Last night, jr. middleweight Paul Williams may have taken one step closer towards retirement, winning a controversial majority decision over previously undefeated Erislandy Lara at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Despite the fact that Lara landed nearly 50% of his power punches, even stunning the former champion on a few occasions, the judges still somehow found a way to give the nod to Williams, awarding him a majority decision with scores of 114-114, 115-114, and 116-114. HBO unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman scored the bout 117-111 in favor of Lara, who appeared to do more than enough to win in the eyes of most fans and media in attendance, as well as the viewing audience at home.
Time and time again, Lara repeatedly landed his left hand flush to the jaw of Williams, who looked bloodied and battered after the 12 rounds of action. To his credit, Williams never stopped coming forward and throwing punches, a trait that once made him a difficult challenge for opponents. Now, it appears as though the former "most feared man in boxing" has become a one-trick pony as Lara followed the same game plan as both Sergio Martinez and Carlos Quintana before him, coming over the top with the left hand over and over and over. Furthermore, despite sticking to his same strategy of volume punching, Williams was only able to land 200 of the 1047 total punches he threw.
"Of course I believe I won the fight. I know it was a close fight. I know Lara hit me with some nice shots and all that, but, you know, the judges, hey, you gotta talk it up with the judges," Williams would comment on his performance immediately after the fight. A close fight may have been an understatement, however, as HBO commentator Roy Jones Jr. compared the decision to his Gold medal robbery in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. That being said, Williams will happily take the victory as he hopes to move forward and perhaps cash in with one last fight, a rubber match with middleweight king Sergio Martinez. "I got as many [more fights] as Mr. Peterson decide on, but we definitely want Martinez, you know what I'm sayin', before I go on out. I think the fans want to see, I know y'all want to see it, so why not," Williams added.
It should be noted that prior to the telecast, HBO commentator Max Kellerman informed the viewing audience that both Williams and his trainer, George Peterson, told him that their plan was to retire in less than a year. "Believing they'll never land a monster payday against the likes of Manny Pacquiao or Flody Mayweather because they cant get those guys in the ring, this fight, then Sergio Maritinez rubber match if they can land it, and then that's it for Paul Williams," Kellerman stated. "He's gonna reitre at age 30." Based on last night's performance, that appears to be a wise decision for a man who's not starting to take too much punishment of his own.