Williams defeats Margarito over 12 hard rounds

By Michael Norby: In one of the most anticipated welterweight clashes of 2007, unbeaten southpaw Paul Williams upset Mexican Antonio Margarito on Saturday night, relieving the defending WBO champion of his strap via unanimous decision at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

With a possible showdown against WBA champion Miguel Cotto awaiting the winner this fall, both men entered the ring knowing that their chance of true 147lb distinction hinged on this bout. In an action-packed and intensely fought contest, it was Williams who threw his gauntlet at the feet of Cotto, Mayweather and the rest of the welterweight elite.

“I want Cotto,” demanded Williams after his triumphant performance.” If I can’t get Cotto I want a shot at Mayweather.”

In the opening round, Williams, 33-0 (24), began by using his freakishly long arms – jabbing and energetically throwing a high volume of punches from the outset. Margarito 34-5 (24KO) answered by throwing well to the body, but the challenger displayed a veterans poise by picking his spots and landing flush to the chin of the Mexican. It was an impressive opening round for the Georgia native, fighting on the championship stage for the first time, and Margarito looked puzzled at the bell.

It was more of the same in the second round as Williams again used his wingspan well and he pasted Margarito with a straight right hand in the opening portion. The champion bulldozed his way inside in spurts, landing to the body and head when he got there. A big right hand from Williams was answered with a hard right hook by Margarito, but Williams’ output was incredible and he seemed to have pocketed his second straight round as the action got hot.

Williams continued to press his speed advantage against an out-of-sorts Margarito in the third, but he allowed himself to get dragged into the trenches midway through and the champion again banged away to the body of the lanky American. A big uppercut stalled Margarito’s momentum and the contender was undoubtedly the more effective of the two.

For all the punching Williams was unleashing upon Margarito, there was very little iron on them and the Mexican was able to hustle his way through, landing occasionally with big right hands. It was not enough, however, because he faced a consistent attack of over 100 punches per round from Williams.

Sharp, effective and relaxed, Williams looked almost in cruise control in the fifth round and he refused to allow Margarito to find a rhythm at any stage. If the incumbent was to achieve success and wade inside, he would face a double digit punch count for his troubles – most of which scored.

In that fifth round, Margarito had his best period in terms of punches landed, and he continued to pile on pressure in the next stanza. He battered Williams to the body in the first half of the round but the challenger fought back with a stinging left hook as both men opened up. The champion, to his credit, rarely took a step backwards and he continued to take straight punches from Williams down the stretch.

Punch output was the major difference. Margarito, who regularly throws over one hundred punches per round, never approached that figure. Williams on the other hand threw a ridiculous amount of artillery throughout the action and, in doing so, he controlled the vast majority of proceedings.

Fierce exchanges ensued in the seventh round - all initiated by Margarito - but the mustard was not lathered on his punches. He landed cleanly to the head of Williams in flurries with one minute remaining and, for the first time, got the better of the exchanges. The challenger responded by creating distance and shooting his jab, but the Mexican looked to have done enough to win this round as he bullied his way back into the fight.

A surging Margarito picked up his pace in the eighth and he continued to pour it on as he closed the distance throughout the round. Two big right hands in the second half of the frame were the most telling punches as Williams began to get a little sloppy and a tad tired.

A nice right hand to the head began the ninth round for Williams and he returned to his effective jab/left hand combo early. A stinging uppercut from Margarito, however, stung the challenger and he allowed himself to get dragged inside for a period, where Margarito again had the better of the short punching. Williams dug deep, though, and fought well in the second half of this close round, thumping Margarito with huge right hooks.
In the tenth round, seemingly well behind on the scorecards,

Margarito continued to search for opportunities inside. But this was Williams’ fight, and he threw copious amounts of leather, catching the champion as he tried to punch his way inside. Two big right hands from Margarito buckled Williams momentarily in the final ten seconds of the round – a brief reminder that the fight was not yet finished.

“The second half was real hard but I knew he would come on strong,” admitted Williams. “But I have the heart of a warrior. I got cut and I felt the blood going into my eyes but you can’t let that stuff bother you.”

In the penultimate round, Margarito fought like a champion and loaded up against the young contender in the first minute, landing clean with short hard punches that again seemed to stun Williams. Blood streamed down the left eye of the 25-year-old and Margarito blasted him to the head with straight right hands in an intense final minute of the round. Although he was unable to drop his opponent, Margarito’s gusto and bravery set the stage for a blazing final with his WBO title reign hanging by a thread.
However, Williams began like he did in the early rounds – double and triple jabs followed by accurate left hands.

“I got stung [late in the fight] but I had great preparation,” Williams said. “Camp in Puerto Rico prepared me for taking these shots. He was getting close in the tenth and eleventh and I knew I had to use that jab in the twelfth.”

Margarito seemed a little winded after his efforts of the prior round and he allowed Williams to dictate the action for much of the twelfth. The challenger found the energy he needed to consistently frustrate Margarito, who could only sporadically find openings, and thus Williams pocketed the final round.

In the end, it was the 1000 plus punch output from Williams – almost double that of Margarito - that won the day and stamped Williams’ name on the top echelon of today’s welterweight division – where he belongs.

Margarito, who was gallant throughout and successful in a handful of the later rounds, deplored the decision.

“I was blocking all the punches and I was not getting hit,” he said in disgust. “He threw more than I but I landed the harder punches.”
He added, “After the ninth round, I knew I was ahead on the cards and I won the last couple of rounds and I think it was a robbery. Everybody knows I won this fight.”
The judges didn’t agree as all three scored the fight in favor of Williams: 116-112; 115-113; 115-113