it happens. A WELTERWEIGHT BOXING TRIFECTA SET FOR THE WEEKEND COURTESY OF HBO... by Tom Dickey This weekend boxing fans will get treated to a boxing trifecta courtesy of HBO. The network will televise two separate cards from opposite parts of the country. Two of the three fights featured will air from the Boardwalk in Atlantic City as ring legend Arturo Gatti returns to the squared circle against former "Contender" contestant Alfonso Gomez, and Kermit Cintron defends his welterweight crown against Walter Matthysse. Then the main event comes from Carson, California as Antonio Margarito takes on super phenom Paul Williams. What's more amazing is that this is not a pay per view, it's free if you have HBO. 7-14-2007 Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2007