Williams, Margarito postfight presser!

July 15, 2007

By Felipe Leon / Photos: Big Joe Miranda


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“I think the 12th round sealed the deal for me”, the ever polite Paul Williams stated regarding his dethroning of Tijuana, MX’s Antonio Margarito. The visually happy but reserved Williams proceeded to thank God, his promoter, his trainers and his management team as the catalysts for his victory over the “Tijuana Tornado”. When asked if he was nervous regarding the decision because of the closeness of some of the rounds and that fact that the fact was held in Margarito’s adopted home town, Williams said “I wasn’t nervous at about the decision; I think it was a fair decision and I beat him in his hometown which means a lot. Even though we both predicted knockouts, I knew it was going to be tough with the condition that we both brought.”

“Yes sir, I am ready for anything my team has in mind, I am ready for whatever, I’m just the fighter,” Williams answered when a rematch against Margarito was mentioned.

Before the new WBO welterweight champion took the podium his promoter Dan Goossen stated “I don’t think of any of the guys that have those other 147 lbs. belts are going to be excited to fight Paul Williams” regarding the upcoming plans for the flagship of his stable. “We want the biggest fight out there. We would like to step into the shoes of Margarito and go against Cotto. We want the biggest fights”.

As Antonio Margarito walked into the room followed by his team which included his wife, all dressed in matching Team Margarito track suits, his Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank took the opportunity to introduce his fighter “It was a great fight. Obviously I scored it for my guy but it was close enough to not deny the judges’ decision. Antonio is in the mix with Cotto. Margarito is a Top Rank fighter and we protect our fighters.”

Margarito, visually disappointed, did not hide behind sunglasses to cover up his bruised right eye as he addressed the collected media “I think they told Paul Williams that all he had to do was stay on his feet because I thought I won the fight. He threw punches but most of them I caught with my gloves.”

Margarito then proceeded to hint at shady play by Williams’ promoter “Dan Goossen must have a lot of power in this town but the fans saw the fight. Williams is the one that came out cut and I might have some bruises but my face is clean.”

To the idea of a rematch with Williams, Margarito stated “I feel I was robbed, I feel that I did enough to win so I would only want a rematch if Bob Arum promotes because I wouldn’t want to get robbed by Goossen again.” At this point Arum felt compelled to interject “we trust the decision of the judges as final and I think that it is unfair that Antonio is hinting that there was foul play.”

After a couple of more questions, Margarito bid a quick farewell but not before and impromptu roundtable interview was held with mostly Hispanic media. When Margarito was asked if he agreed with Arum’s last statement, he said “I feel Bob Arum should have defended me a little bit more regarding the decision.”