Quintana
Unanimous Decisions Williams
February 11, 2008
by Hal Clarke
Bout of February 09, 2008.
At 6 feet 1 inches tall, Paul
Williams is a giant in the 147 lb weight division. When combined
with his victory over the self-proclaimed "most avoided man
in boxing," Antonio Margarito, last year for the WBO title,
the sky seemed the limit for the lean, mean, punching machine.
Quite simply, no one wanted to fight him. Enter Carlos Quintana,
the Puerto Rican incumbent challenger who always seems to be in
the opposite corner of a rising contender trying to make a point.
Unfortunately for Williams, it was Quintana who made the point
last night, causing the unlimited sky to come crashing down upon
Williams as the challenger for hire out worked, out hustled, and
out thought the rangy giant earning a close yet decisive unanimous
decision. It was major upset for Quintana, who was coming off
a thrashing in his next to last bout at the hands of Miguel Cotto,
and quite the dissapointment for Williams, who was defending his
title for the very first time.
Pechanga Arena in Temecula, California
felt the electricity right from the start as Quintana opened the
fight with tight left and right hooks, excellent foot movement,
and a game plan that worked to perfection. Meeting nearly every
Williams punch with one of his own, the slick Quintana landed
the harder, cleaner punches, tied up the lanky champion on the
inside, and avoided The Punisher's aggressive pursuit from the
first round to the last. It was text book boxing from a man whose
career has been a see-saw of shockings wins and a devastating
loss the last few years.
After easily winning the first
three, Quintana seemed to tire in the middle rounds, allowing
Williams to eek out many of the close middle ones. However, a
second wind from Quintana from round 9 on proved the difference.With
his heavy breathing subsided, Quintana avoided the Williams jab
completely down the stretch, the only weapon Williams could find
even moderate success with the entire night. Quintana used his
new-found stamina to unleash an aray of hooks in the championship
rounds, winning them with authority, inevitably swaying all three
judges to give him the well-deserved unanimous decision.
With the win, Quintana moves
to 25-1 (19) and Williams falls to 33-1 (24).
Here is the official scoring
of the fight:
116-112, 116-112, 115-113
(all for Quintana)
My Scoring of the Fight:
| Round |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Total |
| Williams |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
114 |
| Quintana |
10 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
116 |
Quote of the night from
HBO Commentator Max Kellerman:
"I'm thinking Miguel
Cotto looks very good right now." (referring to the 147 lb
champion who destroyed Quintana in their 2006 bout).
—————————————————————————
Want to tell Hal Clarke he doesn't know anything
about anything? Or maybe you agree. Email him at halclarke@undependentmedia.com
Back to Sports
Back to the Main Page
———————————————————————
|
