The evolution of Paul Williams

http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=20148

By Matt Wells: A little over a year ago Paul Williams struggled against a wily Terrence Cauthen, and stumbled to an ugly decision win. Last May, he put on a boxing clinic and dominated the undefeated Walter Matthysse. In doing so, he has gone from green prospect to becoming arguably the best young fighter in the welterweight division.

Williams' upcoming fight with Sharmba Mitchell is viewed by many to be a mismatch. That this is the case is a testament to how far Williams has progressed in such a short time. It is easy to forget that up until recently he was fighting the likes of Luis Hernandez and Sammy Sparkman (and these two were the guys with name recognition, relatively speaking.) Now he is such a threat that he is having finding opponents; more on that later.

Williams' manager and trainer, George Peterson, believes his young charge is just starting to get a the hang of life as a pro boxer, and that is why he is looking so good right now. "He's just realized what professional fighting is all about," he says. "He never took professional boxing really seriously until just about his last three fights. Now he's beginning to come into his own. He's been an athlete for so long, before it almost like he was just competing. But now he understands that he's also competing for his welfare. This is his occupation."

Williams has always had the tools to make it far in the sport. Standing over six feet tall, he often has a reach advantage over his opponents of several inches or more. His punches come out smooth and crisp. He is always calm and composed in the ring, no matter what the circumstances. Though he does not have one-punch knockout power, he has a knack for methodically wearing down a fighter over the course of a fight. And to say he throws a lot of shots would be an understatement; in terms of punches per round, he regularly blows past the century mark.

"Paul is a rangy fighter," Pererson says. "He's tall, he's quick, he's got a lot of pop, plus he's hungry. This kid can stand across the street and hit you. And in addition to that, he can box."

It is these skills that have many fans and pundits believing that Williams is already within reach of a world title belt. But it wasn't that long ago that he was just another unheralded and untested young fighter with a lot of hype around him. To be sure, he was knocking his opponents out with noticeable ease. And Peterson was finding it increasingly difficult to find anyone willing to fight him. But he still hadn't faced the sort of opposition that would convince most observers that he was the real deal.

The matter would remain up for debate after Williams took on fellow southpaw Cauthen in a fight broadcast on Showtime's ShoBox show on April 22nd, 2005. Cauthen had always had a reputation for being a highly unorthodox fighter. After struggling to find an opponent for what would be a valuable bit of television exposure for his fighter, Peterson had to agree to face the 1996 Olympic bronze medalist. The fight was an ugly one, though it did not go quite as most observers had expected. Cauthen is regarded more as a counterpuncher that likes to dance around the ring, but against Williams he pulled a page out of the John Ruiz school of prizefighting.

As soon as the opening bell sounded Cauthen charged right at Williams, throwing a few shots and then wrapping his arms around his opponent. This became the template that Cauthen employed for much of the rest of the night. This drew the ire of referee Lou Moret right from the get-go, so much so that, rather remarkably, he penalized Cauthen one point early in the first round. Even so, Cauthen succeeded in his aim of frustrating Williams, who could not avoid getting tangled up by his tenacious opponent.

The strategy Williams attempted to employ, naturally, was to box from the outside, using his reach to hold Cauthen at bay. The problem was that he was not really able to do this for more than a few seconds at a time. Every time he stepped back to get some distance, Cauthen would chase him, throwing wild, looping punches before moving in for the clinch. This pattern was repeated over and over.

That's not to say that Williams was completely disarmed by these tactics. The fact of the matter is that Cauthen did not really stand a chance against him. Skill-wise, he didn't compare. And as the fight progressed, Williams was able to get enough work done to win most of the rounds. His shots to Cauthen's body were particularly punishing. But he could never fully find his rhythm. Moreover, Cauthen was able to get in some decent punches of his own from time to time. In particular, his right hook landed flush on his opponent several times.

In the end, Williams won the fight. One judge even gave him all ten rounds, though that was probably being rather generous. Statistically he had Cauthen beat. He did not, however, put together a strong case for being the next great welterweight champion. However, he was about to go on a run that would more than make up for this stilted performance.

A UD win over Marteze Logan in September of 2005 was rather inconsequential. In December of that same year, however, he returned to the ShoBox show, and faced veteran Alfonso Sanchez. Sanchez, a former Mexican national champion, was clearly on the downside of his career, but could still pose a threat to a inexperienced young fighter. Williams, however, was more than up to the challenge.

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