Re-Enter Paul Williams, Exit Floyd Mayweather?

If you believed that Carlos "El Indio" Quintana’s first victory over Paul "the Punisher" Williams was a fluke, then their fight this past Saturday proved it. Like their first encounter, this fight started fast, with both fighters trading shots in the center of the ring. However, two things were very different this time around. Quintana, 25-2, 19 KOs, was far more aggressive and Williams, 34-1, 25 KOs, was far more pointed in his attack. The results were disastrous for Quintana.

After a razor-sharp straight left hand dazed El Indio at the midway point of round one, the Punisher closed the show. He swarmed and peppered Quintana with straight, short punches until the end of the fight at 2:15 of the first round, regaining his WBO welterweight title in surprisingly easy fashion. The only blemish on Williams’s performance was that he was dropped at the end of the first round. Let me stop. He was actually tackled by the "punch-drunken" Quintana, who fell face-first, grabbing Williams legs and tripping him on his way to the canvas for the second time in the fight.

One of Williams’s handlers can be overheard saying, "What’s up Cotto?" during the post-fight interview. Cotto’s response would go something like this: "I’m just chilling in Puerto Rico – training for my title defense next month against the overrated Antonio Margarito.  After that, I’m looking to fight Oscar De La Hoya for mucho dinero next year." What’s missing from this reply? The name Paul Williams.  If he continues to fight like he did this past weekend, do not look to see Paul Williams’s name next to Cotto’s on a fight poster anytime soon.

The welterweight division is currently the best division in boxing by far. Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley are the division’s elite while Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, and Luis Collazo are its formidable gatekeepers. Forgive me if I forgot to mention Floyd Mayweather, Jr. For those of you who reside on Mars, he’s a boxing retiree. For those of you who reside on earth, he’s taking a break and waiting to fight the winner of Cotto/Margarito vs Oscar De La Hoya. By the way, I’m an earthling.