Williams-Cintron Battle on HBO
Tomorrow night (May 8), avoided contender Paul “The Punisher” Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) faces dangerous power-puncher Kermit “The Killer” Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs). The bout, which will be contested at junior-middleweight (154 pounds), will establish the premier fighter at the weight, and also the next logical opponent for newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Both men have had faced tough competition over the past year. Last April, Williams soundly defeated former pound for pound fighter Winky Wright. In December, he engaged in an epic Fight of Year battle with Sergio Martinez, pulling himself up from a knockdown in the 1st to escape with a narrow, highly controversial decision. Cintron faced Martinez last February, and was awarded a dubious draw due to the referee miscalling a Martinez knockout punch as a headbutt. 3 months later, Cintron redeemed himself by clearly outboxing HBO favorite and prospect Alfredo Angulo.
Paul Williams is the favorite in this bout and rightly so. The Punisher avenged his only loss to Carlos Quintana with an impressive 1st round TKO. Standing at 6’1 and with a heavyweight reach of 82 inches, he throws hundreds of punches per round, even more so than Antonio Margarito, who overwhelmed Cintron twice in the only 2 defeats of Kermit’s career.
However, Cintron is a very live underdog for several reasons. The Puerto Rican fighter is very heavy-handed, particularly with the right hand when he sits down on his punches. Also, Williams’s defense is his offense, meaning the Punisher is not hard to find with shots as his high punch output leaves openings.
In particular, Williams gets hit more than he should because he like to compromise his height by leaning forward, especially when digging punches to the body. And Cintron possesses a good uppercut, best seen in his highlight reel KO of Walter Massthysse.
“One of my biggest punches is my uppercut…So that’s where I get more interested to see if he can take my power,” Cintron told maxboxing.com. “We’ll be throwing that [punch] as well.”
Since he began facing elite competition in 2007, Paul Williams has taken numerous flush power punches to the face, and some have resulted in deep cuts and stunned him badly (see Margarito, Quintana I, and Phillips bouts). However, Williams has weathered each storm and never stopped throwing punches.
Cintron, following his 2 knockout losses to Antonio Margarito, had been branded as a fighter that doesn’t cope well with aggressive volume punchers who can take his shots. However, it should be noted that Cintron weathered similar storms later from tough but limited contenders in David Estrada and Jessie Feliciano.
Also, when it appeared he would wilt from the pressure of a then undefeated Alfredo Angulo, Cintron composed himself and outboxed Angulo and kept the aggressive Mexican slugger honest with his power.
Prediction: Paul Williams TKO9
Kermit Cintron is a lot better than he is given credit for. Paul Williams will have a tough fight on his hands early on, and expect the Punisher to again have that chin tested with some nasty right hands and uppercuts up close.
But in the end, I see Cintron not being able to weather Paul’s non-stop punching. At times Cintron was gassed against Angulo, but the latter didn’t have the footwork and experience to know how to close the distance. Williams does, and Cintron will have constant pressure on him. And unlike Sergio Martinez, he doesn’t have the speed or southpaw stance that so often troubles Paul.
Antonio Margarito PPV, Arum Eyes Showdown with Pacquiao
Disgraced former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito takes his first step towards redemption with a Latin Fury PPV against Roberto Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) in Mexico.
Margarito was unable to get his license renewed in California, where last year he was handed a minimum 1 year suspension for trying to wear illegal, plaster-like hand wrappings into his January 2009 fight with Shane Mosley.
Margarito suffered a sustained beating in that fight, losing every round and getting knocked out in the 9th.
But his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, is banking on a good showing from Margarito this weekend to ensure he can make an in-house fight with Manny Pacquiao instead on working with Floyd Mayweather and rival Golden Boy.
Currently, Manny Pacquiao is focused on his political aspirations in his native Phillipines, and according to Arum is not bending on the Olympic style drug testing that sunk the potential megafight with Mayweather back in March.
Margarito’s return on Latin Fury 14 is will be available tomorrow night (May 8)
Marquez-Diaz II Set for July 31
Last weekend preceding Mayweather-Mosley, Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) and Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) held a press conference to announce the rematch to their consensus 2009 Fight of Year.
Juan Diaz was bullying the naturally smaller Marquez around the ring in the early rounds. But Marquez, a technical marvel, made the adjustments and gradually broke Diaz down behind precise combination counters, scoring 2 knockdowns in round 9 for a TKO.
Diaz, who was a top 10 Pound for Pound fighter before going 2-3 since 2008, promises now that he has a renewed focus, prompted by his studying for the LSAT (which he takes in June). He promises to pick where he left off at in the 9th round of the last fight, which may or may not be good depending on how you viewed that round before the knockout.
See the below video for both men’s thoughts on the rematch.
Mayweather-Mosley PPV Figures, What’s Next for Both Men?
Earlier this week, Yahoo Sports writer Kevin Iole stated that his sources had Mayweather-Mosley posting PPV buys of 1.2 million.
Later in the week other conflicting information began coming out, stating the true figures would be at least 1.5 million or higher.
Any fight selling over a million is definitely a huge success. However, with Golden Boy estimating figures as high as 3 million, it’s easy to see why some would consider this a disappointment.
Mayweather options are limited, but all lucrative. After posting a million PPV buys with Juan Manuel Marquez, Floyd has the ability to generate high figures with anyone. If the Pacquiao fight cannot be made, Mayweather could possibly face Andre Berto, the Williams-Cintron winner, or he can move up and attempt to win the middleweight title against Sergio Martinez. The latter seemed to interest Mayweather a lot, and in the post-fight press conference he admitted that it could be a very valid fight.
For Shane Mosley, the future is a bit more muddled. It was no secret that at 38 years old, the Mayweather fight was do or die. A bad loss would eliminate him from any further big PPV bouts.
Losing 10, arguably 11 rounds was indeed a bad loss.
If Mosley decides to continue, his remaining fights likely would have to be at 154. Shane campaigned there several years ago and won a title, so it’s possible he can still compete there. Still, he would be facing young, hungry fighters like Paul Williams and Alfredo Angulo, and it may be too much to ask of Mosley at this point.
Personally, I’d like to see Shane Mosley have one more “farewell” type fight and hang up the gloves. He’s given the sport great fights and has nothing left to prove.
See the below clips of both Mayweather and Mosley discussing their futures and the fight.
Mosley and Naazim Richardson On the Loss
Mayweather On the Win
Mike Tyson Appears on The View
Today, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson made an appearance on The View. Tyson is promoting a new TV show he has on Animal Planet, and also discussed his previous marriage with Robin Givens and his well documented financial troubles.
Reportedly, Robin Givens was furious that Tyson was invited and tried to get the show’s producers to not ask any questions involving her.
Over the past year, Givens has spoken at length about her relationship with Tyson, appearing on numerous talk shows after Chris Brown’s assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Click HERE to see Tyson’s appearance.
News and Notes
– Steven Cunningham (22-2, 11 KOs) returns to the ring on June 5 in Germany to face Troy Ross (23-1, 16 KOs) for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title.
– Talented junior middleweight Sergei Dzinziruk (36-0, 22 KOs) will make his American debut on Showtime next Saturday (May 14) against Daniel Dawson (14-0-1, 7 KOs). The fight will be Dzinziruk’s 6th defense on his WBO title.
– Tomasz Adamek is trying to secure a heavyweight title shot against either David Haye or the Klitschko brothers. Adamek won a competitive unanimous decision over Chris Arreola last month.
– Timothy Bradley vs. Marcos Maidana on July 17 is off due to Maidana suffering a back injury. At press time, Bradley’s co- promoter Gary Shaw is trying to keep the date and get a replacement opponent.
TV Weekend Schedule
May 7
ESPN2: Friday Night Fights- Yordanis Despaigne vs. Richard Hall
Telefutura- Danny Garcia vs. Chris Fernandez
May 8
HBO Championship Boxing- Paul Williams vs. Kermit Cintron, Mayweather-Mosley Replay
Top Rank PPV: Latin Fury 14- Antonio Margarito vs. Robert Garcia