Paul Williams

Paul Williams, a former American boxer, was born on July 27, 1981, in Augusta, Georgia. A southpaw, he competed in three weight classes: welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. For over eleven years, his professional boxing career spanned from 2000 to 2012, where he fought a total of 43 times, with his final fight being against Nobuhiro Ishida on February 18, 2012, which he won via 12 round unanimous decision.

During his career, Williams won two world titles at welterweight and held the WBO welterweight title twice between 2007 and 2008, as well as the WBO interim junior middleweight title in 2008. However, he challenged just once for the unified middleweight title in 2010. During his 43 fights, he secured 41 wins, 27 of which were knockout wins, and forfeited only twice, with no draws or no-contests.

Williams was nicknamed "The Punisher" and "P-Will" due to his tall stature of 6 feet 2 inches and remarkable reach of 78 inches, which was uncommon for the divisions he competed in.

Williams went pro in the year 2000 just at the age of 18, where he won his first professional boxing match against Jeremy Mickelson via 4 round PTS. He secured 24 fights via stoppage and won 32 consecutive games after his debut, indicating his passion and skill for the sport.

Williams had his first world title fight against Antonio Margarito, the WBO welterweight title champion, at the age of 25 on July 14, 2007, after fighting 32 professional battles. He defeated Margarito via 12 round unanimous decision to become the welterweight champion of the world. Williams had a total of two losses in his professional boxing career, and both were in title bouts.

In February 2008, Williams and Quintana had a fight in which Williams lost via decision in what many considered a minor upset. Still, they had a rematch on June 7, 2008, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, for the WBO welterweight title, and Williams won via first-round TKO.

The highlight of Williams' career was the seven fights that marked his most impressive victories. On July 14, 2007, Williams won his first world title against Antonio Margarito via 12 round unanimous decision, making him the WBO welterweight championship holder. Later that year, June 7, 2008, Williams defended his WBO welterweight title again, defeating Carlos Quintana by first-round TKO.

In 2009, Williams fought Winky Wright in a 12-round middleweight bout on HBO, which he won via a unanimous decision, with two of the three judges giving Williams all but one round while the third scored all 12 rounds for Williams. Later that same year, on December 5, Williams fought Sergio Martinez in a war of a twelve-round main event. He won via a close majority decision, with the judges scoring the game 114–114 and 115–113 for Williams and 119–110 for Williams.

On May 8, 2010, Williams faced Kermit Cintrón live on HBO Boxing, where he won via split technical decision after an unintentional fall by Kermit Cintron outside the ring left him unable to continue fighting. Later that year, on November 20, 2010, Williams participated in a highly anticipated rematch with Sergio Martinez that ended abruptly and dramatically when Sergio Martínez delivered a knockout blow with 2:02 left in the 2nd round.

One of the most controversial victories of Williams' career was against former Cuban amateur sensation Erislandy Lara, whom he fought in a light middleweight contest in Atlantic City on July 9, 2011. Throughout the game, Lara hit Williams with hard left hands and appeared to have won the fight convincingly. Still, the judges awarded Williams with a narrow majority decision, causing the suspension of the three judges by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board.

Unfortunately, Williams had to cut his career short after sustaining severe injuries from a motorcycle accident on May 27, 2012, where he swerved to avoid hitting a car while traveling at about 75 mph on the motorcycle and was launched sixty feet. Witnesses said he landed on his head and his body was "folded like a suitcase." The accident left him with part of his spinal cord severely bruised, paralyzing him from the waist down.

Paul Williams was a fantastic boxer, and his record speaks volumes about his expertise and authority in the boxing ring. Hopefully, his story and achievements can be a source of encouragement to upcoming boxers who wish to follow in his footsteps.

Paul Williams Fight Record