Is Antonio Margarito vs Paul Williams in the cards?

Is Williams vs. Margarito in the cards?
By Jason Petock (May 29, 2006)

http://doghouseboxing.com/Jason/Petock052906.htm

The mere mention of WBO welterweight champion Antonio ‘Tony’ Margarito’s (33-4, 24 KOs) name is enough to strike legitimate fear and concern in the hearts of his possible opponents. These challengers are typically deemed ‘possible’ opponents rather than surefire ones because usually they are just that, nothing more than a possibility because no one wants to fight the man. You could search far and wide for an individual who would be a willing and game opponent for Antonio Margarito and you could get lost on a wild goose chase in the process. Margarito has dispatched his last 6 out of 7 opponents by TKO victory, only suffering one loss in the last 5 years due to a headbutt in his second fight against Daniel Santos (29-3-1, 20 KOs) back in 2004, who he had first faced back in 2001 to a NC. He has taken out everyone from Kermit Cintron, Manuel Gomez, and Hercules Kyvelos during his climb to the top. Of the other 3 losses on his record, two were UD’s early in his career and one was a loss on points. With a proposed slot to fight on July 29, 2006 to defend his WBO crown against an unnamed opponent in Los Angeles, California, Margarito’s time is now and he is such a genuine threat to the Welterweight division on every level that it appears almost impossible to find him anyone to fight. That is until now.

Upon his latest defeat of hard punching Argentinian Walter ‘El Terrible’ Matthysse (25-1, 24 KOs) on HBO’s Boxing After Dark this past Saturday, versatile 6’1” southpaw and rising welterweight Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams (30-0, 22 KOs) executed a perfect boxing clinic to capture the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight Title. During his post fight interview with commentators he called out Antonio Margarito in a bold move that showed not only his courage but also that he might just have something there. The well-versed boxer from Augusta, Georgia, Williams gives all kinds of angles in the ring and is a long and rangy fighter much like Margarito and being a southpaw doesn’t hurt either. He also has an undefeated record, is clearly a hungry fighter and has all the skills and requirements of a top tiered champion and really deserves a shot at the best of the best. This match up is ideally a super fight and one that authentic boxing fans should not only want to see, but demand to see. Antonio Margarito’s calendar is already rumored to be open for a date on July 29th, so why not let Paul Williams arrive on time and let’s see what these two class acts in the welterweight division can bring out of each other in the ring.

Stylistically this could really be one hell of a fight. While Margarito is obviously a very powerful and rangy welterweight at 5’11” with a reach of 73”, it would be interesting to see how he would measure up to an even taller Williams at 6’1” who comes in as a southpaw with a reach of 79”. Both men are always in top condition, and it would be a fair challenge for the powerful Margarito to face the high volume punching Williams. Paul Williams’ work rate in the ring is staggering (often throwing over 100 punches a round easily), and his conditioning is always at a peak level. On paper both fighters match up fairly even with close knockout ratios, and Antonio Margarito’s only knock is having 4 losses to Paul Williams’ none. Williams also does have a much longer reach which could pose problems for Margarito when Williams fires off his southpaw jab. To Margarito’s credit however, it would be the biggest test so far in Paul Williams’ career and should they get into a war in there the outcome might be surprising to say the least. But don’t sleep on Paul Williams who has proven that he has a solid chin and can take a shot as well as give one. Just ask Walter Matthysse, who knocked out Xavier ‘The X Man’ Tolliver (21-5, 14 KOs) back in 2005 in one round for the WBC Fecarbox welterweight title in San Diego, California.

The argument can be made for either man in this bout dependant upon which type of style you prefer and what demographic you align yourself with in the world. But what is clear is that Paul Williams wants a fight with the often avoided and undoubtedly feared Antonio Margarito and if we the ever hopeful fans are lucky this fight may very well take shape. What is required of us however is that we demand this fight. All too frequently we are fed sleeper fights; you know the type of fights I’m referring to. These fights are mainly set up to line the promoter’s pockets and make a quick cash grab, primarily through Pay-Per-Greed numbers. They consist of one average fighter and his opponent, who you know is going to defeat him of course. Speaking of that, I have to tip my hat off to HBO and even more importantly Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright (50-3, 25 KOs) and Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor (25-0, 17 KOs) and both their camps for opting not to have their sensational championship bout for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles on PPV and rather show it on HBO for the rest of us who don’t always have the coin to shell out. Kudos gentlemen.

It’s a shame that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Antonio Margarito couldn’t have mixed it up if they had gotten the business end of things in order. Granted this is a blood business and it is understandable that fighters want to be compensated because it is their lives on the lines and not ours. Yet there comes a time when good fights need to be made and