Paul Williams: The tragic and underappreciated career of 'The Punisher'

After beginning his career as a welterweight (147lbs), Paul Williams was immediately recognized as an enigma in the sport. He was a southpaw who stood over six feet tall and wielded an alien-like reach of 79 inches. A welterweight with such a frame had not been seen since Tommy 'The Hitman' Hearns.

While 'The Punisher' may have lacked Hearns' polished fundamentals and destructive knockout power, he possessed his own unique and dangerous style. Williams was a come-forward, volume puncher who drowned his opponents with sheer activity and became notorious for consistently throwing a thousand punches in his fights.

Paul Williams was an exciting boxer who feared no man. He always came to fight and was consistently ready to make a name for himself inside the ring. Unfortunately for him and boxing fans alike, many fighters simply wanted no part of 'The Punisher'.

In his prime, Paul Williams was avoided like the plague

Despite being surrounded by top-tier talent throughout his career, many of Williams' contemporaries showed little interest in facing him. Back in the mid-to late-2000s, it was very difficult to get any of the top fighters around the welterweight division to even utter Williams' name.

One example of this is a 2009 interview with rapper R.A. the Rugged Man. While being interviewed by R.A., Floyd Mayweather was repeatedly hounded about fighting several high-profile fighters. One name that got brought up frequently in the discussion was Paul Williams.

Interestingly enough, Mayweather did not appear too interested in talking about 'The Punisher'. Throughout the interview, he mentioned specific names like Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto, yet 'Money' Mayweather rarely referred to Williams directly.

In 2007, after having won the WBO Welterweight Championship, Paul Williams was surrounded by absolute beasts. Zab Judah, Cotto, Mosley, and of course, Floyd Mayweather, were all competing in the prestigious 147 pound weightclass. However, none of these noteworthy names ever stepped foot inside the ring with 'The Punisher'.

In his very first title defense, Williams suffered a surprise unanimous decision defeat defense against Puerto Rican contender Carlos Quintana. Despite the setback, none of the big names at welterweight leapt at the opportunity to face the recently defeated boxer.

Williams would go on to knockout Quintana in the first round of their rematch, regaining his title. He'd then soon leave the weightclass after failing to secure a meaningful bout with any of the top fighters in the division.

Despite immense hesitance from the big names, Paul Williams still secured several spectacular victories in his professional career

The story of Paul Williams' career was directly impacted by his contemporaries' reluctance to fight him; however, in spite of this, he still piled up a terrific string of victories in his professional career.

On August 19th, 2006, Williams knocked out boxing veteran Sharmba Mitchell in the fourth round. The following year, on July 14th, 2007, 'The Punisher' stepped into the ring with WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. In a hard-fought contest that saw both men throw constant barrages, Williams earned the victory via unanimous decision. Despite the close nature of the fight and his claims to have been the real winner, Margarito never pursued a rematch.

After avenging his defeat against Quintana, Williams moved up two weightclasses to fight Winky Wright, another highly-avoided dark horse of the sport. 'The Punisher' dominated the bout with a tsunami of constant punches. In his very next fight, Williams fought Argentina's Sergio Martinez in a thrilling 12 round contest.

Both men exchanged knockdowns in the first round and proceeded to go to war for the remainder of the bout. Once again, Paul Williams' surreal stamina and activity helped him seal the win.

Martinez and Williams would go on to rematch a year later in a highly-anticipated contest. This time, the Argentinian boxer entered the fight as the WBC and Ring Magazine middleweight champion after having defeated Kelly Pavlik a few months prior. In the second round, Martinez landed the greatest punch of his career, kocking out Williams. Sergio Martinez would become the only man to have ever knocked out 'The Punisher'.

After this defeat, Williams would move down in weight to light middleweight (154lbs) and fight Erislandy Lara, another highly feared and highly avoided boxer. Despite being tagged with sharp left hands throughout the night, Williams would win a unanimous decision, with many rightfully calling the victory a robbery.

In his last professional fight, 'The Punisher' defeated Japan's Nobuhiro Ishida via unanimous decision.

Afterwards, Williams would sign to fight rising star Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. However, at the age of 30, Paul Williams' boxing career tragically came to an end in May 2012 after a terrible motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

The story and career of 'The Punisher' should never be forgotten. Paul Williams was a true fighter who was always willing to step into the ring with anyone, and he always showed tremendous heart. His resilience and spirit, both inside and outside the ring, should be admired and serve as an inspiration for many.