Bad Left Hook: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: The Boxing Bulletin for Boxing Fans!

Paul Williams wants Bernard Hopkins at 168 pounds

Box_f_williams_576_medium Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reports that promoter Dan Goossen brought up the possibility of his fighter, Paul Williams, taking on former middleweight and light heavyweight world champion at 168 pounds sometime in the future. Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer declined to comment on the idea.

Williams will be facing the returning Winky Wright, who lost to Hopkins in his last fight in 2007, on April 11 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Pugmire also reports that the fight -- which probably belongs somewhere else -- is being "economically priced." You can get a ticket and room package as cheap as $210 combined for the fight, which is nice to see. It's also because Vegas is a ghost town these days.

Wright commented that he wished he hadn't taken so long off, but he's back to prove himself as one of the best in the world still. Vegas has Williams as a -160 favorite.

Williams not only wants Hopkins, but middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, welterweight titlist Shane Mosley and retired two-division champion Joe Calzaghe. He will likely get none of them. I could see Mosley fighting him because Shane's made a career of giving guys chances to fight him when they weren't huge money deals (including Winky), but this is an old Shane at the end of his career, too. Still a great fighter, but he's just logically near the end of his line. Paul simply isn't worth much money, as good as he is.

0 recs  |  Comment 24 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Sounds like Williams might be looking past Winky. Not good for him.

by Matt Miller on Feb 19, 2009 4:22 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I think Goossen might be. Williams maybe not, although I think that’s part of what doomed him the first time around against Quintana.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 19, 2009 4:26 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

i understand why he’s doing it, but at some point shuttling around weightclasses like this is going to hinder P-Will’s effectiveness.

by boxingstudent on Feb 19, 2009 5:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Williams is doing what he has to do in order to survive in this era; one of misfortune and low-economic downturn. He is trying to call out everyone just to get someone to fight him with at least a big enough name so that they can help Paul make some money. There’s nothing wrong with it. I doubt he’s looking past Winky. Winky’s style can cause Paul problems but Paul should walk over Winky without too much trouble to be quite honest about it. I applaud the man for calling out everyone. Sooner or later, someone will have to abide and grant him a shot. Whether that be Hopkins, Pavlik, Mosley, or Calzaghe. People might think that neither should face Paul, but they actually should. What else is out there for most of these guys? Without the drawing power of a Mayweather or De Le Hoya, we’re left with Manny and a ton of guys who are decent PPV sells. Paul is just trying to do what is right for him. Let’s just see if those he’s called out are man enough to help him out and actually fight him.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by FlyByKnight on Feb 19, 2009 6:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I've said this before

And so have others, but Paul and Goossen made a big mistake not building up any local fanbase for him in Georgia or South Carolina. Not that they’re boxing hotbeds, but he’s just never had a loyal fanbase. He’s a hell of a good fighter and DESERVES to fight the best, and if that means it takes ballsy Winky Wright to step up and do it, then kudos to Wink. But he economically makes little sense given how dangerous he is for most guys, and fighter and promoter sort of did that to themselves in some ways.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 19, 2009 7:34 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Oh I definitely agree. They should have built up a local fanbase but to be honest, they had to get him out of there as soon as possible because if he were still a local guy, there’s no way he gets the hype (or publicity) he does right now.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by FlyByKnight on Feb 19, 2009 11:30 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

B-Hop would pound him.

Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Feb 19, 2009 7:50 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Pretty much

I highly highly doubt Williams could maintain a high workrate at 168 (don’t underestimate how an extra 20 pounds of mostly muscle can affect stamina; heck, even look at the difference in stamina for Mosley between 147 and 154), and without that workrate, there would be nothing to keep BHop from mugging him all night long.

If I still had an account, I might put money on Winky at that line. Williams has had trouble with southpaw counterpunchers in the past, and Winky is a lot bigger, better and stronger than Quintana. I think it’s much closer to an even money fight than the bookies are making it out to be. The real wild card is Winky’s inactivity, but if he’s still in as good of shape as he was against Taylor even, then Winky would have been a solid favorite.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 20, 2009 9:25 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

He did do it to himself but...

I don’t really care. He still deserves a shot(s) at the best. In my opinion, PW is probably the best welter-weight in the world, and a really good, if not freakishly good athlete.

I don’t know about this desire to fight Hopkins though. I’d much rather see him fight other guys on that list, especially Shane or Cal(Cal won’t fight him). If Hopkins can still do one thing in his elder-statesman status, it’s counter with power. I think this is a very bad match-up for PW, and one that Hopkins may be wise to jump on. And really, Hopkins can do more than just counter with power. He can make PW expend energy chasing, and he can gameplan better than anyone. Keep waiting PW, you don’t want Hopkins.

WIth that said, I’ve got PW cruising through Winky. Yeah, crusing through Winky. Too much output on PW’s side, too little output from Wink. And, Wink doesn’t have Hop’s pop. Never has. PW’s increased ability to damage to the body, displayed against Verno, will also help put a dent in Wink’s legendary defense. He won’t knock him out, but PW will win a UD.

The fight I’d really like to see is PW v. Shane. THAT would be a great fight. As I’ve said before, Shane isn’t an attack dog until he’s in the ring with one, and PW fits that mold. PW will throw punch volume like you see at Golden Gloves, except for 12 rounds, while Shane will, at times, cleanly connect with multiple punches. What happens when PW gets hit with 3 punches and never sees the last two? I don’t know, but I’d be glad to pay to find out.

by lcollins1 on Feb 19, 2009 8:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

If I were PW

I’d push for the fight to be at 154. I’d strongly favor PW there, not so much because Williams looks better at 154, but because Mosley just isn’t the same fighter there that he is at 147. Of course, since Mosley is the draw, he’d probably get to set the terms.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 20, 2009 9:27 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I"m a big Winky Wright fan. I love Tall Paul, but I gotta be loyal to my man. Winky Wright is a defensive master, so 80% of The Punisher’s output are gonna be caught on Winky’s elbow’s and gloves. Winky is just gonna line him up all night with the jab and straight left hand. Paul will try to circle, and create angles, and throw some heavy shots, but all of the offense will be neutralized. Plus Paul is still a little wet behind the ears. Winky has earned the status of a veteran of the sport. Pple count out Winky b/c he lost to a future hall of famer B hop. However, Winky himself if he gets a few good shots will put himself in line to be a future hall of famer also. Also, I don’t see anybody ever thinking about giving Wright a shot, what’s gonna happen is he needs to acquire some belts and titles so that they come to him sort of like Margarito, but in a legitimate way :). I dunno why everyone’s underestimating winky these days. He is a great boxer, and bc he lost to bhop which is like only his 4th loss on his resume done’st make him a bum. Coupled with his defense which have spared him any injuries or acceleration of the aging process, he’s game, might show a little ring rust, will warm up by round 3, hurt Williams once in the middle rounds and once in the late rounds, and wrap up a split decision. I wonder if he’ll ever rematch Jermain Taylor? Andre Ward 2009!!

by cylee1180 on Feb 19, 2009 10:12 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Wink's a HOFer right now in my book

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 19, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Which speaks mostly to how low the standards are to get into the IBHOF

Career 5 best wins:

Mosley over his best weight
Mosley over his best weight
Trinidad badly faded and coming out of retirement
Quartey badly faded
Angel Hernandez

Well-deserved draw against Jermain Taylor
Losses to Vargas and Hopkins, controversial loss to Harry Simon

Wright is one of those guys whose resume looks a lot worse when you look at it now than it did when he took a lot of those fights.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 20, 2009 9:38 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

oh I agree

There are a lot of guys in the HoF that just … I mean, in some sports they probably wouldn’t get in with a comparable resume, but boxing’s Hall is not the most exclusive. It’s sort of on par with the NFL’s where if you were considered good long enough, you’re going to get in. Wink should be in given past standards, which frankly I’m fine with. Halls of Fame are not the most serious thing in the world. I also give Winky the benefit of the doubt on much of his career where nobody was fighting him.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 20, 2009 2:06 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Well isn’t it tru that sometimes a fighter gets his big break of big money fight way later in his career, for example bhop getting de la hoya, trinidad, tarver, calzaghe, and pavlik way later in his career whereas before that it was “who did he beat?” Even mosley, he’s been around forever, and hasn’t been on the top 10 p4p since 2003 or something? So maybe Winky needs a breakthrough or opportunity vs him not having the necessary tools of greatness. Just speculationg, but he’s one of my faves so i’m gonna side with him. Victor Ortiz and SOG 2009!!! :)

by cylee1180 on Feb 20, 2009 2:12 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I do not know of any one else

I am not a big fan or even no fan at all of the Punisher but I trully cannot wait for Winky-Williams. I was trully bummed when I found out I have to wait ’til April for it.

by Sickle on Feb 20, 2009 10:54 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

The styles match is interesting but Winky can make the fight really ugly and will have to in order to get the UD. Lets be honest… he isn’t going to KO a world class fighter.

by Zocalo on Feb 20, 2009 3:14 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

how would winky do agst King arthur abraham? Pc!

by cylee1180 on Feb 20, 2009 2:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

he'd lose

Arthur is really smart and a pretty damn good defensive fighter himself. So I see it like this:

Power advantage Abraham
Speed advantage Abraham
Youth advantage Abraham
Defense probably a push at this point, even though Wink’s an ATG defensively
Chin push — both have great chins

Winky would have to be perfect and where he was four or five years ago to beat Abraham now.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 20, 2009 2:49 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

cool! What does ATG mean? Haha… it took me a while to fighter HOFer haha. Thanks…. wait, ALL Time Great/ Thanks! haha

by cylee1180 on Feb 20, 2009 2:52 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

yep

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 20, 2009 3:15 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

No problems guessing what GOAT means then....

Does the fact a boxer doesn't switch weight divisions during their career detract from their overall P4P ranking?

Cos I'd take Hagler over most heavies in history, P4P, and also over "6 weight world champion" Oscar De La Hoya, and Marvellous Marvin never really messed about with his weight, did he?

by Chaos100 on Feb 22, 2009 3:32 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to SB Nation's Bad Left Hook, covering boxing 365 days a year.
Start posting on Bad Left Hook »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
Nazim Richardson on Margarito loading his gloves
Metux_sm_small
There's something about Manny

Recent FanPosts

Small
Super Six So Far
Small
Ten Year Anniversary of Grant-Golota
080702_nickdiaz_small
Manny Pacquiao Weight Timeline
Picture_010_small
Boxing double knock down
Beanie_small
Live at the Kessler-Ward Press Conference
Small
Don't discredit Golota
Small
The Sad Truth
Small
Scoring a Fight
Small
History in the making: The grand science experiment...

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >


Managers

9018_185776360922_747385922_4256197_5272137_n_small SC

Editors

Box_marquez_vazquez_275-707948_small Brickhaus

Boxing_icon_small Matt Miller