Paul Williams Gifted a Win Over Lara
Because of boxing writers’ tendency to proclaim every close decision a theft, actual injustice is rarely met with the proper level of outrage. Saturday night in Atlantic City saw a true travesty as Cuban junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (left) was robbed by the judges, who awarded Paul Williams a majority decision win despite all evidence to the contrary. We generally avoid such pronouncements but this decision was bad for boxing.
A decorated amateur, Lara was viewed as a good match for Williams after his unimpressive draw against Carlos Molina. But after watching Molina make easy work of Kermit Cintron that draw is looking less suspect. Lara turned out to be the worst possible first opponent for The Punisher, who hadn’t fought since his devastating one-punch KO loss to Sergio Martinez in November. Before the fight Williams said he hadn’t made any adjustment to account for the overhand left that floored him; his words turned out to be disturbingly true.
Again and again Lara dug his heels in and fired the overhand left, connecting more often than not. Williams’ stubborn refusal to raise his right hand or attempt some other defense resulted in his opponent landing the same punch for the entire 12 rounds. In contrast, the only notable damage sustained by Lara came on a head clash that caused a melon-sized welt on his left temple. Williams threw more than twice as many punches but they were mostly on the inside and those that landed did so without distinction.
Williams is a nice guy and he has been suitably chastened by his loss to Martinez. But his request for a rubber match is foolish at best and borderline suicidal if he returns to the ring with the same approach. It is apparent his loss to Carlos Quintana was the first sign of a glaring Achilles heel and not the fluke we once thought. Williams cannot fight southpaws and he particularly can’t handle the overhand left. Fighting Lara may have made sense if Martinez was up next, but it is clear now that if he must keep boxing Williams had best stick to orthodox opponents.
There is simply no way to have watched this fight and come to the conclusion that Williams was the more effective puncher. Even his corner seemed shocked when the announced said his name. Lara may have been underwhelming against Molina but on this day he demonstrated the pedigree that prompted him to defect before the 2008 Olympics. 154 lbs. is suddenly a division full of possibilities and Lara will certainly play a part in determining the division’s top dog.
Sadly the same can’t be said for Williams. Here’s hoping he takes his money and retires to his beachfront home to fish and enjoy his kids as he has vowed to do. Unless a right-hander like Alvarez who can promise a big payday comes along there is little to compel him back in the ring. He can retire today comfortable in the knowledge that his best days are behind him.
In the televised support Rico Ramos scored the WBA super bantamweight belt and a 7th-round KO of Akifumi Shimoda with the left hook pictured below. Cut by a headbutt and trailing heavily on all three cards, the disarmingly candid Ramos was forced to abandon his defense-first style and stand his ground in the 7th round. A series of near missed with rights and lefts prompted Shimoda to drop his hands, allowing Ramos to drop a flush left that surprised even Rico Suavecito himself with its power.
Ramos told Max Kellerman afterward that he doesn’t like to be hit and had been planning to fight for 12 rounds, so the knockout was unexpected. That makes it all the more impressive considering the typical amount of bravado one hears from fighters with similar potential. The Compton native has his first alphabet belt and a seemingly bright future; here’s hoping he embraces his aggressive side a little more before his first title defense.
